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HUMAN 160 Introduction to Gender Studies (Sims): Find Literary & Cultural Criticism

This guide is for students in Marcie Sims' Humanities 160: Introduction to Gender Studies

Find Scholarly Literary and Arts Criticism

Find the Scholarly Conversation

Search for scholarly peer reviewed criticism in library databases. 

  • Be sure to limit to scholarly peer reviewed journals to find the scholarly conversation.
One Search

Start with One Search to search across all library databases at once.

Note: One Search defaults to Full Text Only. Check the box Include results with no online full text to find sources you may be able to request for free through InterLibrary Loan. 

Sample search for Brokeback Mountain AND desire AND masculin*:

(click on image to enlarge)

Find Scholarly Criticism in Library Databases

Find the scholarly conversation on LGBTQIA+ arts in literary and multidisciplinary databases 

Use relevant keywords and subject terms to find scholarly criticism. Databases are a great place to find additional Keywords and Subject Terms. 

  • You may use InterLibrary Loan to borrow full text of articles (and books) you find.
Literary Criticism Database: Gale Literature 

Enter search terms that capture your topic. 

  • You may use keywords for a body of literature, concept or theme, author and/or title.
  • Limit to Literature Criticism
  • To find only scholarly sources, check the peer-reviewed box in Gale Lit.

(click on image to enlarge)

A search for Queer Literature, showing a list of results by source type (and the filters to limit by different source type)

Multidisciplinary Databases

Search Tips

  • Slowly build a search using and adding relevant keywords.
  • Look for and use relevant Subject Terms. 
  • Click on titles to open. Read abstracts to get a sense of what an article is about. 
  • Be selective. You do not need many resources. Explore and build your own interesting conversation with relevant sources. 
Sample Search

The sample search below explores the following terms: (anime OR manga) AND gender.

  • The image shows how to use the filters at the top of the page to limit by source type, and peer-reviewed sources

(click on image to enlarge)

Academic Search Complete Anime OR Manga AND gender

Google Scholar

Find something intriguing on Google Scholar? If we don't have the full text, you may borrow it through Interlibrary Loan!

Find the Scholarly Conversation in Books

Explore print and ebooks to find scholarly analysis of literature.

  • Note that you cannot limit to peer-reviewed to find only scholarly books. Instead, assess if the analysis and tone are scholarly, and if the author(s) and publisher have academic credentials. 

Using the Interlibrary Loan Service

InterLibrary Loan: No library has it all! But the InterLibrary Loan (or ILL) is a service offered by Holman Library for borrowing books and articles from other libraries. InterLibrary Loan requests are free to current GRC students, faculty and staff.

For your research, it is important to search many places.

  • First, start with the books and articles available through the Holman Library.

  • Then, If you find books and articles that the Library does NOT have access to, just request them through Interlibrary Loan.

  • Using Interlibrary Loan increases the amount of resources available to you and helps you become a more thorough researcher.

Note:

  • Books and other items that require mailing may take 1-2 weeks.

  • Articles and other digital items may arrive within 2-5 days. Use your email as your contact info and the article will be sent directly to you.

If you need help filling out this form, call the library reference desk at (253) 931-6480.

Other places you can search...

Use the links below to look for books, articles and more beyond our collection:

LGBTQIA Journals (not available full text)

Extend our Collection

The following journals are indexed but not full text in Holman Library. 

If you find an article you'd like to read, use InterLibrary Loan to borrow it free of charge.

LGBTQIA Scholarly Journals - Full Text available

Select LGBTQIA Journals

Explore some of the scholarly conversation with this list of LGBTQ-specific scholarly journals.

You are not limited to this list. Use the databases for a much larger collection of journals.