ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 176 / C&RL News ■ March 2002 I N T E R N E T R E S O U R C E S Literary theory A guide to critical theory resources on the Internet by Julie Roberson, Debora Richey, and Mona Kratzert S tudies in literature in colleges and uni­versities over the last three decades have been marked by a growing interest in a set of related theoretical approaches known collec­ tively as “literary theory.” While there have always been literary theories, these new theo­ retical approaches— such as structuralism, deconstruction, feminism, Marxism, and new historicism— often seem complex and impen­ etrable to students, researchers, and uniniti­ ated readers. The Internet provides a unique opportu­ nity for readers to gain instant access to ap­ proachable information on competing inter­ pretive practices and cutting-edge theories. Literary theories change with time and as new theoretical approaches emerge, the Internet can serve as an excellent means of keeping abreast with the field of literary study. This article presents a selected guide to some of the more understandable and useful Web resources devoted to contemporary theory. The introductory sites are helpful for describing the various schools of criticism, while the theorist and theoretical sites con­ centrate on specific critical approaches. Liter­ ary theory is an interdisciplinary field that includes several broad areas, among them anthropology, art, philosophy, psychology, history, and linguistics, and the included sites reflect this wide scope. Not covered in this guide are one-page sites, college course notes, and personal pages devoted to a single theory. Rather than list Web resources devoted to a single theorist (e.g., Derrida, Lacan, Bakhtin), which would be too numerous to cover, directory sites pro­ viding links to more than one critic are pro­ vided. R e fe re n ce so u rce s • Guide to Philosophy on th e Internet. This searchable database, which is broad in scope, provides quick and easy access to in­ formation on critical theories and theorists who have influenced historical and contem­ porary literary theory. Along with the quick look-up feature, users can also brow se through an extensive list of categories related to philosophy, including guides, journals, e- texts, newsgroups, bibliographies, associa­ tions, dictionaries, and individual philoso­ phers. A ccess: http://www.earlham.edu/ -peters/philinks.htm. • J o h n s H opkins Guide to L iterary T h eo ry & C riticism Online. An interna­ tional, encyclopedic guide to the important figures, schools, and movements in literary A b o u t the authors | Julie Roberson is information services librarian at King College in Bristol, Tennessee, e-mail: jarobers@king.edu; Debora Richey and Mona Kratzert are research librarians at California State University, Fullerton Library, e-mail: drichey@fullerton.edu and mkratzert@fullerton.edu http://www.earlham.edu/ mailto:jarobers@king.edu mailto:drichey@fullerton.edu mailto:mkratzert@fullerton.edu C&RL News ■ March 2002 / 177 theory. Its chronological range extends from Plato and Aristotle to the present. The elec­ tronic version o f the print source has several useful enhancements, including full-text and field searching and a hypertextually linked cross-reference system. All the material in the print guide is available online; however, there is a subscription fee. A ccess: http://www. p r e s s .jh u .e d u / b o o k s / h o p k in s _ g u id e _ to_literary_theory/. Groden, Michael, and Martin Kreíswirth, eds. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism (Online), pp. online logo. ©2002 Reprinted with the permission of The Johns Hopkins University Press. • Bibliography o f Literary T h eory and Criticism . The bibliography is an FTP Web site of bibliographies related to literary theory and criticism. The files are arranged by au­ thor/theorist name, critical school, and sub­ ject. More than 10,000 entries are listed. The bibliography is maintained by Jo sé Angel García Landa at the University of Zaragoza in Spain. Access: http://fyl.unizar.es/FILOLOGIA_ INGLESA/BIBIIOGRAPHY.HTML. • G lo s s a ry o f L i t e r a r y T e rm s a n d H an d book o f R h etorical Devices. O f the many glossaries of literary theory available online, this one is probably one of the most user-friendly. Both the glossary and handbook are searchable and can also be browsed al­ phabetically. Short, concise definitions of terms are provided along with examples. A ccess: http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/ Classics/Harris/rhetform. html. • UC Irvin e C ritical T h eo ry R esource. This resource presents bibliographies pre­ pared by Eddie Yeghiayan, critical theory and philosophy bibliographer at University o f California, Irvine. There are three sections: “Wellek Library Lecturer Bibliographies,” “Uni­ versity of California Humanities Research In­ stitute Bibliographies,” and “Philosophy Col- loquia Bibliographies.” Each section can be searched or browsed. A ccess: http://sun3. lib.uci.edu/indiv/scctr/online.html. Also see Yeghiayan’s personal Web site at http://sun3. lib. uci. edu/~eyeghiay/. • T he U n tim ely Past. This is an online bibliography o f English-language entries “re­ lating to the intersection of historiographic practice with poststructuralism, postmodern­ ism, and allied areas of theory/practice.” It includes links to sites devoted to specific theo­ rists and theories, as well as online articles. A ccess: http://ourworld. CompuServe. com/ homepages/jeffreyhearn/home-1. htm. • W ords o f Art. This is a browsable dic­ tionary o f terms related to art criticism; how­ ever, it also has application for literary criti­ cism. The site is sponsored by the Depart­ ment of Fine Arts at Okanagan University College in British Columbia, Canada. A ccess: http://www .arts.ouc.bc.ca/fiar/glossary/ gloshome.html. In tr o d u c t o r y s ite s • C o n tem p o rary L iterary T h eory. This resource is a Web site for a course on literary theory taught by Jo hn Lye at Brock Univer­ sity. More than just class materials, the site features some useful essays on differences among literary criticism, literary theory, and theory itself; characteristics of contemporary theory; and a checklist of theoretical concerns. In addition, there are introductory essays on problem s and issues with structuralism, re a d er-re sp o n se th eory, and p o ststru c­ turalism. A ccess: http://www.brocku.ca/ english/courses/4F70/index.html. • C ritical Reading: An In tro d u ctio n to L iterary T h eo ry & C riticism . This well-de­ signed and easy-to-use site was put together by Professor Barry Laga at Mesa State Univer­ sity as a guide for undergraduate students. Each page is divided into three sections to answer three questions: Why do we read? What do we read? and How do we read? Laga also addresses some issues in literary theory, such as the problem of meaning and autho­ rial intention. Access: http://mesastate.edu/ -blaga/theoryindex/theoryhomex.html. • In tr o d u c tio n to M o d ern L ite r a ry T heory. Fourteen major theories from arche­ typal/myth criticism to new criticism to postmodernism are covered. For each one there is a short paragraph summary, a bibli­ ography for further research, and links to suggested Web sites. This compact site is use­ http://www http://fyl.unizar.es/FILOLOGIA_ http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/ http://sun3 http://sun3 http://ourworld http://www.arts.ouc.bc.ca/fiar/glossary/ http://www.brocku.ca/ http://mesastate.edu/ 178 / C&RL News ■ March 2002 ful for those who want quick overviews of a wide variety o f theories. A ccess: http:// www.geocities.com/kristisiegel/theory.htm. • P ostm od ern ism and Its Critics. De­ scribed as a “guide prepared by students for students,” this Web site examines basic pre­ mises and key works, contrasts modern and postmodern thinking, and includes a bibli­ ography and links to related sites. Access: http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/ 436/pomo.htm. • SWIRL: Your Guide to Post-Millennial Paradigm s. Maintained by Warren Hedges, an English professor at Southern Oregon Uni­ versity, SWIRL offers a comprehensive intro­ duction to critical theory. Sections of the site include an in tro d u c tio n to th e o r e tic a l p a ra ­ digms, main issues, timelines of major critical theories, an over­ view of the major theorists, and controver­ sies. A ccess: http://www.sou.edu/English/ IDTC/Swirl/swirl.htm. • T eacher’s Guide to Postm od ern ism . A collection of issues developed for instruc­ tors interested in integrating postmodernism themes into their teaching, this guide pro­ vides basic information on the literary canon debate, implications of teaching poststruc­ turalism and deconstructive theory in the English classroom, and literary theory from the perspective of the writer, reader, and filmmaker. A ccess: http://edu-sslO.educ.queensu.ca/ -qbell/update/tint/postmodernism/post ‚html. Also useful for instructors designing a course on literary theory is CROW: Introduction to Literary Theoiy at http://www.lfc.edu/crow/. • Undergraduate Introduction to Criti­ cal T heory. This guide by Dino F. Felluga, p ro fe s s o r at P urd ue U n iv ersity , W est Lafayette, is one of the most-cited literary theory resources on the Web. It covers new historicism, cultural materialism, feminism, and psychoanalysis. For each theory there is an overview, a list of key concepts, ques­ tions that theorists may ask, and examples of readings using the theory. This site is an excellent introduction for students and oth­ ers interested in theoiy but lacking special­ ized knowledge of different approaches. A c­ cess: http ://omni. c c . purdue. edu/~felluga/ theory.html. • w w w .th eo ry .o rg .u k . Developed by David Gauntlett at the University of Leeds, this Web site is described as “social theory for fans of popular culture and popular cul­ ture for fans of social theory.” An unusual collection of resources, the site provides in­ formation on social and cultural theory, gen­ der and identity, and media studies, while also including a set of downloadable trading cards featuring major theorists and concepts. Access: http://www.theory.org.uk. M e g a site s • C ontinental P hilosophy. This exten­ sive site provides information about critical theory, cultural theory, deconstruction, exis­ tentialism, feminist theory, Marxism, post-co- lonialism, post-modern thought, semiotics, structuralism, and other theoretical ap­ proaches. Historical in orientation, the col­ lection of continental philosophy resources covers both theories and theorists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Access: h ttp :/ / w w w .a u g u s ta n a .a b .c a / ~ ja n z b / continental.htm. • The E server: Accessible Online Pub­ lishing. Founded in 1990 as the English Server, EServer offers 42 collections covering such areas as art, cultural logic, cultural theoiy, feminism, and philosophy. Users can scan through the collections or use the search en­ gine on the main screen to quickly find infor­ mation on a particular theory or theorist. A c­ cess: http://eserver.org. • Ja c k Lynch’s Literary Resources— Lit­ erary T heory. A favorite of literary research­ ers, this megalist of Web sites includes links to pages about contemporary theory, philoso­ phy, cultural theory, and semiotics. There are also links to the Web sites of individual theo­ rists. Access: http://andromeda.mtgers.edu/ ~jlynch/Lit/theory.html. • Voice o f th e Shuttle: L iterary T heory Page. This site is part of the Voice of the Shuttle Web site, an extensive site devoted to all aspects of literary research. The Literary Theory Page has general theory resources followed by links to theory sites ranging from the classical period to the 20th century. In http://www.geocities.com/kristisiegel/theory.htm http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/ http://www.sou.edu/English/ http://edu-sslO.educ.queensu.ca/ http://www.lfc.edu/crow/ http://www.theory.org.uk http://www.theory.org.uk http://www.augustana.ab.ca/~janzb/ http://eserver.org http://andromeda.mtgers.edu/ C&RL News ■ March 2 0 0 2 / 179 addition, links to e-journals, electronic lists, course syllabi, and conference announcements are included. A ccess: http://vos.ucsb.edu/ shuttle/theory, html. • Y ah o o! C ritical T h eory. This is an ex­ tensive list of sites devoted to theories and theorists. Access: http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/ Humanities/CriticaLTheory/. T h e o ris ts • Illum inations: The Critical T h eory Website. Based on the Frankfurt School, this site concentrates on such figures as Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and William Ben­ jamin. Access: http://www.uta.edu/huma/il- luminations. • LitLinks: C ritical T h eory. Arranged simply from A to Z, this site provides bio­ graphical information on various critics from the classical era to the present, as well as links to Web sites, e-texts, and interviews. Access: http://www.smpcollege.com/litlinks/ critical/index.htm. • T he N oteb ook fo r C o n te m p o ra ry C o n tin e n ta l P h ilo so p h y . Alphabetically arranged by theorist/philosopher, this clear and easy-to-use site concentrates on the phi­ losophy of theorists rather than their critical approaches to literature. The site also pro­ vides links to general philosophical resources and online journals and magazines. Periodi­ cally updated, the ‘W hat’s New in the Note­ book” section provides the latest articles and information on continental philosophical ap­ proaches. A ccess: http://www.baylor.edu/ ~ Scott_Moore/Continental. html. • P o p cu ltu re.co m T h eorists and Crit­ ics. This searchable database provides links to sites devoted to major contemporary theo­ rists ranging from Adorno to Zizek. Access: http ://www. popcultures .com/theorist, htm. • Thinka-Links. Thi site presents bibliogra­ p h ie s , e -m a il fo ru m s, journals, organizations, papers, Web sites, and other information on five modern and postmodern thinkers: Bakhtin, Derrida, Freud, Lacan, and Zizek. s A ccess : http://w w w .m ii.kurum e-u.ac.jp/ -leuers/Links.htm. • W h o ’s W h o in T heory. Somewhat sa­ tiric and tongue-in-cheek, this directory pre- ■ sents information on key figures in literary theory, including Jean Baudrillard, Jacques I Derrida, and Stanley Fish. The site also de­ scribes the works of several theorists, lists sug­ gested readings, and provides access to related resources for each entry. A ccess: http:// www.sou.edu/English/IDTC/People/theory/ therists.htm. T h e o re tic a l a p p r o a c h e s • C o n tem p o rary P hilosop hy, C ritical T h eo ry and P o stm o d ern Thought. Spon­ sored by the School of Education at the Uni­ versity o f Colorado, Denver, this Web site has many links to individual theorists, contem­ porary general critical theory and philosophy resources, and links to online readings. A unique section of the Web site is the list of resources on critical pedagogy and semiotics. Access: http ://carbon. cudenver. edu/~mryder/ itc/postmodern.html. • C o n te m p o r a r y P o s tc o lo n ia l an d P o stim p erial L iteratu re in English. Com­ piled by George P. Landow, an English and art history professor at Brown University, this Web site covers postcolonial theory in gen­ eral while concentrating on specific geo­ graphical areas and authors. This site is par­ ticularly helpful for those interested in au­ thors from developing countries frequently not covered by more traditional resources. A ccess: http://65.107.211.208/. • M arxist.org In tern et Archive. This ar­ chival Web site features information on Marxist writers/critics, Marxist history, and reference materials. This site also includes the Georg Lukács Archive. Access: http://csf.Colorado, edu/mirrors/marxists ‚org/admin/ intro/. • P h i l o s o p h y : Y o u r G u id e to th e W o n d e r f u l W o rld o f ( P o s t ) M o d e rn T h in k in g . C o n cen tratin g prim arily on postmodernism, this site offers access to discussion forums, foundations, electronic journals, representative theorists, and various fields related to philosophy. Links are pro­ vided for such well-known critics as Saussure, Derrida, and Foucault, but the directory in­ cludes other individuals, such as Ayn Rand, Camilia Paglia, and Marshall McLuhan, not (c o n tin u ed on p a g e 184) http://vos.ucsb.edu/ http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/ http://www.uta.edu/huma/il- http://www.smpcollege.com/litlinks/ http://www.baylor.edu/ http://www.mii.kurume-u.ac.jp/ http://www.sou.edu/English/IDTC/People/theory/ http://65.107.211.208/ http://csf.Colorado 184 / C&RL News ■ March 2002 Transactions Act (UCITA). UCITA is a p ro­ posed state contract law developed to regu­ late transactions in intangible goods, such as computer software, online databases, multi- media products, computer data and databases, online information, and other information products in digital form. It was designed to create uniform commercial contract law for these products and calls itself “a cyberspace commercial statute.” According to ALA, UCITA would, in ef­ fect, intersect federal copyright law. Its ratifi­ cation could make it much more difficult for libraries to negotiate licenses that allow for the broadest use rights possible, including the right to lend, preserve, and make fair use of a work. UCITA is strongly opposed by the library community. The Copyright and Fair Use Town Meet­ ing on Intellectual Property and Multimedia in the Digital Age was a very useful and in­ structive forum. It is obvious that there is still a great deal of confusion, ignorance even, about the very basics o f copyright and fair use and o f how the Internet is likely to change and complicate them even further. A special thanks should go to the New York Public Library for its wonderful show o f hos­ pitality during a difficult time. More inform ation on NINCH and the Copyright Town Meetings is on the Web at http:// www.ninch.org. ■ ( “In tern et R eso u r c es” c o n tin u e d f r o m p a g e 179) covered elsewhere. Access: http://www.sci.fi/ -phinn web/links/philosophy. html. • P o st W orld W ar II A m erican Litera­ tu re an d C ulture D atabase: G enres. Spon­ sored by the University o f California, Berke­ ley, English Department, this site includes sections on bibliographies, postmodernism, feminism, multiculturalism, queer, and popu­ lar culture. The bibliography section of this site is searchable. This resource is particu­ larly useful for its links to theoretical studies o f contemporary American authors. A ccess: h ttp :/ / e n g lis h .b e r k e le y .e d u / P o s tw a r / genres.html. • Sites o f Significance fo r Sem iotics. This site provides access to essays, glossa­ ries, and online resources related to semiotics. A ccess: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/french/ as-sa/EngSeml.html. Also useful for this topic is David Chandler’s Semiotics for Beginners at http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/ S4B/semiotic. html. • Studies R esou rces: Fem in ist T heory. Compiled and edited by Karla Tonella at the University of Iowa, this extensive resource site offers access to articles, bibliographies, and societies, as well as reviews of feminist theory books and images of women philoso­ phers. A ccess: http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ wstudies/theory. html. E le c t r o n ic jo u r n a ls • CT T h eory. This weekly online peri­ odical, an international journal of theory, tech­ nology, and culture, provides articles, inter­ views, and book reviews in contemporary discourse. Past articles o f the journal are searchable and readers can make a request to receive each issue automatically. A ccess: http://www.ctheory.com/. • C ultural Logic: An E le ctro n ic J o u r ­ n a l o f M arxist T h e o ry an d P ra ctice . This full-text online journal offers articles on Marx­ ist theory and practice, as well as feature ar­ ticles, poetry, and b o o k reviews. A ccess: http://eserver.org/clogic/. • O th er Voices: T he (e )Jo u rn a l o f Cul­ tu ral Criticism . A full-text publication issued free by the University of Pennsylvania, Other Voices publishes essays, interviews, round­ table discussions, lecture transcriptions, mul­ timedia projects, translations, and reviews devoted to cultural criticism in the arts and humanities. A ccess: http://www.othervoices. org/. • P o s tm o d e rn C u ltu re. Issued since 1990, this e n tirely W eb-b ased scholarly journal presents an interdisciplinary ap­ proach to contem porary culture, theory, and the humanities. The current issue and previous issues, w hich include essays and b o o k review s, can b e accessed in a free text-only archive, but the complete search­ able text with graphics is also available on P ro je c t M use. A c c e s s : h ttp :/ / je ffe rs o n . village.virginia.edu/pmc/. ■ http://www.ninch.org http://www.sci.fi/ http://english.berkeley.edu/Postwar/ http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/french/ http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/ http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ http://www.ctheory.com/ http://eserver.org/clogic/ http://www.othervoices http://jefferson