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FPA 111: Issues in the Fine and Performing Arts

Liaison Librarian for Communication & Contemporary Arts
Sylvia Roberts
sroberts@sfu.ca
SFU Burnaby: 778.782.3681 (Wed, Thurs, alt Fri) *** SFU Vancouver: 778.782.5043 (Mon,Tues, alt Fr)

This guide is intended to assist you with research for your FPA 111 final research paper. 

If you do not find the information that you need to write your paper, please Ask a Librarian for assistance or contact Sylvia Roberts, Liaison Librarian for Contemporary Arts (contact details in the box on the right).

CONTENTS

 Dada Gaga video

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

These selected sources provide definitions and information about artists, artistic theories and movements.  There are many more background sources, both print & electronic, so, if you don't find what you need, Ask a Librarian.

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 BOOKS

To find print or e-books on your topic, search by Author, Subject or Keyword in the SFU Library catalogue

***IMPORTANT NOTE*** 

The Belzberg Library at SFU Vancouver has a small print collection of books and current journals.  The largest SFU Library collection of print materials about contemporary art and artists will be found at the Bennett Library on the Burnaby campus, with additional materials in the Fraser Library at SFU Surrey. 

It takes about 2 working days, there's no cost to you and you'll get an email notice when they're ready to be picked up.You will need to use your library card to request and to borrow these materials.

Books are assigned classification codes (also known as call numbers) that provide an exact "address" on the shelf for each print book.

Call numbers also serve to group books by topic. If you find a book on your topic, browsing the books shelved nearby might lead you to other useful works.

Broadly,  call numbers for contemporary arts books are broadly:

  • DANCE  GV 1580-1799.4 
  • MUSIC (Literature about Music)   ML 
  • VISUAL ARTS   N - NX 
  • FILM    PN 1993-1999
  • THEATRE   PN 2000-3307
  • PHOTOGRAPHY  TR

Because books can only be shelved in one place, you may need to browse a few different areas of the library to find all the books on your topics. For example, books on video art are shelved in both the film and the visual arts call number areas.

If you're not sure how to find books that relate to your research interests, Ask a Librarian.

SEARCH TIPS

Start with a keyword search to locate books with your search terms anywhere in the descriptive catalogue record

You can connect search terms using Boolean search operators, such as OR or AND.

OR  searches for either word (larger results).  ANY of the search words must be in the resulting records

film OR cinema OR motion pictures OR movies finds records that contain any of these synonyms

AND searches for all the words (fewer results). ALL search words must be in the resulting records

dada AND dance finds records that have both the word dada and the word dance in them

Combine search terms representing the artistic movement and the arts practice to find books that discuss both. Usually the records will show your search terms highlighted, whether they appear in the title, the subject heading, contents notes, authors' names, etc.

A keyword search for dada and dance finds the following records

To see the context for your search terms, click on the title.  Usually these are highlighted so you can find them easily.

Use the truncation symbol (*) to search for plural forms or variations of the root word

surrealis*  finds records with any of the following words:  surrealism, surrealist, surrealists
 
Look at relevant catalogue records to identify subject headings used to describe your search concepts. These will be used in ALL catalogue records that focus on this concept so can be useful search strategy for find ALL relevant literature.

Subject headings in the catalogue for the book Mary Wigman  include:
Wigman, Mary, 1886-1973.
Dancers -- Germany -- Biography.
Choreographers -- Germany -- Biography.
Modern dance -- Social aspects -- Germany -- History.
Modern dance -- Political aspects -- Germany -- History.
Modern dance -- Philosophy.

Clicking on any of these subject headings will find ALL the books with a major focus on that topic.

You can do a keyword search that combines subject headings with other keywords, such as the artist's name or practice.

To find books or media by or about a person, use the format: Last name, First name. 

Where there are a lot of books published on a particular subject, subheadings will help you find more specific approaches to the topic, such as "criticism and interpretation", "history", "themes motives", "influence".

If you do not find books that focus specifically on your topic, look for books that cover a broader topic, such as the type of practice during a specific time period or affiliated with a particular movement. 

Scholarly books that cover a broader topic will usually have table of contents and/or back of the book index that will let you find the pages that relate to your move specific topic.

Scholarly sources usually list a bibliography of other works that may relate to your topic.  Check the SFU library catalogue to see whether we have a book or article of interest.

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JOURNAL ARTICLES

Use the following recommended indexes or databases to find information on your topic in scholarly or critical studies journals.  Many of these databases include the full text of journal articles or provide a link to the article online.

Click on the link to "Where can I get this?" to see if the article is available in electronic and / or print format at SFU Library

Discipline specific indexes

Multidisciplinary indexes

  • Humanities & Social Sciences Index
    Index to scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. Good coverage of the performing arts (music, film, theatre, dance) and related topics.
  • JSTOR
    Archival collection of core scholarly arts, humanities and social sciences journals.
  • Project MUSE Search
    Full-text collection of scholarly humanities and social science journals. Subjects covered include the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, gender studies and related topics
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ONLINE MEDIA

If you're looking for examples of work that relate to your topic, you can use the the SFU library catalogue to search for DVDs, CDs and slides held in the collection. We also have several collections of streaming media that you can access from anywhere.

IMAGES

MUSIC

WRITING AND STYLE GUIDES

You must cite your sources according to either Chicago or MLA style. The SFU Library has brief guides to both citation styles, providing an overview and examples of how to do this:

If you are citing images of artworks in your paper, you may want to consult the following guide:

If you're new to writing university papers, you may want to consult the Library tutorial on Plagiarism: What is plagiarism and how you can avoid it.

The Student Learning Commons provides writing consultations.  There are SLC peers at all campuses, by appointment.

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Owned by: Sylvia Roberts
Revised by: Sylvia Roberts
Last Modified: 2011-11-08