Honors 100 Lusty: Library Guides

For this HON 100 assignment, you will choose a literary character, theme, or archetype, and provide a solid document of 15-18 annotations to help you with your final essay (an academic encyclopedia entry). 

The following formats of information are required:

1. Three (3) academic journal articles/essays on topic/focus/character
2. A painting representation of topic
3. A non-painting visual representation of topic (sculpture, comic, video game character)
4. A literary adaptation of (i.e., YA novel Sirens)
5. A non-literary adaptation of (i.e., Iron Maiden’s “Flight of Icharus”)
6. A contemporary news article related to representation of topic/focus/character
7. A film/TV/video game adaptation or appearance of topic/focus/character 
8. A “historical account” of issue or person accused of similar behavior/crimes
9. A graphic novel/comic/anime version of the topic (book, comic, film, TV, image)
10. An academic encyclopedia entry of topic/focus/character -- i.e., Encyclopedia Britannica, Ancient History Encyclopedia 

The UNLV Writing Center has excellent handouts for citation:  link.  Check out "APA References 7th Edition," "Chicago Manual of Style Notes and Bibliography," and "MLA Works Cited 8th Edition."

Purpose:  Encyclopedias are great for building background knowledge.  They can also show you the range of contexts in which your mythological idea has appeared, which can help you get ideas for contemporary adaptations.  They also give a general idea of what your final project might look like.

Example:  Bann, Jenny. "Troll." The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters, edited by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Ashgate Publishing, 1st edition, 2014. Credo Reference.

Recommended Source:  Credo General Reference

Purpose:  Books can provide scholarly perspective on how your mythological idea has influenced our culture.  They can also serve as examples of creative adaptations, like novels and graphic novels.

Examples:  Lindow, John. Trolls : an Unnatural History. Reaktion Books, 2014.  Link

Farmer, Nancy. The Sea of Trolls. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2004.  Link

Recommended Sources:  QuickSearch for UNLV Library.  Your public library will likely also give you access to several helpful books.

• Las Vegas - Clark County Library District
• Henderson Libraries

Purpose:  See how artists have imagined your mythological idea.

Example:  Kittelsen, Theodor. Skogtroll.  1906, Nationalmusjeet, Norway.  Link.

Strategy:  Search for images in Google, but try to find your way to a museum website.  Museums not only post images, they also include information about the work and the author, which will help you with your annotated bibliography.  I took the following steps to find the image above:

1. Search google for troll painting scandinavia  (I added scandinavia to cut down on all the troll doll images I was finding).
2. I found a Wikipedia page for Theodor Kittelsen, a painter who was apparently prominent in Scandinavia in the early 20th century.  Trolls were among his subjects.
3. In the external links section of Wikipedia, I found a link to the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design.  Their website included several images of Kittelsen's work, including the Skogtroll.

Purpose:  See how other scholars interpret your mythological idea in comparison to historical developments, psychological theories, and other works of literature.  While these articles can help you develop your own interpretation, you don't necessarily have to agree with them.  In fact, points of disagreement can make your research more interesting (especially if the text backs up your interpretation).

Example:  Attebery, Jennifer Eastman. “The Trolls of Fiction: Ogres or Warm Fuzzies?” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 7, no. 1 (25), 1996, pp. 61–74. www.jstor.org/stable/43308256.

Recommended Sources:  

Purpose:  Learn how your mythological idea influences culture outside of academic teaching and research.

Example:  Sara, Miller L. "Trolls, Ogres, and Giant Cats: How Iceland Celebrates Christmas." The Christian Science Monitor, Dec 19, 2017. Link.

Kopstals, Alexandra . "A saga of trolls, Vikings and ancient hockey - Alexandra Kopstals explores folkloric history of Iceland." Toronto Star, ONTARIO ed., sec. Travel, 12 Dec. 2015, p. T6.  Link.

Recommended sources:  Access World News: Research Collection, US Newsstream