Skyline College
Library

 

Myths, Symbols & Heroes in Literature
Research Links

TOPIC #1:  Analyze the myths of a particular culture
TOPIC #2:  Explore the meanings of a symbol
TOPIC #3:  A hero’s journey / a journey towards enlightenment


TOPIC #1:  Analyze the myths of a particular culture

1) To find a primary source:  (for this assignment, this means the text of a myth or tale)

A. Use the PLS Online Catalog (the online catalog for books in Skyline Library and in all libraries in the Peninsula Library System.)
- Click on the link above to access the catalog
- Enter your search words in the search boxes (see example below)
- To limit your results to books at Skyline College Library:
   - In the Limit to: Location: pull-down menu (below search boxes), select: Skyline College
- Click the Submit button.

Sample search (use Advanced Search mode): 
(myth* OR legend* OR tales OR folk*) AND
(ireland OR irish)
   

 

You can also browse the books under the two series titles:
Myths of the World”

“World Folklore Series”

       B) Suggested print anthologies:

Folklore, Myths, and Legends: A World Perspective
GR76.R665 1997       

The World of Myth: An Anthology
BL311.L328 1990
(A collection of myths from around the world: creation, flood, afterlife, heroes, gods, etc.)



       C) Suggested websites: 


Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts

 

Google Directory Links to Myths websites, by culture

Encyclopedia Mythica

 

American Myths and Legends

 

Bulfinch’s Mythology

 

Folklinks: Folk and Fairy-Tale Sites

 

In Search of Myths and Heroes

  

2) To find secondary sources about the culture itself:

A) Use the PLS Online Catalog:

Sample search (use Advanced Search mode): 
(culture* OR custom* OR civilization)      AND
(Ireland OR irish)

B) Researching Cultures (Skyline Library pathfinder)

Cultural Profiles Project: Overview of life and customs in the profiled country from Canadian Citizenship and Immigration agency. While the profiles provide insight into some customs, they do not cover all facets of life, and the customs described may not apply in equal measure to all newcomers from the profiled country.

Portals to the World: Selective links from the Library of Congress providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world, arranged by country or area with the links for each sorted into a wide range of broad categories.

Country Studies: Description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world, from the Library of Congress.

Country Watch - on-campus OR off-campus with library card: Political, economic, and business information on any country.

and these print works:

CultureGrams  REF and CIRC:   GT150.C85   (4 vols.)
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life  REF GN333.W67

The Mythology of All Races   BL25.M8 (13 volumes):  Greek, Roman, Eddic, Celtic, Slavic, Finno-Ugric, Siberian, Semitic, Indian, Iranian, Armenian, African, Chinese, Japanese, Oceanic, North American, Latin-American, Egyptian, Indo-Chinese; index to all volumes

 

TOPIC #2:  Explore the meanings of a symbol

1)   REFERENCE books:

            Symbols and Their Meanings    REF AZ108.T74 2000 
            The Illustrated Book of Signs and Symbols   REF AZ108.B78 1996 
            A Dictionary of Symbols   REF BF1623.S9.C513
            1000 Symbols   REF N7740.S54 2002 
            Dictionary of Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Traditional Images, Icons, and Emblems   REF GR931.T74    
            Man, Myth and Magic  REF BF1411.M25  (25 vols.)
            Larousse World Mythology   BL311.G683   (REF and Circ collection)

The Dictionary of World Myth   REF BL303.D46
Myths and Legends   REF GR74.M97

Storytelling Encyclopedia: Historical, Cultural, and Multiethnic Approaches to Oral Traditions Around the World   REF GR72.S76
Medieval Folklore   REF GR35.M43  (2 vols.)
Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore    REF GR35.J664

 

     CIRCULATING books:

 

The Mythology of All Races   BL25.M8 (13 volumes): Greek, Roman, Eddic, Celtic, Slavic, Finno-Ugric, Siberian, Semitic, Indian, Iranian, Armenian, African, Chinese, Japanese, Oceanic, North American, Latin-American, Egyptian, Indo-Chinese; index to all volumes

           


2   Find articles using the Gale PowerSearch database
on campus or off-campus w/ library card - Database of articles from journals, magazines & newspapers         

Sample search (use Advanced Search mode): 

dragon             AND
            myth* OR meaning OR symbol*

3  Suggested websites: 

Encyclopedia Mythica 

Dictionary of Symbolism

                       

TOPIC #3:  A hero’s journey / a journey towards enlightenment

1) To find secondary sources:

     a) Literary criticism:
 
            Use the
PLS Online Catalog:
                Sample searches: 

1) “catcher in the rye” AND interpretation
2) hemingway AND interpretation

Gale Literature Resource Center - on campus or off-campus w/ library card - Database of quality literary criticism articles & biographical info on authors

Note: When results for a search are first displayed, only biographical articles are listed.
Click on the "Literary Criticism, Articles & Work Overviews" tab for more extensive lists of articles; then click on the "Articles" & "Work Overview" tabs for additional articles.

      b) Biographical sources:

            --  PLS Online Catalog  (search the author’s name as a subject)
            --  Gale Biography Resource Center - on campus or off-campus w/ library card - Database of biographical articles on famous people.
            --  Gale Literature Resource Center

 
    c)  Background perspectives

--  PLS Online Catalog (see sample searches above)
--  Literature and its Times : Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and  the Historical Events that Influenced Them    REF/PN50.L574 1997 (5 vols.)
--  The Oxford Companion to English Literature   REF/PR19.D73 2000 

 

 

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Compiled by Dennis Wolbers   October 2006 
last revised: 3-20-09
by Eric Brenner, Skyline College, San Bruno, CA