Introduction to Literary Theory

Roberto Vargas

Celia Caust-Ellenbogen

Today

1. Research as a skill

2. Language of research

3. Tools of research

Angelus Novus, Paul Klee

> Your research approach:

Where do you begin?

Angelus Novus, Paul Klee

> Research as an emotional process

"By seeking and blundering we learn." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Angelus Novus, Paul Klee

The idea of the pastiche

Capitalist Realism

20th century Modernist Literature

Fedric Jameson's Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

The political in Literature

The idea of the pastiche

Capitalist Realism

20th century Modernist Literature

Fedric Jameson's Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

The political in Literature

 What do you see?

 The Art of Creating Keywords

&

One Minute History on Ted Nelson

 Together:

What are some tensions / limits of the idea of  “critical fabulation” by Saidiya Hartman  in relation to literature methods and archival theory of care?

The library catalog 

Scholarly journals

Databases

The library digital ecosystem

 Tools:

[to start] Oxford Bibliographies

[to develop] LitBase & MLA International Bibliography

Ways of organizing: Concept Mapping

Ways of organizing: Concept Mapping

ZOTERO

Thank you

rvargas1@swarthmore.edu

or make at appointment

https://swarthmore.libcal.com/appointments/libraries

Using Swarthmore 
Special Collections

Celia Caust-Ellenbogen

ccauste1@swarthmore.edu

archival project: locate a tightly defined set of writings or historical
documents that have been largely neglected but that you deem to be of
scholarly value. (Resources include special collections across the Tri-Co &
UPenn, or at Philadelphia libraries such as the Free Library or the Rosenbach.) Compose a 6-8 pp. introduction that puts these writings/documents in discussion with the current scholarship in the relevant field and provides some previews and close analysis of the content.

What can Special Collections offer to those reading and writing about literature?

• books as material culture (object histories)

• writings by readers (and commonplaces)

• literary papers of authors about their writings

• general historical context that can add understanding to literature

• unpublished documents that can be read as literature

1. What is your item?
2. If you were writing an article about Uncle Tom's Cabin, what is one thing you might say about this item in your article? 
3. Which library collection do you think your item came from?
   • Friends Historical Library
   • Peace Collection
   • College Archives
   • Rare Book Room

https://guides.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/using-special-collections/

Suggested starting points

• Sermons e.g. Friends Historical Library Collection of Sermons (SFHL-MSS-047) - NB: Lucretia Mott

• Speeches e.g. Frank Aydelotte speeches (SFHL-RG6-D07 Ser. 3) - NB: speeches on Palestine

• Journals e.g. FHL Collection of Journals (SFHL-MSS-003) - NB: wars (Civil War, WWII in Germany), Native Americans, spiritual, etc.

• Manuscripts e.g. FHL Collection of Misc MSS (SFHL-MSS-004) - NB: “Dying words of children, Great Britain, 1675-1709”

• Thich Nhat Hahn materials in Peace Collection

• Published but under-studied texts:

  • Towards a Quaker View of Sex - credited as the first religious pamphlet supportive of homosexuality

  • "History of Jemima Wilkinson" - early 19th century biography of a gender non-conforming person

Off-Campus Archives

• Find materials:

  • Catalog of archives/manuscripts across Philadelphia region: https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/
    

  • Catalog of books, rare books, archival collections, etc. worldwide: https://search.worldcat.org/

• Prepare for your visit 

  • Contact them in advance - ask if an appointment is necessary

  • Ask permission to photograph - and if granted, take lots of pictures! Including folder/box labels for citation information

  • Bring a sweater and pencils

  • DO NOT bring food or drink