Solano Community College Library: World Literature: Research Tools

Literature Databases

Each of the databases under this tab have specific purposes behind their creation. A database is a tool, and just like any other tool, you have to use the right one for the right job.

Literary Reference Center
This database is particularly good if you would like a bit of background on a specific author. You can search for reviews of books and some light criticism. For a research paper on a specific piece of literature, though, this database is not recommended.
Poetry & Short Story Reference Center
Similar to the Literary Reference Center, the Poetry & Short Story Reference Center is particularly good if you would like a bit of background on a specific poet or playwright. You can search for reviews of works and some light criticism. For a research paper on a specific poem, though, this database is not recommended.
Academic Search Complete
Academic Search Complete is a great database for information on a great many topics, including literature. Sometimes you can find some good nuggets here in association with literature. It is recommended, however, that you begin with J-STOR, as that is a more specialized database.
MLA - Modern Languages Association International Bibliography
The Modern Language Association International Bibliography is a great place to go when you are searching for articles on authors from countries all over the world. You will find citations and abstracts for different articles. You cannot, however, read the article from this site. You will need to use the citation information and search for the full text of the article through a different database..

Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is an open source destination for ebooks and currently has a collection of over 60,000 works available for reading and downloading. This is a great place for classic works that have stood the test of time.

e-book central
A digital collection of ebooks in a super-wide range of subject areas. This one is a librarian go-to for fast access to a great collection.
EBSCOhost ebooks
A full-text ebook collection with over 150,000 titles from leading university presses and general interest publishers, in a broad array of subject coverage.

Recommended Books

If you are looking to get an idea what theory and criticism is like for World Literature, there are some theory books that can get you started. They range from classic literary theory to relatively new ideas like Ecocriticism.

The New Guide to Modern World Literature by Martin Seymour-Smith
Call Number: REF 809.04 Seymour
ISBN: 0872260003
Publication Date: 1985-04-01
Contemporary Literary Theory by G. Douglas Atkins (Editor); Laura Morrow (Editor)
Call Number: 801.950904 CONTEMPORARY
ISBN: 0870236415
Publication Date: 1989-02-01
Ecocriticism by Greg Garrard
Call Number: 820.936 GARRARD
ISBN: 9780415667852
Publication Date: 2011-08-23
The Cambridge Introduction to Comedy by Eric Weitz
Call Number: 809.7 WEITZ
ISBN: 9780521832601
Publication Date: 2009-04-16
The Essential Goethe by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe; Matthew Bell (Editor, Introduction by)
Call Number: PT2026.A2 B44 2016
ISBN: 9780691162904
Publication Date: 2016-01-12

Internet Resources for Further Study

Oxford Bibliographies: World Literature
This site provides recommendations for books on World Literature.
Project Muse
This database provides peer-reviewed articles, focusing on the humanities, including literature, and individual articles can be purchased.
Illinois Center for Global Studies: World Literature: Theories in the Context of Globalization
This website provides an overview of World Literature in the context of modern globalization. It also provides many valuable links.

OneSearch

Search almost all of your library's databases at once!

Google your library's databases: Limit Your Results Full Text Peer Reviewed Lost on how to navigate the EBSCOHost databases or OneSearch? Watch this quick video from Seminole State Library on how to use Academic Search Complete, one of the large/general sub-databases within OneSearch.