LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
Department of Library and Information Science
LSC 634: Humanities Information
Fall, 2014
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: 553 or 9 credits of graduate credit in a humanities discipline
Classroom: 213 Marist Hall
Kevin Gunn, M.A., M.L.I.S.
Coordinator of Religious Studies and Humanities Services
314 Mullen Library
1-202-319-5088
mailto:gunn@cua.edu
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (by appointment is preferred).
Course Description
Humanities information needs and information-seeking behavior of different user groups. Disciplines
include philosophy, religion, the visual arts, the performing arts, and languages and literatures. Emphasis
on access to resources in all formats. Trends and problems in the humanities and in humanities
information services. Prerequisite: 553 or 9 credits of graduate credit in a humanities discipline.
Instructional Methods
Lectures in classroom, Blackboard.
Required Text
Perrault, Anna H., Aversa, Elizabeth S. 2013. Information Resources in the Humanities and the Arts.
Denver, CO: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 978-1-59884-832-8. $65.00.
Recommended Texts
None008.
http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companionDLS/
Recommended Resource
Research Advisory Tool (http://cucwis.wrlc.org/rat/index.php?P=Home)
The RAT (Research Advisory Tool) is a citation database of over 2,800 select reference materials
available through the Catholic University of America Libraries. It includes reference books, e-books,
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
subscription databases, CD-ROMs, and web sites ― all designed to point you to pertinent and interesting
resources in performing your research.
Disciplines included in this database are Art and Art History, Biblical Studies, Canon Law, Church
History, Classics, Comparative Literature, Drama and Theater, Media Studies, Medieval and Byzantine
Studies, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology.
Course Goals
The course is designed to provide students with a foundation for doing humanities research. Specifically,
the student will gain an understanding of the wide variety of reference material, editions, bibliographical
resources, and web sites available. In addition, the course emphasizes the methodologies of accessing
information, locating principal information sources, identifying and assessing users’ needs, and research
trends in searching for information. Identify changes taking place in the humanities and discuss their
impact (actual and potential) on information needs and resources. Students will be expected to evaluate
sources, develop appropriate search methods and techniques, and discuss issues in the humanities.
Goals for Student Learning
At the conclusion of the course, the student will be able to sit at a reference research desk and answer
reference/research questions having mastered a variety of research tools used in the humanities.
Professional Standards Addressed
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)
Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy/
ARLIS/NA Core Competencies for Art Information Professionals
In the Professional Competencies folder in Blackboard
American Library Association (ALA)
http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecompetences/finalcorecompstat09.pdf
American Library Association
Reference and User Services Association
Information Literacy Guidelines for Undergraduate History Students
http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/infoliteracy
Association of College and Research Libraries
Literatures in English Section
LES Research Competency Guidelines for Literatures in English
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/researchcompetenciesles.cfm
Music Library Association
Core Competencies and Music Librarians
http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/?page=MusicLibrarianship
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
Expectations and policies
Academic honesty: Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students. Faculty are required to initiate
the imposition of sanctions when they find violations of academic honesty, such as plagiarism, improper
use of a student’s own work, cheating, and fabrication.
The following sanctions are presented in the University procedures related to Student Academic
Dishonesty (from http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrityprocedures.cfm): “The presumed
sanction for undergraduate students for academic dishonesty will be failure for the course. There may be
circumstances, however, where, perhaps because of an undergraduate student’s past record, a more
serious sanction, such as suspension or expulsion, would be appropriate. In the context of graduate
studies, the expectations for academic honesty are greater, and therefore the presumed sanction for
dishonesty is likely to be more severe, e.g., expulsion. ...In the more unusual case, mitigating
circumstances may exist that would warrant a lesser sanction than the presumed sanction.”
Please review the complete texts of the University policy and procedures regarding Student Academic
Dishonesty, including requirements for appeals, at
http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm and
http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm.
Attendance. Show up and be on time! It is CUA Policy that attendance is mandatory. Attendance is
important as there will be many topics, examples, etc. that will discussed in class but not found in the
reading material. Absences will affect your final grade. Let me know before class if you will be absent.
Accommodations for students with disabilities: Any student who feels s/he may need an
accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss
specific needs. Please contact Disability Support Services (at 202 319-5211, room 207 Pryzbyla Center)
to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. To read about the
services and policies, please visit the website: http://disabilitysupport.cua.edu.
Course Requirements and Assessment
Assignment #1: Critical edition (10%) due: September 16th
Assignment #2: Research Questions handout (20%) due: October 21st
Assignment #3: Research Questions handout (20%) due: November 25th
Assignment #4: Research Guide using LibGuides (20%) due: December 2nd
Assignment #5: Researching a Thorny Problem (narrative bibliography) (30%) due: December 9th
Final grades will be assigned as follows:
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
Letter
A
AB+
B
BC
F
Numeric range
94-100
90-93.99
86-89.99
82-85.99
78-81.99
70-77.99
Below 70
University grades:
The University grading system is available at
http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad//gradesfull.cfm#II for undergraduates and
http://policies.cua.edu/academicgrad//gradesfull.cfm#iii for graduate students.
Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on http://cardinalstation.cua.edu.
Libraries
The CUA Libraries' wide range of resources and services, including databases, online journals,
and FAQs are on the main web site (http://libraries.cua.edu). For assistance on papers and
assignments, consult the research guides (http://guides.lib.cua.edu/) or schedule an appointment
with a subject librarian (http://libraries.cua.edu/about/subjLibs.cfm).
NOTE: Friday, September 5th is the last day to register or add courses for credit; last day to drop a
course without record.
Course Schedule
August 26
Introduction to the course. What are the Humanities?
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch. 1 and Ch. 2
Collins, Ellen and Michael Jubb, How do Researchers in the Humanities Use
Information Resources? LIBER Quarterly 21(2) 2012, 176-187.
Lonnqvist, Harriet, The Research Processes of Humanities Scholars. Advances in
Library Administration and Organization vol. 25 (2007), 175-202.
Stone, Sue, Humanities Scholars: Information Needs and Uses. Journal of
Documentation 38 (Dec. 1982), 292-313.
Rebecca Watson-Boone, The Information Needs and Habits of Humanities
Scholars, RQ 34(2) 1994, 203-26.
Rebecca Green, Locating Sources in Humanities Scholarship: the Efficacy of
Following Bibliographic References, Library Quarterly, 70(2) 2000, 201-229.
Clark, Melanie, Kimberly Vardeman, and Shelley Barba. Perceived Inadequacy: A
Study of the Imposter Phenomenon among College and Research Librarians. College &
Research Libraries 75(3) (2014), 255-271.
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
September 2 General Resources to the Humanities, Classics and Philosophy
[Assignment #1, Critical Edition Assignment handed out]
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch. 3.
Lineback, Richard H. "Philosophy," IN N. Couch & N. Allen (eds.), The
Humanities and the Library, 2nd ed., 1993. (Chicago: ALA), 212-238. (Reserve Z675
.H86 H85 1993).
Bynagle, Hans. Philosophy: a Guide to the Reference Literature, 3rd ed. Westport:
Libraries Unlimited, 2006, 1-11. Theo/Phil B33 .B95 2006.
Basker, Jim. Philosophers’ Information Habits, Library and Information Research
News 7(25) 1984, 2-10.
Crane, Greg. Classics and the Computer: an End of the History. Susan Schreibman,
Ray Siemens, John Unsworth, editors. A Companion to Digital Humanities. Oxford:
Blackwell, 2004.
Eggert, Paul. Apparatus, Text, Interface: How to Read a Printed Critical Edition IN
Cambridge Companion to Textual Scholarship, eds. Neil Freistat and Julie Flanders.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013, 97-118. To be put on reserve.
Livingston, Elizabeth. The Last Hand: Restrictions on Martin Heidegger's Papers.
The Journal of Information Ethics 19(1) 2010, 110-125.
Sula, Chris. Philosophy through the Macroscope: Technologies, Representations,
and the History the Profession, The Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy 1(1)
2012.
September 9 Religion. Folklore. Mythology.
Guest Speaker: Dr. Kevin White, Associate Professor of Philosophy, School of
Philosophy, Catholic University of America
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch.4.
Religion. Encyclopedia of Religion, Ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 11. 2nd ed. Detroit:
Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p7692-7701.
Religion [Further Considerations]. Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones.
Vol. 11. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, 7701-7706.
Religion. New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003, 56-64.
Ebersole, Gary & Alt, Martha S. (1993). "Religion." In: Nena Couch & Nancy
Allen (eds.), The Humanities and the Library. 2nd ed. Chicago: ALA), 240-76. (Reserve
Z675.H86 H85 1993)
September 16 Christianity. Theology. Biblical Studies.
[Critical Edition Assignment due]
Required Readings:
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
Bible (Texts). New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003.
p355-367.
Bartlett, Thomas. The Betrayal of Judas, The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol.
54, issue 38, May 30, 2008.
Lincoln, Timothy D. What's a Seminary Library For? Theological Education 40,
no. 1 (2004), 1-10.
David H. Michaels, The Use of People as Information Sources in Biblical Studies,
The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 29, no. 1 (2005), 91-109.
Penner, Katherina. Information Behaviour of Theologians: a Literature Review.
Theological Librarianship: an Online Journal of the American Theological Library
Association vol. 2 no. 1(June 2009), 67-82.
Penner, Katherina, Information Needs and Behaviours of Theology Students at the
International Baptist Theological Seminary, Theological Librarianship: an online journal
of the American Theological Library Association, 2, no. 2 (2009), 51-80.
Shepherd, William H. Early Christian Apocrypha: A Bibliographic Essay.
Theological Librarianship: an Online Journal of the American Theological Library
Association, 3 no. 1 (July 2010), 40-47.
September 23 History
[Assignment #2: Research questions #2 handed out]
Required Readings:
Brundage, Antony. Going to the Sources: a Guide to Historical Research and
Writing, 4th ed. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2008, 1-18.
Cridland, Nancy. “History”, in: N. Couch & N. Allen (eds.), The Humanities and
the Library, 2nd ed. (Chicago: ALA), 45-85. (Reserve Z675 .H86 H85 1993).
Howell, Martha and Walter Prevenier. From Reliable Sources: an Introduction to
Historical Methods. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001, 1-42.
Levine-Clark, Michael. Historical Research. Peggy Kieran, ed. (et al.). Research
Within the Disciplines: Foundations for Reference and Library Instruction. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 2007, 61-82.
Sherriff, Graham. Information Use in History Research: A Citation Analysis of
Master’s Level Theses. portal: Libraries and the Academy 10, No. 2 (2010): 165–183.
September 30 Scholarly Communication and the Humanities
Guest Speaker: Kim Hoffman, Coordinator of Science Libraries, Catholic University of
America
Required Readings:
Coble, Z, Potvin, S, Shirazi, R. Process as Product: Scholarly Communication
Experiments in the Digital Humanities. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly
Communication 2(3) 2014.
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
Joseph, Heather. The Open Access Movement Grows Up: Taking Stock of a
Revolution. PLoS Biol 11(10) 2013: e1001686. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001686
Keener, Molly, Joy Kirchner, Sarah Shreeves, and Lee Van Orsdel. 10 Things You
Should Know about Scholarly Communication, ACRL web site, 2013.
López-Cózar, Emilio Delgado, Nicolás and Daniel Torres-Salinas. The Google
Scholar Experiment: How to Index False Papers and Manipulate Bibliographic Indicators.
Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology 65(3) 2014, 446-454.
MSU Libraries, Scholarly Communication (Read whole section).
Suber, Peter. Promoting Open Access in the Humanities, 2005.
October 7 Visual Arts: Art and Architecture
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch. 11.
Cobbledick, S. The Information-Seeking Behavior of Artists. Library Quarterly
66(4) 1996, 343-372.
Cowan, Sandra. "Informing Visual Poetry: Information Needs and Sources of
Artists." Art Documentation: Bulletin of the Art Libraries Society of North America 23(2)
2004, 14-20.
Haras, Catherine. “The Art of Evidence: a method for instructing students in art
history research,” in: A. Gluibizzi and P. Glassman (eds.), The Handbook of Art and
Design Librarianship (London: Facet Publishing), 2010, 197-211. (Reserve Z675.A85
H36 2010)
Hemmig, William S. "The information-seeking behavior of visual artists: a
literature review." Journal of Documentation 64(3) 2008, 343-362.
Klos, Sheila M. Information Literacy for the Next Generation. Journal of
Architectural Education, 49(3) 1996, 204-206.
Makri, Stephann, Claire Warwick. Information for Inspiration: Understanding
Architects' Information Seeking and Use Behaviors to Inform Design. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science & Technology, 61(9) 2010, 1745-1770.
Opar, Barbara. Site Documentation: what the Architecture student needs. Art
Reference Services Quarterly 1(3) 1993, 23-30.
Reed, Bonnie & Tanner, Donald R. Information Needs and Library Services for the
Fine Arts Faculty. Journal of Academic Librarianship 27(3) 2001, 229-233.
Stam, Deirdre. Artists and Art Libraries. Art Libraries Journal 20(2) 1995, 21-24.
Wallach, Ruth. The Academic Art Library in the age of interdisciplinary
discourse,” in: A. Gluibizzi and P. Glassman (eds.), The Handbook of Art and Design
Librarianship (London: Facet Publishing), 2010, 265-276. (Reserve Z675.A85 H36 2010)
Wayne, Kathryn M. Form follows information? Journal of Architectural
Education, 49 (4) 1996, 269-271.
Wyngaard, Susan. “Fine Arts,” IN N. Couch & N. Allen (eds.), The Humanities
and the Library, 2nd ed. (Chicago: ALA), 1-44. (Reserve Z675 .H86 H85 1993).
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
October 14 NO CLASS Administration Monday (classes on Monday meet Tuesday)
October 21 Performing Arts (I): General Overview. Music
[Assignment #2: Research Questions #1 due]
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch. 9.
Christine D. Brown. Straddling the Humanities and Social Sciences: The Research
Process of Music Scholars. Library & Information Science Research. Volume 24, Issue 1,
2002, Pages 73-94.
Couch, N. & Allen, N. (1993). "Performing Arts", 173-211 IN The Humanities and
the Library, 2nd ed. Chicago: ALA. (Reserve Z675.H86 H85 1993)
Laurie J. Sampsel, Music Research: a Handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2009, 3-9 (Music Library reserve ML113 .S28 2009).
Casey, Jeanette & Taylor, Kathryn. (1995). "Music Library Users: Who Are These
People and What Do They Want From Us?" Music Reference Services Quarterly 3 (3): 314.
Gottlieb, Jane. Reference Service for Performing Musicians: Understanding and
Meeting Their Needs. The Reference Librarian 47 (1994): 47-59.
October 28 Performing Arts (II): Dance, Drama and Theatre, Film, Radio, Television, New
Media.
[Assignment #3: Research Questions #2 handed out]
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch. 7, 8, & 10.
Bonini T. The New Role of Radio and its Public in the Age of Social Network
sites. First Monday 19(6) 2014.
Goodwin, C. Information-Seeking in the Humanities: Costume Design and
Historical Research. Current Studies in Librarianship, 30(1/2) 2010, 19-25.
Kolker, Robert. Digital Media and the Analysis of Film. Susan Schreibman, Ray
Siemens, John Unsworth, editors. A Companion to Digital Humanities. Oxford: Blackwell,
2004.
Marini, Francesca. Archivists, Librarians, and Theatre Research. Archivaria 63
(Spring 2007), 7-33.
Meszaros, MaryBeth. A Theatre Scholar-Artist Prepares: Information Behavior of
the Theatre Researcher. Advances in Library Administration and Organization vol. 29
(2010), 185-217.
Peterson H. Established, Emerging, or Phantom? The State of the Film Studies
Discipline. B Sides. (Summer 2012) 2012, 1-20.
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
November 4 Languages, Linguistics and Literature. English Studies
[Assignment #5: Researching a Thorny Topic Bibliography: narrative
bibliography handed out]
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch. 5.
Chu, Clara. Literary Critics at Work and Their Information Needs. Library and
Information Science Research 21 (2) 1999, 247-273.
Drucker, Johanna. The Virtual Codex from Page Space to E-space
A Companion to Digital Literary Studies. Susan Schreibman and Ray Siemens. Oxford:
Blackwell, 2008.
Eliot, Simon, Bibliography IN Sousa Correa, Delia da, Owens, W.R. The
Handbook to Literary Research. NewYork: Routledge, 2010, 39-48.
Ellis, David and Hanna Goldman, The English Literature Researcher in the Age of
the Internet, Journal of Information Science 31(1) (2005), 29-36.
Wiberley, Stephen E., Jr. (2000). "A Typology of Literary Scholarship for
Academic Librarians." In: Betty H. Day & W. E. Wortman (eds.), Literature in English: A
Guide for Librarians in the Digital Age, 300-317. Chicago: Assn of College &
Research Libraries. (Reserve Z671.C691 no 54).
November 11 Modern Languages. Translation studies.
Guest Speaker: Abby Yochelson, Reference Specialist, English and American Literature,
Humanities & Social Sciences Division, Library of Congress
Required Readings:
Perrault and Aversa, Ch. 6.
Anderson, Kristine J., Translation Studies, Choice, February 2011: 1027-1036.
Kellsey, C. Crisis in foreign language expertise in research libraries: How do we
fill this gap? College & Research Libraries News 64(6)(2003), 391-2, 397.
Paquin, Robert. In the Footsteps of Giants: Translating Shakespeare for Dubbing .
Translation Journal 5 (3) (July 2001).
Grossman, Edith. Why Translation Matters. New Haven: Yale University Press,
2010, p. 1-33.
Hirano, Cathy. Eight ways to say you: The challenges of translation. Horn Book
Magazine Vol. 75, Issue 1 (Jan./Feb.99), p34-41.
November 18 Digital Humanities and Humanities Computing
Required Readings:
Berry, David M., Introduction: Understanding the Digital Humanities. David M.
Berry, editor, Understanding Digital Humanities. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2012,
3-20.
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
Burdick, Anne, et al. “Emerging Methods and Genres,” Digital_Humanities, 2012,
29-60.
Simeone, Michael, Guiliano, Jennifer, Kooper, Rob, AND Bajcsy, Peter. Digging
into data using new collaborative infrastructures supporting humanities-based computer
science research. First Monday 16 (5) (16 April 2011).
Sukovic, Suzana. Convergent Flows: Humanities Scholars and their Interactions
with Electronic texts. Library Quarterly 78 (3) (2008), 263–284.
Davidson, Cathy. “Humanities 2.0: Promise, Perils and Predictions.” Matthew
Gold, editor, Debates in the Digital Humanities (University of Minnesota Press, 2012).
Drucker, Johanna. Blind Spots: Humanists must plan their digital future. Chronicle
of Higher Education 55 (30) (2009).
Hockey, Susan. The History of Humanities Computing. Susan Schreibman, Ray
Siemens, John Unsworth, editors. A Companion to Digital Humanities. Oxford: Blackwell,
2004.
Kirschenbaum, Matthew, What is Digital Humanities and What’s it doing in
English Departments? Matthew Gold, editor, Debates in the Digital Humanities.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2012, 3-11.
Lui, Alan. “Where is Culture Criticism in the Digital Humanities?” Matthew Gold,
editor, Debates in the Digital Humanities (University of Minnesota Press, 2012).
Manovich, Lev. “Trending: The Promises and the Challenges of Big Social Data.”
Matthew Gold, editor, Debates in the Digital Humanities. University of Minnesota Press,
2012.
November 25 Digital Humanities, GLAMs and Librarians
[Assignment #3: Research Questions #2 due]
Required Readings:
Adams, Jennifer, and Kevin Gunn. Digital Humanities: Where to Start. College
and Research Libraries News 73(9) (2012.
Burdick, Anne, Johanna Drucker, Peter Lunenfeld, Todd Presner and Jeffrey
Schnapp. Digital_Humanities, 2012. Great overview. Link to the Open Access edition.
Kamada, Hitoshi, Digital Humanities: Roles for Libraries? College and Research
Libraries News vol. 71, iss. 9 (Oct. 2010): 484-485.
Muñoz, Trevor. Digital Humanities in the Library isn't a Service. August 19, 2012.
Nowviskie, Bethanie. A Skunk in the Library: the Path to Production for Scholarly
R&D. June 28, 2011.
Shower, Ben. Does the Library have a role to play in the Digital Humanities? JISC,
February 23, 2012.
Sula, Chris Alen, “Digital Humanities and Libraries: A Conceptual Model.” Journal
of Library Administration 53, issue 1 (2013): 10-26.
Vandegrift, Micah and Stewart Varner, Evolving in Common: Creating Mutually
Supportive Relationships Between Libraries and the Digital Humanities. Journal of
Library Administration 53(1) (2013), 67-78.
LSC 634 Humanities Information (Fall 2014)
Revised 08/29/14
December 2 Last class: The Academy and the Future of the Humanities
[Assignment #4: LibGuides Project due]; Evaluations
Required Readings:
Borgman, Christina. Scholarship in the Digital Age: information, infrastructure,
and the Internet. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2007, 212-220. (Reserve AZ195 .B67
2007)
Donoghue, Frank. The Last Professors: the Corporate University and the Fate of
the Humanities. New York: Fordham University Press, 2008. (Reserve LB2331.72 .D66
2008).
Nussbaum, Martha. Not for Profit: Why Democracy needs the Humanities, p. 1-26.
(Reserve LC1011 .N88 2010).
Wolin, Richard. Reflections on the Crisis in the Humanities. Hedgehog Review.
13(2)(Summer 2011).
December 9 [Assignment #5: Researching a Thorny Topic Bibliography: narrative
bibliography due]
Bibliography
Updated Source Lists, current Research Guides, supplementary readings, and websites of interest,
will be handed out during the course.