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Professor
Silvia Shannon
Library Liaison
Jeff Waller
Contents
Introduction
Background and Reference
Find Books
Find Journal Articles
Find Primary Sources
on the Web
How to Cite Your Sources
Subject Guide
History
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This guide ties in with the class assignment to research a famous figure from Enlightenment France. Start your research by reading biographical entries in reference books, which will also point you to books by and about Enlightenment thinkers. Next, search the library catalog and primary-source websites for books written by your historical figure, to gain firsthand insight into his philosophy. Finally, search the history and full-text journal databases for scholarly articles about your individual.
Reference materials can provide basic background information on historical figures such as the Enlightenment thinkers being examined in this project. Reading reference book entries on your individual will provide you valuable biographical, historical, and philosophical context prior to delving into one of his writings. Just as importantly, reference resources provide bibliographies at the end of each entry or volume, which will point you to books and journal articles worth exploring. Many of these will be in our collection, but if the "perfect" book/article is not here at Geisel, don't hesitate to request it from another library through our Interlibrary Loan service. Articles often arrive within 3–5 days, while books generally arrive within 1–2 weeks.
Dictionary of the History of Ideas
Ref CB5 .D52 (print version)
This reference work includes a lengthy article about Enlightenment viewpoints on concepts such as liberty, nature, reason, and happiness.
European Writers
Ref PN501 .E9
Volumes 3 and 4 of this set deal with the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment, with lengthy (20+ pages) essays on major thinkers focusing on analysis of their literary output.
Oxford Reference Online
This searchable collection provides access to many of Oxford's renowned subject encyclopedias, and includes short profiles of many of the historical figures being examined in this assignment.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Ref B51 .R68 (print version)
Entries on philosophers in this encyclopedia include both biographical information and discussions of their most important works.
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To find books written by your Enlightenment figure, conduct an Author search on the person's last name in the Geisel library catalog. If you would prefer to read works in English translation, click on the Limit This Search button in the results screen, and limit the language to English.
If you would like to locate secondary works about the individual, you will probably want to try a combination of Subject and Keyword searching in the catalog. Start by doing a Subject search on the person's name, typing the last name first. You may also wish to perform Keyword searching on the person's name, since this could unearth additional books in which the name appears in a chapter title.
If you are unable to locate any works by your historical figure at Geisel Library, you may need to borrow a book from another library. By searching WorldCat (an online catalog encompassing the holdings of thousands of libraries worldwide), you can identify relevant books owned by other colleges and have them delivered to Geisel Library for your use. As in the Geisel Library catalog, simply search your person's name as an Author. Inside most WorldCat book records is a "Request ILL" link; to place an ILL request, all you need to do is:
- Click on the Request ILL link
- Input your name and contact information, including the S number on your student ID
- Click the Submit button
The book will be available at our circulation desk within 1–2 weeks. You will be emailed when it arrives, and you can check it out for a specified borrowing period.
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This project requires you to locate at least one academic journal article about your Enlightenment figure. To start looking for scholarly articles about your person in an electronic database, search his name as a Keyword. In many databases, you will also have the option to search the person's name as a Subject term. This will help you identify articles that are directly about the person in question. To narrow your results, you may wish to add keywords related to the topic that you want to analyze in your paper, such as politics, freedom, or reason.
If there is no link to the full text of the article, click on the  icon (when present) to determine whether the journal is available in the Geisel Library or in full-text via another electronic database. If the article isn't available, consider clicking on the Interlibrary Loan link to request a PDF copy of the article from another library. Articles requested via ILL will be delivered to your email inbox within about a week.
Historical Abstracts
This database provides abstracts to journal articles, book/media reviews, and dissertations with a focus on world history and culture (excluding the United States and Canada) from prehistoric times to the present. It is the place to start if you want the historian's perspective on your Enlightenment figure.
Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHSearch)
This index provides citations to more than 1,300 arts and humanities journals, which include articles, bibliographies, editorials, letters, and reviews. Watch for the Saint Anselm College label in your search results, indicating that the journal is available at Geisel Library.
JSTOR
Search here for full-text articles from major journals in the humanities and social sciences, including a number of important history journals. Coverage is generally from the beginning of publication to within 5 years of the current issue.
Philosopher's Index
This is the premier international resource in philosophy, containing over 160,000 citations with abstracts to journal articles as well as books. Search here for journal articles if your figure was regarded as a philosopher.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Search this database for citations and abstracts from the journal literature in political science, if your figure was a political theorist.
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The following websites contain online versions of texts written by great thinkers of the Enlightenment era in France. You may also find texts on other websites by searching in Google for the person's name along with keywords like "online books" or "online texts."
ARTFL Project
This is a searchable collection of mainly French-language texts that range from classic works of French literature to non-fiction writing, from the 18th to 20th centuries. Click on the ARTFL – FRANTEXT database to search for your figure as an Author.
Google Book Project
Google has digitized large portions of several major university library collections and made them accessible through their search engine. Books not under copyright (including most published before 1922, and many books published in other countries) can be read in their entirety. Go to Advanced Search, limit your search to "Full View" items, and enter your person's name into the Author search box.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook: The Enlightenment
This website offers a wide array of Enlightenment texts organized by subjects, with key documents from the major French contributors during this time period.
Project Gutenberg
This pioneering website has made thousands of non-copyrighted works available in online form, often in English translation. Use the Author search to see if there are any books by your Enlightenment figure.
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See the library's How To Cite Your Sources guide for resources on how to properly cite research materials. Always confirm the style required by your instructor.
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