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Home > LITS > Library Research & Collections > Research Guides for Courses > English 372 01: Gender and War
English 372 01: Gender and War
Finding Your Way
Library, Information and Technology Services (LITS) provides library and technology support to the campus. Use our document Getting Around in LITS to tell you where to find people and places in our buildings. Many of the materials you may want to use for your classes are available online, but you will also need print resources to do your best work. You may also want to Ask a Librarian for assistance. The English librarian is Mary Stettner, and her office is in room 426 on Level 4 of Williston Library.
Some other locations in the library you may need:
- English language literature books are on Level 6 of the Williston wing, call numbers PR-PS
- History books are located on Levels 1 (D History General, DA-DB History of Europe) and 2 (DC-DR History of Europe, DS History of Asia, E History of North America) of Williston
- Psychology books are located on Level 1 (BF Psychology) of Williston
- Women's Studies books are located on Level 3 (HQ The family. Marriage. Women.) of Williston
- Recent issues of print journals are located in the Reference Room on Level 4 Williston, shelved alphabetically by journal title
- Back issues of print literature, history, and women's studies journals are located on Level 2 1/2, Williston
- Back issues of print science journals (including psychology journals) are located on Levels 2 and 3 of Miles Smith
- Photocopiers are located on Level 2 1/2, Williston
Background Information
Reference works are a good place to begin your research. They can provide quick background information, help you to generate research topic ideas, and help you to develop a list of keywords to use when you begin searching the library catalog, article indexes and databases. The following is a selective list of works that may be found online or in the library Reference Room on Level 4 Williston:
LION: Literature Online A collection of over 350,000 full-text works of English, American, African-American and Canadian poetry, drama and prose from the 8th century to the present, with complementary criticism and reference resources. Use the Authors search to find bio- and bibliographical information on a writer as well as criticism and other reference articles.
Historical dictionary of the Civil War
MH Reference E468 .J777 2002
Women during the Civil War : an encyclopedia
MH Reference E628 .H37 2004
The dictionary of the First World War
MH Reference D510 .P66 1995
The United States in the First World War : an encyclopedia
MH Reference D510 .U65 1995
The Simon and Schuster encyclopedia of World War II
MH Reference D740 .S57
Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War : a political, social, and military history, 3 vol.
MH Reference DS557.7 .E53 1998
Dictionary of Literary Biography Documentary Series v.9: American writers of the Vietnam War
MH Reference PS129 .D48
The Vietnam experience : a concise encyclopedia of American literature, songs, and films
MH Reference DS557.73 .H55 1998
Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War
MH Reference DS79.72 .G7 1995
Books
The Five College Online Library Catalog is the main tool to use for finding books (as well as multimedia) on your topic. You can search just Mount Holyoke's holdings or the holdings for all Five College libraries. When you find an item that's in Mount Holyoke's collection, note the location and call number then use the Getting Around in LITS guide to determine where it is located in the building. When you find an item that's in one of the other Five College libraries, use the Request Item feature to request that the book be delivered to you. For a series of tutorials explaining how to use the catalog, see the New Five College Catalog web page.
Journal Articles
Which indexes and databases to use
The library catalog, while it will tell you which library has a journal title and for which years, doesn’t contain information about the individual articles within each journal issue. Article indexes and databases, on the other hand, do contain information at the article level and are the better tool for finding articles on your topic. Mt. Holyoke subscribes to many article indexes and databases. A full list of these can be found at E-Resources A to Z, but you may find it easier to use the library's Research Guides. The Research Guides break down, by academic discipline, the most appropriate databases for each subject. Some potentially useful Research Guides and databases for this class:
English Language and Literature
Film Studies
- FIAF: International Film Archive Database The International FilmArchive Database is published by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and contains several databases. The main database, the International Index to Film Periodicals, contains over 230,000 article references from more than 300 periodicals. The database, which cumulates citations from the annual printed volume, offers in-depth coverage of academic and popular film journals from 1972 to the present.
History
- America : History and Life (1964- ) Citations, with abstracts, to social science humanities literature on all aspects of US and Canadian history, culture and current affairs from prehistoric times to present.
- Historical Abstracts (1954- ) Indexes and provides abstracts for articles on the history of the world (other than the US and Canada) from 1450 to the present.
Gender Studies
- Women's Studies International (1972- ) Covers the core disciplines in Women’s Studies to the latest scholarship in feminist research. Includes the areas of sociology, history, political science & economy, public policy, international relations, arts & humanities, business and education. Nearly 800 essential sources include: journals, newspapers, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, proceedings, reports, theses, dissertations, NGO studies, important websites & web documents, and grey literature. Over 2,000 periodical sources are represented. Updated quarterly.
Psychology
- PsychInfo (1806 - present, though less than 146 records with publication dates prior to 1890) This database is the MAJOR gateway to locate published research in Psychology. Linked from PsycINFO is access to PsycARTICLES, an ejournal collection that contains recent issues of journals published by the APA.
Multidisciplinary databases
- Academic Search Premiere (EBSCO) Scholarly, multi-disciplinary database containing full text for nearly 4,650 serials, including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed publications. Also offers indexing and abstracts for more than 8,200 journals. Disciplines covered include arts & literature, women's studies, psychology, and history.
- JStor Full text of back issues of scholarly journals from all disciplines, some citation information for newer issues. If you use the Advanced search form,it's possible to limit your search to journals in specific disciplines. Disciplines include (among many others) Film Studies, Feminist & Women's Studies, History, Language & Literature, and Psychology.
How to get a copy of an article
Once you've identified an article you wish to read, the next step is to get a copy of the article. Some databases make this easy because they contain not just citations for each article, but also a link to a full-text, electronic version. Other databases contain only citations. In the latter case, check the citation for the title of the journal in which the article appears, then check the Five College Library Catalog to determine if the journal is available in print or electronically. Most of the library's databases have a built-in  Check SFX feature that links to the catalog so you can easily determine a journal's availability. If a journal isn't available electronically or in print at Mount Holyoke, you can request that a copy of the article be sent to you via Interlibrary Loan using the ILLiad web form. This usually takes within 5 days if the journal is at one of the other Five Colleges. However, getting copies of articles from journals outside of the Five Colleges can take longer so plan ahead.
Images
The MHC library subscribes to a number of image databases. There are also some useful, freely available image resources available on the web. The following is a selective list with search tips where applicable:
- AP Multimedia Archive The AccuNet/AP Image Archive is an electronic library containing The Associated Press's photo reports and a selection of photos from their 50 million image print and negative library--updated daily. Contains historical as well as current images. Search tip: When searching for images contemporary with a specific war, it helps to include dates in your search. Example: enter civil war in the What box, enter from 1861 to 1865 in the When box, then click on Search.
- ARTStor A repository of hundreds of thousands of digital images and related data. The Charter Collection documents artistic traditions across many times and cultures and embraces architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. Search tip: This database is best for the earlier conflicts covered by this course, the Civil War through World War II. For best results, use an Advanced Search and include the date range for the war. Example: Click on Advanced Search, enter "world war" in the first Search for Words or Phrases box, enter 1914 in the From box and Select CE (AD), enter 1918 in the To box and Select CE (AD), then click on Search.
- Valley of the Shadow An online archive of the experiences of two communities, one Northern and one Southern, during the Civil War. Includes images as well as letters, diaries, newspaper articles, speeches, census and church records. This web site is a project of the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia.
- American Memory Project Digitized materials from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions. Includes still and moving images, written and spoken words, sound recordings, prints, maps, and sheet music documenting the American Experience. Produced by the Library of Congress. Image sub-collections of interest include: Selected Civil War Photographs, World War I Rotogravures, and America from the Great Depression to World War II.
The library collection also includes books of photography on each of the conflicts covered by this course. Use the Five College Catalog's keyword search on the following terms:
- civil war 1861-1865 pictorial works
- world war 1914-1918 pictorial works
- world war 1939-1945 pictorial works
- vietnam war 1961-1975 pictorial works
- persian gulf war 1991 pictorial works (note: search All Five Colleges for these terms)
Evaluating Information
Not all information resources are created equal! Be sure you think about what kind of information you are using:
- Who is the audience of the article or book? The general public or scholars?
- Did you get it from the library's resources and databases, or from an internet search engine?
Here are some explanations to help you out:
Need Help?
Contact Mary Stettner, English librarian, or try Ask a Librarian.
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