Research Tips
A few tips as you begin your research projects:
- note variations in the spelling of locations and place names because of changes in transliteration styles
- c=k, h=o, etc...
- note variations in the name given to the time period
- early Christian, medieval, middle ages, byzantine, late antique, orthodox
- research contextual information
- geographic location, time period, social/political/theological context, "school" or genre or art
- the subject matter of the art: person, historical event, theological concept
- type of object: form, material, production and technique, use, reason for creation
- databases include entries for books and book chapters in addition to journal articles. This may help you locate books or book chapters that lack descriptions or table of content listings in the ZSR catalog.
Reference Resources
Use reference resources to locate background information on your topic as you start your research, including:
- biographical information
- definitions of terminology
- historical context
- geographical information
- recommended sources to continue your research
- Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new windowCovers art and culture from prehistory to the 1990s. Its multicultural approach offers detailed analyses of civilizations from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific. Provides a guide to the visual arts: painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, drawing, and printmaking, as well as the decorative arts. Coverage: Details not available
Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity by Call Number: ebook & REF BR66.5 D5813 2014, 3 vols.ISBN: 9780830829439Publication Date: 2014
The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780199271566Publication Date: 2008
The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages (4 Volume Set) by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780198662624Publication Date: 2010
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome by Call Number: ebookISBN: 0195170725Publication Date: 2009
- New Pauly This link opens in a new windowAn encyclopedia covering Greek and Roman history from the second millennium B.C.E. to early medieval Europe.
Finding Scholarly Books & Ebooks
See this page for information on how to search the ZSR Library catalog.
Browsing the main stacks is also a great search strategy. Here are a few call number areas to focus on, and where they are located:
BX200-756- Orthodox Eastern Church
DE- Greco-Roman world
DF501-649- Byzantine Empire, 323-1453
DR729- Constantinople, to 1453
N6250- Byzantine art
N7832- Early Christian art
N8185-8189- Icons, Eastern church
NA370- Byzantine architecture
NA3770-3780- Roman & Byzantine mosaic
Finding Schoarly Journal Articles
Scholarly journal articles can be found through the bibliographies of the resources you have already found, as well as through ZSR databases. See this page for tips on located scholarly journal articles in arts databases, and see below for a list of good arts and history databases.
- Année Philologique This link opens in a new windowModern scholarship covering ancient Greek and Roman/Latin language, literature, linguistics, history, philosophy, archaeology, religion, mythology, science, etc. The time period covered is the second millennium B.C.E to roughly 800 C.E. The database is in English. Coverage: 1959-present
- Art & Architecture Complete This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text and citations for scholarly journals articles, magazines, exhibition reviews, and trade publications, covering antiques, art, art history, architecture, interior and landscape design, and more. Also includes an image collection. Coverage: Details not available
- Art Full Text This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text and citations for scholarly journals articles, magazines, exhibition reviews, and trade publications. Also indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in periodicals. Topics covered include antiques, archaeology, art, art history, architecture, folk art, graphic arts, interior and landscape design, movies, and television. Also includes an image collection. Coverage: 1929-
- Atla Religion Database with AtlaSerials PLUS This link opens in a new windowThe premier database for research in religious studies, the Atla database provides full-text coverage for major international journals, magazines, and professional publications. Multiple religious traditions and related disciplines, such as anthropology, political science, counseling, and history are represented. Coverage: 1818-
- Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals This link opens in a new windowCovers all aspects of architecture and architectural history, including design, historic preservation, urban planning, and landscape design. Coverage: 1930s-present
- International Medieval Bibliography This link opens in a new windowA bibliography of modern scholarship concerning the European Middle Ages (c. 450-1500). Coverage: 1967-
- Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance This link opens in a new windowIndexes books and journals concerning Europe and the Middle East from 400-1700. Coverage: 1784-
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowA full-text database of archived issues of academic journals. Since JSTOR is a backfiles project, a typical coverage range is the beginning of a journal until three or five years ago. Supported in part by the Dail Endowment Fund. Coverage: Varies
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the full text of scholarly journals and books in the arts and humanities and social sciences. Coverage: Varies
Scholarly Websites
There are many online scholarly projects that can help inform your research. Make sure that you are looking for resources that are sponsored by:
- libraries
- scholarly associations
- archives
- museums
- open access/online journals
- universities/university departments
Below are a few examples of the types of resources that might be appropriate to use:
- Acoustic MuseumsA podcast interview by the USC Engineering Department with scholars researching sound in Byzantine buildings. (See "Hearing the Lost Sounds of Antiquity" below.)
- Empires of Faith"Empires of Faith is a five-year (2013-2017) humanities research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust and jointly hosted by the British Museum and Oxford University."
- Five Byzantine ChurchesTwelve-minute video created by the National Gallery of Art to accompany the "Heaven & Earth" exhibition. Includes recordings of Byzantine hymns and chants.
- Hearing the Lost Sounds of AntiquityArticle from The Atlantic Monthly on the work of scholars Christos Kyriakakis and Sharon Gerstel into what the interior of Byzantine churches would have sounded like.
- Heaven & Earth: Byzantine Illuminations at the Cultural CrossroadsWebsite accompanying a 2014 exhibition at the National Gallery of Art.
- Historic Areas of IstanbulUNESCO World Heritage Centre page which brings together maps, documentation, and images detailing Istanbul's position as a World Heritage Site.
- Icon: A Word with Many MeaningsVideo lecture by Helen C. Evans, given at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.