Slides and exercises for ENGL 301, Critical Methods in the Study of Literature, University of Maryland, Fall 2012

1. ENGL 301: Critical Methods in
the Study of Literature
Tim Hackman
Librarian for English, Linguistics,
and Women’s Studies
thackman@umd.edu / 301-314-8521

2. Your professor has recommended the
following book for your research:
The Poetics and Politics of
the American Gothic:
Gender and Slavery in
Nineteenth-Century
American Literature, by
Agnieszka Soltysik Monnet.
(Burlington, VT: Ashgate,
2010)

3. The Poetics and Politics of the American Gothic:
Gender and Slavery in Nineteenth-Century
American Literature
• Do the UMD Libraries own
this book?
• If so, in what library and
section is it located?
• What is the call number?
• Is it available, or is it
checked out?

4. The Poetics and Politics of the American Gothic:
Gender and Slavery in Nineteenth-Century
American Literature
• What is the first subject
heading listed for this
book?
• How many other books in
WorldCat have the same
subject heading?

5. Library of Congress Subject Headings
James, Henry, 1843-1916 –
Criticism and Interpretation
• How many books are in
WorldCat with this subject
heading?
• What is the title of one of
these books published in
2009?

6. Library of Congress Subject Headings
More useful headings:
• Criticism and Interpretation
• Bibliography
• Biography
• Characters
• Correspondence
• Interviews
• Political and Social Views

7. MLA International Bibliography
• Literary criticism, language,
linguistics, rhetoric & folklore
• Multiple countries, languages
• Books, book chapters, journal
articles, dissertations,
conference proceedings, etc.
• 1920 to present

8. MLA International Bibliography
• Search for items related to
autobiographical writings
by African Americans
• What search terms did you
use?
• How many results did you
get?
• What types of items did you
find?

9. MLA International Bibliography
• What are 3 ways you could
narrow this search?
• What are 3 more subject
terms that would be useful
for this research topic?

10. Thank You
Tim Hackman
Librarian for English, Linguistics,
and Women’s Studies
thackman@umd.edu
301-314-8521