This research guide was created to help you find reliable sources of information for literary topics. Additional information is located using the tabs in the left-hand column. Please contact a reference librarian if you need additional help.
Selected databases for literary topics.
If off campus, you will be prompted to log in with SC4 portal username and password.
Why search here?
Literary Reference Center gives students, professors and researchers a foundation of literary reference works to meet their research needs.
What is included?
This resource provides information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and time frames.
Content includes:
More than 36,000 plot summaries, synopses and work overviews
More than 80,000 articles/essays of literary criticism
More than 250,000 author biographies
More than 450 literary journals
More than 900,000 book reviews
Nearly 100,000 classic and contemporary poems
More than 27,000 classic and contemporary short stories
Nearly 10,000 author interviews
More than 7,400 classic novels
Why search here?
Poetry & Short Story Reference Center comes with a dedicated search interface that allows users to browse content by categories such as most studied poems, poets, short stories and themes.
What is included?
In addition to poems and short stories, the database includes plays and speeches, classic books, biographies, critical analyses, contextual essays and explications for important works, and essays on poetic forms, literary terms, techniques and movements.
Why search here?
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
What is included?
The Historical New York Times with Index (1851-1993) provides search capability using subject terms and topics for focused and targeted results in combination with searchable full text, full page, and article-level images from the Historical New York Times.
Why search here?
ProQuest Central is the largest single periodical resource available, bringing together complete databases across all major subject areas.
What is included?
Subjects include Business, Health and Medical, Language and Literature, Social Sciences, Education, Science and Technology, as well as core titles in the Performing and Visual Arts, History, Religion, Philosophy, and includes thousands of full-text newspapers from around the world.
The Celebrity Lecture Series was established at Michigan State University by the College of Arts and Letters under the leadership of Dean John W. Eadie and the Dean’s Community Council in 1988. At its tenth anniversary in 1998 and in honor of his stewardship of the arts and humanities, the series was renamed in honor of Dean Eadie. The popularity of this series attracted students, faculty, and members of the community, and featured some of the most illustrious scholars, critics, novelists, poets, and creative artists of our time.
A comprehensive, curriculum-focused video subscription providing unlimited access to thousands of videos in 30+ subjects, including the humanities, science, business, literature, health, and more.
The Celebrity Lecture Series was established at Michigan State University by the College of Arts and Letters under the leadership of Dean John W. Eadie and the Dean’s Community Council in 1988. At its tenth anniversary in 1998 and in honor of his stewardship of the arts and humanities, the series was renamed in honor of Dean Eadie. The popularity of this series attracted students, faculty, and members of the community, and featured some of the most illustrious scholars, critics, novelists, poets, and creative artists of our time.
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