Literary Research: How Do I Use Literary Criticism and Theory?

Start by using encyclopedias to look up terms or thinkers that have caught your attention. For example, you could look up “feminist theory,” “phenomenology,” or “postcolonial theory.” Or try “Lauren Berlant,” “Alondra Nelson,” or "Frantz Fanon."

Gale Ebooks and Sage Reference Online are great encyclopedic resources to use. You can also browse and explore the General Resources or Specific Theories & Approaches pages of this Guide to get good ideas.

Once you’ve settled on theoretical or critical traditions you’re interested in–or particular scholars or thinkers–try to find representative examples of work to read. 

An anthology like The Norton Anthology of Theory Criticism could be a good place to find examples. 

Or if, when reading about feminist theory in an encyclopedia, you came across a scholar like Donna Haraway, you could use UW Library Search to look for her as an author.

Now that you’ve looked up terms associated with literary theory and criticism in encyclopedias, and now that you’ve settled on certain terms and found representative pieces of writing associated with it, you need to find a scholarly dialogue where what you’re interested in is actually being used. But what are the top ways to find a scholarly dialogue?

1. UW Libraries Advanced Search. Advanced Search is far preferable to basic search because you can construct a search that has multiple parts. For example, you could search "'feminist theory" AND anthropocene AND literature" to see if there is an academic discussion about that topic.
2. Google Scholar. If you're going to use Google Scholar, make sure to connect it to the UW Libraries. Once you do that, you can perform searches, and if you find something you like, be vigilant for the magic "Cited by" that goes with every citation in Google Scholar. That link will take you to other articles that cite the one you like, and those other articles might suggest a scholarly dialogue.
3. Specific academic journals. When you're doing your research, if you notice that the articles you most love appear in the same journals, then spend some time just searching those journals. For example, if you notice Modern Language Quarterly or Gender & Society are journals that you like, then you can search for them in the Journals Search. Then, once you find those journals, you can browse them, looking for dialogue and debate, or you can search them, scouring them for your interests.
4. Dissertations. Dissertations are bibliographic monsters! They are full of pages and pages of references and citations--and are meant to be part of a scholarly conversation--so if you find a dissertation that employs the theory and criticism you're interested in, then you're in luck! In the UW Libraries resources, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is great for dissertations in the US and all around the world. ResearchWorks Archive at the UW features digital dissertations by UW students.

Now it's time to write your own composition, your own article, that will be part of a scholarly discussion.