ENGL 425: Contemporary British/Postcolonial Literature: General Information

Finding literary criticism on works written by recent authors can be difficult.  If the authors are non-American or non-European, it can get very difficult.  Here are some tips if you are having difficulty finding criticism.

1. Scholarly publishing takes time.  If a novel were written recently (within a few years), there won't be any scholarly criticism.  Try searching for book reviews.  Most book reviewers are fairly knowledgeable about literature and can have useful insights about a work.
2. Try searching only the author, or only the title.
3. Search international news sources  (NexisUni) for book reviews.
4. Don't be afraid to use books describing the author's writing style, even if the novel you are analyzing isn't mentioned.
5. If you are having difficulty finding criticism, come to the library and work with the librarians.

These short tutorials will review how to use various databases to find literary criticism.  If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact a librarian.

OneSearch is a great place to start your research, as it combines most of the library's books, journal articles, and digital resources into a single search. Search OneSearch from the library website.

OneSearch Basics    
OneSearch Advanced

Get Materials from Campbell Libraries

Request Materials from Wiggins Library to: 

• Place an item on hold
• Get a scan of a chapter/commentary
• Have materials mailed to you

Get Materials Campbell Doesn't Have

• Interlibrary Loan (ILL): Request print books and articles to receive them through Campbell Libraries. 
• WorldCat: Search the world's libraries to see what books are out there on a given topic.