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ENMD 4500: Medieval Dreams and Visions

Dr. Sara Torres · Fall 2018

Subject Guide

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Christine Ruotolo
Contact:
108 Kerchof Hall
434-982-2652

Helpful URLS

Using the library catalog

VIRGO, the U.Va. Library’s primary search tool, contains catalog records for books, print journals, DVDs, maps, and digitized materials, as well as links to online articles from our rich array of subscription journals.  A few hints:

  • If you're new to Virgo, this quick two-minute video will show you the basics.  If you find that video helpful, check out the others on our Teaching and Learning page.
  • For the most effective searches, limit to Catalog Results or Article Results to reveal the facets that can limit your search by format, date, language, subject, geographic location, etc.
  • When viewing the record for an item that is checked out, click on the Request Item button to initiate a recall.  The book will be returned within 10 days, and you will be notified when to pick it up.
  • When viewing the record for an item that is located in our off-Grounds Ivy Stacks, click on the Request from Ivy button to retrieve it.  Within 48 hours, it will be delivered to the library you specify. 

Finding scholarly journal articles and book chapters

The MLA International Bibliography (MLAIB) indexes the broadest range of resources about literature in all languages, including over 4,000 journals as well as books and dissertations.  It is not a full-text resource, meaning that you can only search the description of an article, rather than the text of the article.  To get the full text of an article, click on “Find article @ UVa Libraries”, or look up the journal title in VIRGO.

JSTOR contains back issues (usually 3-5 years old or older) of significant scholarly journals in many subjects, including language and literature.  JSTOR is not as comprehensive as MLAIB, but the full-text search will do a better job of picking up matches for specific themes or subjects.  Articles are immediately available as PDFs.

Project Muse provides full-text searching of recent articles from major scholarly journals, including roughly 120 journals about literature.  Like JSTOR, Project Muse is not as comprehensive as the MLAIB, but offers the advantages of full-text searching and instant access to PDFs.

Finding basic reference information

The Oxford English Dictionary is considered the most authoritative resource about the English language. It's useful not just for definitions and etymology, but for quotations demonstrating the usage of words and phrases over time.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an authoritative source for researching the lives of British persons from the earliest times to the end of the 20th century. 

Literature Resource Center (LRC) includes full text articles from the Dictionary of Literary Biography -- a terrific source for author biographies -- as well as journal articles, reference works, and reviews.

Handbooks, companions, and bibliographies

The following books are available online, as well as in print:

The following books are available in print in the Alderman stacks:

The following books are on reserve in Clemons Library:

Helpful websites