Transcript Collins ENG 3113 Contemporary Fiction

Contemporary Fiction:
Research & Resources
Frederic Murray
Assistant Professor
MLIS, University of British Columbia
BA, Political Science, University of Iowa
Instructional Services Librarian
Al Harris Library
[email protected]
ENG 3113
Spring 2010
Narrative Knows No Bounds
Critical Analysis
•
Toscano, Margaret M. "Homer
Meets the Coen Brothers: Memory
as Artistic Pastiche in O Brother,
Where Art Thou?." Film & History
(03603695) 39.2 (2009): 4962. Communication & Mass Media
Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Mar.
2010
•
The article discusses memory as an
artistic pastiche in the 2000 film "O
Brother, Where Art Thou," directed
by Joel and Ethan Coen. The
author states that the film
questions whether historical
accuracy is important in films that
use classical antiquity as an indirect
reference point. She explains that
the Coens used key elements from
the Greek epic by Homer, "The
Odyssey," but set their film in the
American south during the Great
Depression. The article compares
the classical text to the film and its
portrayal of 1930s southern
culture.
Texts’ Under Question
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
My Two Daughters by Edward Hurst
Unwritten Laws by Kevin Collins
I Met the Devil on the Train by Cass McGovern
Groan Apart by Orlando Cartaya
The Kugelmass Episode by Woody Allen
Date With Alice by Christine Chen
You Must Remember This by Robert Coover
Is It Sexual Harassment Yet by Cris Mazza
Little Expressionless Animals by D. Foster Wallace
Research Competencies
I.
Understand the structure of information within the field of
literary research
II.
Identify and use key literary research tools to locate
relevant information
III.
Plan effective search strategies and modify search
strategies as needed
IV.
Understand that some information sources are more
authoritative than others and demonstrate critical
thinking in the research process
Guidelines for Literature
I. Understand the structure of information within
the field of literary research
Review
Criticism
I. Understand the structure of information
within the field of literary research
• Understand the concept and significance of peerreviewed sources of information
• Understand that literary texts exist in a variety of
editions, some of which are more authoritative or
useful than others
• Understand the authorship, production,
dissemination, or availability of literary production.
This includes understanding the meanings and
distinctions of the concepts of editions, facsimiles,
and authoritative editions
II. Identify and use key literary research tools
to locate relevant information
• Use reference and other appropriate information
resources to provide background information and
contextual information about social, intellectual, and
literary culture
– American Writers
– Bachman’s Encyclopedia of Pop. Fiction
– Handbook to Literature
II. Identify and use key literary research tools
to locate relevant information
• Understand the
uses of all available
databases and
services
• JSTOR
• MLA International
Bibliography
(EBSCO)
• Communication and
Mass Media
Complete (EBSCO)
• DATABASES…
III. Plan effective search strategies and modify
search strategies as needed
Keywords
Boolean
Research Competencies
• Understand that some information
sources are more authoritative than
others and demonstrate critical
thinking in the research process
What is Modern Fiction?
Brainstorm Session
• Characteristics of Modern Fiction
• List on Whiteboard
Create a Thesis Statement
• Thesis Statements
– Original
– Significant
– Argumentative
• Think about
questions that have
the potential to
change the way
readers think about
the work.
• State your topic as
a question first,
then revise it to be
a statement.
The Odyssey
…it issues from the poetic imagination in which the
reality of the world and the predicaments of its
inhabitants have been contemplated and transformed.
- Seamus Heaney
Called this the first truth…
Identifying Keywords
• Identify the significant terms and
concepts that describe your topic from
your thesis statement or research
question.
• These terms will become the key for
searching catalogs, databases and
search engines for information about
your subject.
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and elements of
melodrama: Passion, Sex and Comedy.
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and the elements
of melodrama: Passion, Sex and
Comedy.
Boolean
• AND = Narrow
• OR = Expand
• NOT = Exclude
Identify and use key literary
research tools:
• MLA International Bibliography
• JSTOR Journal Archive
• Communication and Mass Media
Complete
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and the elements
of melodrama: Passion, Sex and
Comedy.
Library Subject Databases
McKee, Alison. "What's Love Got To Do
With It?: History and Melodrama in the
1940s Woman's Film." Film & History
(03603695) 39.2 (2009): 515. Communication & Mass Media
Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
Abstract
• The article discusses history and melodrama in the 1940s
woman's film. The author begins by providing some
background information on melodrama studies and feminist
criticism of films. The author examines how historical figures
and events are represented within specific cinematic
categories. The disregard for historical accuracy in melodrama
is mentioned. The author focuses on the historical moment of
a film's production and the historical period it represents. The
gender and subjectivity in women's films of the 1940s are also
discussed. The film "That Hamilton Woman," directed by
Alexander Korda, is used as a case study.
Research
• Interdisciplinary Approach
– Looking for information on an idea
– Not restricted to textual criticism or
references to the work under investigation
– In fact if you search by author or title in
databases outside of literature….
…Good night, and good luck.
JSTOR
• JSTOR is a full-text scholarly journal
archive. JSTOR specializes in making
available the back issues of journals in
a wide variety of humanities and social
science disciplines.
• Search by scholarly discipline
Change up your
Keywords….
Abstract for Article
• The article discusses kisses in the motion pictures of the U.S.
at various dimensions from the first screen kiss to the modern
screen kiss. The extreme close-ups, swelling music, and
mysterious fade-outs indicate a grand communion in the
screen. The touch, and taste, of a kiss is displayed to a great
intensity. Screen kisses of various celebrities from different
motion pictures are discussed including "Cinema Paradiso,"
"The Kiss," "The Widow Jones." The kiss in American motion
pictures underwent through various level of changes including
technological innovations. The screen kiss does not have as
much importance as compared to the first screen kiss. More of
lust and various forms of sex became the trend in the modern
screen.
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and the reality of
melodrama: Passion, Sex and Comedy.
Or Passion and Casablanca and Sex and Film
You Must Remember This by Robert Coover
• McKee, Alison. "What's Love Got To Do With It?: History and
Melodrama in the 1940s Woman's Film." Film & History
(03603695) 39.2 (2009): 5-15. Communication & Mass Media
Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Mar. 2012
• Williams , Linda. "Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long
Adolescence of American Movies." Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006):
JSTOR. Database. 12 Apr 2012.
• De Lauretis, Teresa. Technologies of gender : essays on
theory, film, and fiction . Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1987.
Research
• Interdisciplinary Approach
– Looking for information on an idea
– Not restricted to textual criticism or
references to the work under investigation
– In fact if you search by author or title in
databases outside of literature….
…Good night, and good luck.
Texts’ Under Question
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
My Two Daughters - PSYCHOLOGY
Unwritten Laws – BIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY
I Met the Devil on the Train – LITERATURE
Groan Apart The Kugelmass Episode - POSTMODERNISM/FOLKLORE
Date With Alice – VOYERUISM
You Must Remember This – FILM/HISTORY
Is It Sexual Harassment Yet – PSYCHOLOGY/LEGAL
Little Expressionless Animals -
Break Out Session
• Discuss synopsis of a story
– Brainstorm Thesis
• Where are you going to look
– List two Scholarly Fields
• i.e. History, Film Studies
– List three databases in each field
• Why these choices?
– What did you find?
Writing Your Paper
• Writing Center
– Located in the basement of the library
– Call for appointment #774-7083
• MLA Style
– Style Sheets
– MLA Handbook at Reference & Circulation
Desk
– http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
Questions?
• Contact me:
• Frederic Murray
• 774-7113
• [email protected]
Thanks!