Primary Source Possibilities
For this project, your primary sources are the plays and films themselves.
The following text, which is on reserve (3rd-floor Circ), has a section of terms defined and primary text suggestions as well:
Csapo, Eric and William J. Slater. 1995. "Music" and "The Chorus." In The Context of Ancient Drama. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press. 331-68.
Of course, you may want to hit the Cole Library catalog at some point to search for other possibilities.
Searching for More--Secondary Sources
To expand your dicsussion of aspects of comedy, you will want to see what other scholars in the field have said on these matters. This will help you start to generate your own analysis on the subject and begin writing text for your website. Secondary sources are often helpful in providing support as you grapple with an answer to your research question(s).
We have several databases that will be useful for this course, including JSTOR, Academic Search Premier, Art Index, MLA International Bibliography, and Humanities International Complete.
Tips:
- Make a folder in the Ebsco databases and save all your work in one spot. Share your folder with your group.
- The truncation device for these databases is the asterisk. (comed* retrieves all words with the root "comed" including "comedy," "comedian," "comedies," etc.)
There are numerous books in our collection, inlcuding anthologies and collections of scholarly essays, that might fit the bill for this assignment. Some of these books are listed on your course website bibliography. Once you have the title you're interested in, do a title search in the catalog. Check out the subject headings for that citation and follow good leads!
Your course bibliography also lists articles in academic journals. Check JournaLocator for the JOURNAL title. If you have any difficulty with this process, just ask a librarian!
Resources Available Via the Web
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The IMDB provides basic information about a huge number of movies. The information contained in this database is from any movie buff who wants to contribute. For that reason, you should double check any information from this site in another source to be sure of its accuracy. |
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Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that markets itself as the “largest reference website on the internet.” Much like IMDB, Wikipedia’s information comes from those who wish to contribute to an entry. This means material from Wikipedia should be verified through another source as well. (Consider using Credo Reference for varification.) |
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Cinematic Terms: A Film-Making Glossary This contains quite a few of the definitions you are looking for and even links to a background piece of It Happened One Night after the "screwball comedy" entry.
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Defining Terms & Creating Keywords
It is always a good idea to think of oneself as entering into a conversation with other scholars in a field of study, especially when beginning research. You'll want to get as much background as you can in the field--explore important concepts, terminology, etc.
For your assignment, you'll find you'll need to think about the definitions of comedy terms as well as consider the ways your group topics (plot and structure, character, music, humor, ethnicity and orientalism, gender, and actor and spectator) are defined or might be narrowed.
For example if you are part of the Actor and Spectator group, monologues might be of particular importance to you.
To asist you in finding scholarly reference sources (3rd floor), here is a list of some of the dictionaries and encyclopedias available.
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The Film Encyclopedia · This reference book is a good starting point to find information about an actor, a director, or a particular movie. |
REF 791.4303 K159f |
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The Film Lover’s Companion · This text provides a photograph and a detailed entry for thousands of movie stars |
REF 791.430280922 Qu44f |
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Halliwell’s Who’s Who in the Movies · Though each entry is short, this text provides brief information for more then 11,000 actors, directors, producers, and writers. |
REF 791.4303 H157w |
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Key Concepts in Cinema Studies · This small book provides lengthy explanations of film-specific terms, including current trends in cinema. |
REF 791.4303 H335k |
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The Oxford Classical Dictionary · This comprehensive dictionary includes entries about all aspects of the ancient world. This is the definitive reference work for classicists. |
REF 938.003 Ox2 |
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Oxford Companion to Classical Literature · This alphabetically arranged reference book provides brief definitions and explanations of terms, concepts, and important figures in classical literature |
REF 880.9 H837o |
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The Crown Guide to the World’s Great Plays: From Ancient Greece to Modern Times · Arranged alphabetically by playwright’s name, this volume contains plot summaries, analyses, and critical opinions of plays. |
REF 809.2 Sh6c |
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A Few More to Explore |
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Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance |
REF 792.03 Ox2 |
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Oxford Companion to Classical Literature |
REF 880.9 H837o, 1989 |
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Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and Theory |
REF 801 H244d |
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The New Biographical Dictionary of Film |
REF 791.430922 T382n 2002 |
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Reel Women |
REF 791.430922 Ac57r |
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A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Theory |
REF 803 C893d, 1991 |
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The Book of Literary Terms |
REF 803 T843b |
Asking Good Questions
This assignment asks you to be curious, to ask questions, to apply what you learn when hunting down the answers to those questions, and to illuminate plays and films based on your findings. Sounds fun, right?!
Fortunately, you may draw on some of the many examples provided for you by your fabulous professor. Click here and explore the possibilities.
Last Update: 29 Sep 13:44