ENGL 20012: Wilderness in the Western Mind
(Click to run targeted Subject searches in the IC Library catalog)
For wide-ranging dicussion of how nature is--and has been--perceived, try
Philosophy of nature
Philosophy of nature--History
Nature
Nature (Aesthetics)
Nature--Psychological aspects
Nature--Religious aspects
Nature--Social aspects
For discussion of how nature informs and is reflected by literature, try
Nature in literature
Philosophy of nature in literature
Landscapes in literature
Also see: Cultural landscapes--England & Cultural landscapes--United States
Human ecology in literature
Place (Philosophy) in literature
Wilderness areas in literature
Setting (Literature)
Natural history literature
Natural history literature--United States--History
Country life in literature
Agriculture in literature
Ecology in literature
Environmental protection in literature
Romanticism
Transcendentalism (New England)
For recent literary theory use Ecocriticism
For a more recent medium see Nature in motion pictures
You may find discussion of the pastoral genre in western literature relevant:
Pastoral literature, English--History and criticism
Pastoral literature, American--History and criticism
Pastoral poetry--History and criticism
Pastoral poetry, English--History and criticism
Pastoral poetry, Greek--History and criticism
For discussion of humans in relation to their natural environment, try
Human beings--Influence of environment
Human beings--Effect of environment on
Human beings--Effect of environment on--History
Human beings--Effect of environment on--United States
Human beings--Effect of environment on--United States--History
Human ecology--Philosophy
Human ecology--History
Human ecology--Biblical teaching
Human ecology--Religious aspects
Human ecology--Religious aspects--Christianity
Human ecology--Europe--History
Human ecology--North America
Human ecology United States
Human ecology--United States--History
Human geography
Human geography--Philosophy
Human geography--United States
Frontier and pioneer life--United States
Frontier and pioneer life--United States--Historiography
Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.)
Frontier thesis
Indigenous peoples--Ecology--North America
Indigenous peoples--Ecology--United States
For discussion of the natural envrionment in relaion to humans, try
Natural history--History
Natural history--Europe--History--16th century
Natural history--North America
Also see: North America--Discovery and exploration & United States--Discovery and exploration
North America--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Natural history--Social aspects
Natural history--United States
Natural history--United States--History
Natural resources--United States
Landscape assessment
Landscape assessment--History
Landscape assessment--United States
Land use--United States
Land use--Environmental aspects--United States
Land settlement--United States--History
United States--Historical geography
United States--Environmental conditions
United States--Environmental conditions--History
You can also focus on a partiular area, aspect, or era of the natural environment. For example:
New England--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Southern States--Environmental conditions
Wolves--United States--History
Bears--Folklore
Mountains--New England
Mountains--United States--Psychological aspects
Forests and forestry--United States--History
Trees--Symbolic aspects--United States
Mississippi River--History
Great Lakes--History
Great Plains--History
Rocky Mountains
West (U.S.)--Description and travel.
West (U.S.) Discovery and exploration
West (U.S.)--Environmental conditions--History
For discusssion of both environmental degredation and preservation, try
Human beings--Influence on nature
Nature--Effect of human beings on
Nature--Effect of human beings on--History
Nature conservation--Philosophy
Nature conservation--United States
Nature conservation--United States--History
Wilderness areas -- United States
Wilderness areas--United States--History
National parks and reserves--United States
Landscape protection
Conservation of natural resources
Conservation of natural resources--United States
Ecosystem management
Ecosystem management--United States
Ecology--History
Ecology--United States--History
Ecology--Moral and ethical aspects
Ecology--Philosophy
Environmentalism
Environmentalism--History
Environmentalism--Philosophy
Environmentalism--United States
Environmental degradation
Environmental ethics
Environmental ethics--United States
Environmental policy--United States
Environmental policy--United States--History
Environmental protection--Moral and ethical aspects
Environmental protection--United States
Environmental protection--United States--History
Environmental responsibility
Environmental responsibility--United States
Environmental justice
Environmental justice--United States
Ecofeminism
Deep ecology
Deep ecology--Philosophy
Gaia hypothesis
Ecoterrorism
Green movement
Green Revolution
Sustainable development
Sustainable development--United States
For discussion of man and wildlife, try
Animals and civilization
Human-animal relationships
Animals (Philosophy)
Animals--Psychological aspects
Animals--Social aspects
Animal rights
Animal welfare
Wildlife management
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation--United States
Biodiversity conservation
Biological diversity conservation
Habitat conservation
Endangered species
Extinction (Biology)
For wide-ranging dicussion of how nature is--and has been--perceived, try
Philosophy of nature
Philosophy of nature--History
Nature
Nature (Aesthetics)
Nature--Psychological aspects
Nature--Religious aspects
Nature--Social aspects
For discussion of how nature informs and is reflected by literature, try
Nature in literature
Philosophy of nature in literature
Landscapes in literature
Also see: Cultural landscapes--England & Cultural landscapes--United States
Human ecology in literature
Place (Philosophy) in literature
Wilderness areas in literature
Setting (Literature)
Natural history literature
Natural history literature--United States--History
Country life in literature
Agriculture in literature
Ecology in literature
Environmental protection in literature
Romanticism
Transcendentalism (New England)
For recent literary theory use Ecocriticism
For a more recent medium see Nature in motion pictures
You may find discussion of the pastoral genre in western literature relevant:
Pastoral literature, English--History and criticism
Pastoral literature, American--History and criticism
Pastoral poetry--History and criticism
Pastoral poetry, English--History and criticism
Pastoral poetry, Greek--History and criticism
For discussion of humans in relation to their natural environment, try
Human beings--Influence of environment
Human beings--Effect of environment on
Human beings--Effect of environment on--History
Human beings--Effect of environment on--United States
Human beings--Effect of environment on--United States--History
Human ecology--Philosophy
Human ecology--History
Human ecology--Biblical teaching
Human ecology--Religious aspects
Human ecology--Religious aspects--Christianity
Human ecology--Europe--History
Human ecology--North America
Human ecology United States
Human ecology--United States--History
Human geography
Human geography--Philosophy
Human geography--United States
Frontier and pioneer life--United States
Frontier and pioneer life--United States--Historiography
Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.)
Frontier thesis
Indigenous peoples--Ecology--North America
Indigenous peoples--Ecology--United States
For discussion of the natural envrionment in relaion to humans, try
Natural history--History
Natural history--Europe--History--16th century
Natural history--North America
Also see: North America--Discovery and exploration & United States--Discovery and exploration
North America--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Natural history--Social aspects
Natural history--United States
Natural history--United States--History
Natural resources--United States
Landscape assessment
Landscape assessment--History
Landscape assessment--United States
Land use--United States
Land use--Environmental aspects--United States
Land settlement--United States--History
United States--Historical geography
United States--Environmental conditions
United States--Environmental conditions--History
You can also focus on a partiular area, aspect, or era of the natural environment. For example:
New England--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Southern States--Environmental conditions
Wolves--United States--History
Bears--Folklore
Mountains--New England
Mountains--United States--Psychological aspects
Forests and forestry--United States--History
Trees--Symbolic aspects--United States
Mississippi River--History
Great Lakes--History
Great Plains--History
Rocky Mountains
West (U.S.)--Description and travel.
West (U.S.) Discovery and exploration
West (U.S.)--Environmental conditions--History
For discusssion of both environmental degredation and preservation, try
Human beings--Influence on nature
Nature--Effect of human beings on
Nature--Effect of human beings on--History
Nature conservation--Philosophy
Nature conservation--United States
Nature conservation--United States--History
Wilderness areas -- United States
Wilderness areas--United States--History
National parks and reserves--United States
Landscape protection
Conservation of natural resources
Conservation of natural resources--United States
Ecosystem management
Ecosystem management--United States
Ecology--History
Ecology--United States--History
Ecology--Moral and ethical aspects
Ecology--Philosophy
Environmentalism
Environmentalism--History
Environmentalism--Philosophy
Environmentalism--United States
Environmental degradation
Environmental ethics
Environmental ethics--United States
Environmental policy--United States
Environmental policy--United States--History
Environmental protection--Moral and ethical aspects
Environmental protection--United States
Environmental protection--United States--History
Environmental responsibility
Environmental responsibility--United States
Environmental justice
Environmental justice--United States
Ecofeminism
Deep ecology
Deep ecology--Philosophy
Gaia hypothesis
Ecoterrorism
Green movement
Green Revolution
Sustainable development
Sustainable development--United States
For discussion of man and wildlife, try
Animals and civilization
Human-animal relationships
Animals (Philosophy)
Animals--Psychological aspects
Animals--Social aspects
Animal rights
Animal welfare
Wildlife management
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation--United States
Biodiversity conservation
Biological diversity conservation
Habitat conservation
Endangered species
Extinction (Biology)
MLA International Bibliography provides the most complete and fully indexed coverage of articles and books on modern literatures, linguistics, folklore, rhetoric, and composition from 1925 to the present. There is ample full text provided by ProQuest, as well as links to full-text articles in JSTOR and Project Muse. Full text from other IC databases is also readily available via the "GetIt" links below article citations.
Because books, book chapters/essays, and dissertations will usually not be available full text, you may wish to limit your search to "Journal article" under "Source type."
"Author's Work" and "Author as Subject" will be especially helpful search fields at finding literary criticism. And for additional search field options either click on "Show more fields," or, for the complete list, open the drop-down menus to the right of the "Anywhere" default for the top three rows of search slots. This list includes both "Literary Influence"--who influenced a particular author you have entered--and "Literary Source"--who was influenced by that particular author.
If you set up a free "My Research" account with Proquest (top right), you can save all the articles you check, all the searches you want to remember, and set up e-mail or RSS notification for any new articles that match your search terms.
JSTOR has excellent 100% full-text coverage of literary scholarship. There is no Subject searching, so remember to put phrases, titles, and authors' names in quotation marks to search them as Keyword phrases--and leave authors' names in the normal first-name last-name order.
JSTOR access to journal articles begins 2-4 years prior to the present--so don't look for any criticism from the last couple of years--but coverage always extends back to the first issue of each journal--in some cases into the 19th century and beyond.
Set "Limit" to "Article"--or else you may unleash an avalanche of reviews of books on your topic.
Project Muse although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse uses a "black box" search approach--you enter your search terms in one slot with no designated field options--but in addition to slapping in keywords, you can use the same Library of Congress Subject Headings that work in the Library catalog (see above under "Subject Searches"). This broad approach to searching tends to generate large retrievals, so it's best to be as specific as possible. And note--once you have a retrieval set, you can add more search terms by clicking "Modify Search" at the top.
ProQuest Research Library : is another comprehensive database with substantial full text. Use the "Thesaurus" (above the search slots) to preview what Subject Headings are available. Subect searching can be a more efficient way to search than with only Keywords, since it guarantees that the articles retrieved actually be about the Subject--not just use a particular word.
Note that to the right of your search results you can limit your retrieval by "Source Type" (including Magazines, Newspapers, Scholarly Journals), "Document Type," (including Cover Story, Editorial, or Interview), "Document Feature" (including Photographs, Illustrations), and "Location."
Above each set of articles you retrieve ProQuest will display related Subject searches to help either broaden or narrow your focus.
User Advisory: ProQuest is fussy about entering Subject searches in the designated search slot. If your subject is a person, enter the name--last name first--in the "Person" slot; if a named group of any kind--Microsoft, the Catholic Church, Radiohead, the New York Mets--enter it in "Co/Org"; if a place enter it in "Location."
Academic Search Premier Comprehensive subject coverage with considerable full text. Note that there is a “Subject Terms” link just above the search boxes, allowing you to search the index of Subject Headings--often a good first stop for more efficient Subject searching whereby you are guaranteed that your topic is indeed a main subject of the articles retrieved.
A good initial strategy in this database is to search a likely topic in the Subject Terms and when you find it “explode” the term by double clicking it--this brings up a list of related Subject terms. You can check as many terms as you like before "adding" them to your search by AND-ing or OR-ing them together. Exploding "Avant garde" brings up a list or related Subject Headings that may prove useful.
General OneFile is the most user friendly of our comprehensive databases--covering virtually any topic from a wide range of disciplinary angles. Use the default Subject search to find an appropriate Subject Heading for your topic and then open the "Subdivisions" link underneath. For example, under “Avant garde” find “Analysis,” “Criticism & Interpretation,” “Ethical aspects,” “History,” and “Social aspects.”
If the best available Subdivision is still too broad, open the set of articles and add Keywords in the "Refine Results" slot at the upper left.
If you wish to focus on a specific literary work, open "Advanced Search" and in the "Select Index" box choose "Named Work": this allows you to run a Subject search on a title.
ATLA religion database with ATLASerials : Our religion and theology database. To browse the Subject Headings available here, click on "Indexes" above the search slots and select "Subjects ALL" from the drop-down menu.
Philosopher's Index : If you want to browse the Subject Headings available here just click on "Indexes" at the very top of the left-hand side of the home page and then choose "Subjects" as your Index.
PsycINFO & SocINDEX with Full Text : As the names suggest, these are good resources for articles from a psychological or sociological perspective.
America: History and Life : A large scholarly database, with much of the full text supplied by JSTOR, but the advantage to searching here is the availability of Subject searching and an "Historical Period" limit. Whereas the date limit in most databases refers to the date articles were published, the "Historical Period" limit available here allows you to target the period of time discussed in the article. Note: setting the "Document Type" to "Article" will winnow out all the reviews and book citations.
Because books, book chapters/essays, and dissertations will usually not be available full text, you may wish to limit your search to "Journal article" under "Source type."
"Author's Work" and "Author as Subject" will be especially helpful search fields at finding literary criticism. And for additional search field options either click on "Show more fields," or, for the complete list, open the drop-down menus to the right of the "Anywhere" default for the top three rows of search slots. This list includes both "Literary Influence"--who influenced a particular author you have entered--and "Literary Source"--who was influenced by that particular author.
If you set up a free "My Research" account with Proquest (top right), you can save all the articles you check, all the searches you want to remember, and set up e-mail or RSS notification for any new articles that match your search terms.
JSTOR access to journal articles begins 2-4 years prior to the present--so don't look for any criticism from the last couple of years--but coverage always extends back to the first issue of each journal--in some cases into the 19th century and beyond.
Set "Limit" to "Article"--or else you may unleash an avalanche of reviews of books on your topic.
Project Muse although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse uses a "black box" search approach--you enter your search terms in one slot with no designated field options--but in addition to slapping in keywords, you can use the same Library of Congress Subject Headings that work in the Library catalog (see above under "Subject Searches"). This broad approach to searching tends to generate large retrievals, so it's best to be as specific as possible. And note--once you have a retrieval set, you can add more search terms by clicking "Modify Search" at the top.
ProQuest Research Library : is another comprehensive database with substantial full text. Use the "Thesaurus" (above the search slots) to preview what Subject Headings are available. Subect searching can be a more efficient way to search than with only Keywords, since it guarantees that the articles retrieved actually be about the Subject--not just use a particular word.
Note that to the right of your search results you can limit your retrieval by "Source Type" (including Magazines, Newspapers, Scholarly Journals), "Document Type," (including Cover Story, Editorial, or Interview), "Document Feature" (including Photographs, Illustrations), and "Location."
Above each set of articles you retrieve ProQuest will display related Subject searches to help either broaden or narrow your focus.
User Advisory: ProQuest is fussy about entering Subject searches in the designated search slot. If your subject is a person, enter the name--last name first--in the "Person" slot; if a named group of any kind--Microsoft, the Catholic Church, Radiohead, the New York Mets--enter it in "Co/Org"; if a place enter it in "Location."
Academic Search Premier Comprehensive subject coverage with considerable full text. Note that there is a “Subject Terms” link just above the search boxes, allowing you to search the index of Subject Headings--often a good first stop for more efficient Subject searching whereby you are guaranteed that your topic is indeed a main subject of the articles retrieved.
A good initial strategy in this database is to search a likely topic in the Subject Terms and when you find it “explode” the term by double clicking it--this brings up a list of related Subject terms. You can check as many terms as you like before "adding" them to your search by AND-ing or OR-ing them together. Exploding "Avant garde" brings up a list or related Subject Headings that may prove useful.
General OneFile is the most user friendly of our comprehensive databases--covering virtually any topic from a wide range of disciplinary angles. Use the default Subject search to find an appropriate Subject Heading for your topic and then open the "Subdivisions" link underneath. For example, under “Avant garde” find “Analysis,” “Criticism & Interpretation,” “Ethical aspects,” “History,” and “Social aspects.”
If the best available Subdivision is still too broad, open the set of articles and add Keywords in the "Refine Results" slot at the upper left.
If you wish to focus on a specific literary work, open "Advanced Search" and in the "Select Index" box choose "Named Work": this allows you to run a Subject search on a title.
ATLA religion database with ATLASerials : Our religion and theology database. To browse the Subject Headings available here, click on "Indexes" above the search slots and select "Subjects ALL" from the drop-down menu.
Philosopher's Index : If you want to browse the Subject Headings available here just click on "Indexes" at the very top of the left-hand side of the home page and then choose "Subjects" as your Index.
PsycINFO & SocINDEX with Full Text : As the names suggest, these are good resources for articles from a psychological or sociological perspective.
America: History and Life : A large scholarly database, with much of the full text supplied by JSTOR, but the advantage to searching here is the availability of Subject searching and an "Historical Period" limit. Whereas the date limit in most databases refers to the date articles were published, the "Historical Period" limit available here allows you to target the period of time discussed in the article. Note: setting the "Document Type" to "Article" will winnow out all the reviews and book citations.
Few databases offer 100% full text. Most retrieve a mix of full text articles and article "citations"--article title, author(s), publication info, and usually an "abstract" or one-prargraph summary of the content. When want the full text, look below the citation for this icon:
Clicking "GETIT" checks if another IC Library database offers the full text of the article--or if the Library has a print subscription to the journal in which the article appeared.
Clicking "GETIT" checks if another IC Library database offers the full text of the article--or if the Library has a print subscription to the journal in which the article appeared.
- "GETIT" will frequently find the full text in another database and open it in a new window.
- If none of our databases can access the full text but we have a print subsciption to the journal, "GETIT" will retrieve the catalog record for the journal so that you can see if the date of the article falls within the date range we have on hand.
- If full text is not available from any database or from a print subsciption, "GETIT" will provide a link to IC Interlibrary Loan. Log in (same as your IC e-mail)--and set up your account if you've never used it before. "GETIT" will have populated the article request form with all the necessary information and you simply submit the request elecrtonically. Most articles are supplied as digital files and will be sent to you via e-mail when they arrive.
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Chasseur in the Forest (1813):
Caspar David Friedrich
- Ebrary
- Citation
- Interlibrary Loan
- Plagiarism Tutorial
(Log-in required: IC e-mail user name & password)
Man & Nature:
Nature & Literature:
Man & Nature:
- The Domination of Nature
- Mother/Nature
- Decolonizing Nature
- Cultural Landscapes and Land Use
- Envisioning Nature, Science, and Religion
- Remaking Reality: Nature at the Millenium
- Philosophy of Nature
- Ecospirit
- Nature and Landscape
- Nature and Social Theory
- Meaning of Wilderness
- Earth in Our Care
- Moral Authority of Nature
- Requiem for Nature
- Nature as Landscape
- Environmental Philosophy
- New Economy of Nature
- Nature, God and Humanity
- Aesthetics & Nature
Nature & Literature:
- Representations of the Natural World in Old English Poetry
- What Else Is Pastoral? : Renaissance Literature and the Environment
- Shakespeare among the Animals : Nature and Society in the Drama of Early Modern England
- Romantic Ecologies and Colonial Cultures in the British Atlantic World, 1770-1850
- Imagining Nature : Blake's Environmental Poetics
- Victorians in the Mountains : Sinking the Sublime
- Imagining Wild America
- Meaning of Rivers : Flow and Reflection in American Literature
- Coyote at Large : Humor in American Nature Writing
- Truth of Ecology : Nature, Culture, and Literature in America
- Our Common Dwelling : Henry Thoreau, Transcendentalism, and the Class Politics of Nature
- Walt Whitman and the Earth : A Study in Ecopoetics
- Reconnecting with John Muir : Essays in Post-Pastoral Practice
- West Side of Any Mountain : Place, Space, and Ecopoetry
- Nature, Culture and Literature, Volume 3 : Nature in Literary and Cultural Studies
- Coming into Contact : Explorations in Ecocritical Theory and Practice
- Greening of Literary Scholarship : Literature, Theory, and the Environment
Oxford Art Online: Nature: A series of essays on the depiction of nature in works of art. Also see the series of essays on the Sublime and Naturalism. (Log-in required.)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Environmental Aesthetics & Environmental Ethics.
The Encyclopedia of Earth: from the National Council for Science and the Environment & Boston University, a wide-ranging online reference resource. Note "Environmental Humanities" and "Society & Environment" along the left.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Environmental Aesthetics & Environmental Ethics.
The Encyclopedia of Earth: from the National Council for Science and the Environment & Boston University, a wide-ranging online reference resource. Note "Environmental Humanities" and "Society & Environment" along the left.
- For online Literature resources see my recommendations for English Literature and American Literature.
- Envrionmental History Timeline: Nicely crafted overview of environmental concepts and concerns from the classical period through the 21st century.
- Environmental History Resources: This link is to full-text online essays.
- Forest History Society Databases: Not much full text, but a wide array of bibliographic information about books, articles, and images related to forest history.
- Association for the Study of Literature & Envrironment: Ecocritical Library: The "Introduction to Ecocriticism" and "Online Texts" seem particularly useful.
- Forum on Religion and Ecology: Christianity: Sacred Texts: Useful collection of Bible passages that have informed Christianity's view of the natural world.
- Nature Transformed: The Environment in American History: A selection of online essays from the National Humanities Center.
- Ecological Imagination: Joseph Siry of Envrronmental Studies at Rollin College has assembled some interesting resources here.
- Environment & Society Portal: There's actually a fair amount of content here--much of it historical--but the "Timeline Tool" seems to be on the fritz and you'll need to experiment with search terms to dig it out.
- Environmental Humanities: an open source peer-reviewed journal (translation: it's scholarly and the full text is free on the Web).
- Journal of Ecocriticism: another open access peer-reviewed journal.
- Hitchhiker's Guide to Ecocriticism: article by Ursula Heise from the journal of the MLA.
- Natures Running Wild: A Social-Ecological Perspective on Wilderness: article by Sabine Hofmeister from the journal Nature and Culture.
MLA is the citation style used by most disciplines in the Humanities. The guides below use the most recent 2008/9 standards.
