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English 4109-02/7109-02 / Film Studies 4001-01/7001-01 The Western

Instructor: Dr. Joanna Hearne

Background Resources

  • The Gale Virtual Reference Library provides specialized online encyclopedias for background information.
  • Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film (Ref. PN1993.45 .S35 2007)
  • The encyclopedia of westerns (PN1995.9.W4 F27 2003 )
  • The BFI companion to the western (PN1995.9.W4 B45 1988 )
  • Western films : a complete guide (PN1995.9.W4 G3 1982 )
  • Films by Genre (Ref. PN1998 .L63 1993)
  • Read the high country : guide to western books and films (Ref. PS374.W4 M67 2006)
  • Encyclopedia of frontier and western fiction (Ref. PS374.W4 E53 1983)
  • Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History (Ref. E169.1 .E624 2001) 
  • Greenwood Guide to American Popular Culture (Ref. E169.1 .G7555 2002)
  • Encyclopedia of the American West (Ref. F591 .E485 1996) 
  • American Folklore: an encyclopedia (Ref.GR101 .A54 1996)
  • Encyclopedia of American Social History (Ref. HN57 .E58 1993)

Finding Books

  • The MERLIN catalog shows materials in the MU Libraries.
  • The MOBIUS catalog shows materials from Missouri academic libraries.
  • WorldCat shows materials from many libraries worldwide.
  • Keyword searches can be very specific, but a subject search is sometimes more organized:
  • Some subject headings to try:
    • Western films
    • Western television programs
    • Motion pictures
    • Motion picture industry
    • Minorities in motion pictures
    • Minorities in the motion picture industry
    • West U.S. Civilization
    • West U.S. in Art
    • West U.S. in Mass Media

Finding scholarly articles, news sources, and other current information.

Databases index sources in greater detail than library catalogs do. Each caters to a different audience and covers different information sources.

  • LION: Literature Online is the main index for literary scholarship, including film studies and folklore.
    • Choose Criticism & Reference from the sidebar.
    • Choose Criticism to search both the MLA International Bibliography and ABELL, the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature.
    • Choose Reference to search a variety of literary encyclopedias and handbooks.
    • Choose Web Sites for a select collection of links.
  • FIAF is the main film studies database.
  • Communication and Mass Media Complete includes television and film studies.
  • Art Index covers all aspects of the visual arts.
  • America: History and Life covers research on American history.
  • GenderWatch provides access to materials all aspects of gender studies.
  • The Alternative Press Index indexes alternative, radical, and left periodicals, magazines, and newspapers.
  • Academic Search Premier indexes the core journals in all fields and many popular and news sources.
  • Reader's Guide Retrospective lists articles in journals from 1890 to 1982.
  • Lexis Nexis Academic is a major source for the full text of newspapers, many magazines, television and radio transcripts, and a collection of blogs. To find book reviews in Lexis Nexis choose "News", then under select sources choose "Book, movie, music, play, and video reviews".

Click on image to locate a copy of the article online, in the library, or through ILL@MU. If this icon does not appear in the database go to Find a Specific Article or Journal on the libraries' gateway page.