ILS 204: Western Culture: Literature and the Arts II (Spring 2025) : Find Background Information
Reference Sources
Reference sources are authoritative works to which you can refer for specific information or general overviews of topics. There are many types of reference sources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, and more, and they can come in either print or online form.
On this page, see a few reference sources that may be of particular use in this course.
Online Reference Sources
- Literature Resource CenterInformation on a large number of authors and literary works. Use Person Search to search for an author and find articles literary criticism, biographies, and topic and work overviews. Also options to browse topics and search works.
- Oxford Art OnlineAccess to Oxford’s art reference works (includes Grove Dictionary of Art and Benezit Dictionary of Artists), and articles covering ancient to contemporary art and architecture, images of works of art.
- Oxford Handbooks OnlineSubject-based research guides containing in-depth, high-level articles by scholars in the field. Handbooks contain topical introductions and reviews of the key issues and major debates.
- Oxford Reference OnlineCross-searchable collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference books across all subjects, including the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations and bilingual dictionaries.
- Horowitz, Maryanne Cline. New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. [New York?] :Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005.Online and print encyclopedia of intellectual history.