Library News for Comparative Literature

Whispers Cafe in Olin closed June 13-August 1 for Renovation

Tashera Brown, a cashier at Whispers, assists a student with her order. (Photo credit: Washington University Libraries)

Whispers café will be closed to users and foot traffic from June 13 to August 1, so that a number of renovations can take place.

When the café reopens for the start of the fall semester, students, faculty, and staff can expect a fresh look, with new menu boards and merchandise cases, a stronger system for moving people through the line quickly during peak hours, and a counter that allows for easier interaction between patrons and servers.

"It's the busiest coffee shop in all of Kaldi-land," says Paul Schimmele, manager of dining services on the Danforth campus, referencing the St. Louis-brewed coffee that Whispers staff pour so much of each day. "By changing the counter, we will improve the efficiency—so that while students will still come to the café in large groups, we can move those groups through even faster."

Whispers opened in May 2004, at the conclusion of Olin Library’s renovation and expansion. It soon became a hugely popular place to eat, study, meet, or relax. The number of food and beverage items that the café goes through on a typical day continues to grow, and this summer’s reconfiguration includes the addition of more storage space. This will cut down on the frequency of deliveries from across campus, Schimmele says, and give Whispers the ability to better stock and keep chilled the most popular items.

"The volume of business that Whispers does is just much more than we ever dreamed it would be," says Patti Louvier, director of operations for dining services. "A sense of urgency at Whispers is a job requirement, and hopefully the remodel will further enhance our service. I think it’s going to be very pleasing to the eye as well."

Tashera Brown, a cashier at Whispers, assists a student with her order. (Photo credit: Washington University Libraries)

Whispers café will be closed to users and foot traffic from June 13 to August 1, so that a number of renovations can take place.

When the café reopens for the start of the fall semester, students, faculty, and staff can expect a fresh look, with new menu boards and merchandise cases, a stronger system for moving people through the line quickly during peak hours, and a counter that allows for easier interaction between patrons and servers.

"It's the busiest coffee shop in all of Kaldi-land," says Paul Schimmele, manager of dining services on the Danforth campus, referencing the St. Louis-brewed coffee that Whispers staff pour so much of each day. "By changing the counter, we will improve the efficiency—so that while students will still come to the café in large groups, we can move those groups through even faster."

Whispers opened in May 2004, at the conclusion of Olin Library’s renovation and expansion. It soon became a hugely popular place to eat, study, meet, or relax. The number of food and beverage items that the café goes through on a typical day continues to grow, and this summer’s reconfiguration includes the addition of more storage space. This will cut down on the frequency of deliveries from across campus, Schimmele says, and give Whispers the ability to better stock and keep chilled the most popular items.

"The volume of business that Whispers does is just much more than we ever dreamed it would be," says Patti Louvier, director of operations for dining services. "A sense of urgency at Whispers is a job requirement, and hopefully the remodel will further enhance our service. I think it’s going to be very pleasing to the eye as well."

Updated Guide of Books by WU Faculty in Comp Lit

The guide for books by WU faculty in Comparative Literature has been updated. It highlights new and recent books as well as provides catalog links to all WU faculty books.  Below are a few of the most recent books.

After translation : the transfer and circulation of modern poetics across the Atlantic / Ignacio Infante. New York : Fordham University Press, 2013.

Exquisite mixture : the virtues of impurity in early modern England / Wolfram Schmidgen. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2013.

Difference unbound : the rise of pluralism in literature and criticism / Stamos Metzidakis ; preface by Mary Ann Caws. 2nd enlarged ed. Amsterdam ; New York, NY : Rodopi, 2012.

For questions, contact Brian (bvetruba@wustl.edu ; 5-4824 ; IM/chat)

 

New Books (Comp Lit/Gen Lit), April 2013

A selected lists of new books relevant to Comparative Literature, European Literature, and Literary Theory. 

If you're having trouble find a book, please ask at the Olin Help Desk or contact Brian.

Approaches to teaching the works of Robert Louis Stevenson / edited by Caroline McCracken-Flesher.  New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2013.

The avant-garde imperative : the visionary quest for a new language / Willard Bohn.  Amherst, NY : Cambria Press, 2012.

Bloody murder : the homicide tradition in children's literature / Michelle Ann Abate. Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013.

The Cambridge companion to American poetry since 1945 / edited by Jennifer Ashton.  New York : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

The Cambridge companion to Scottish literature / edited by Gerard Carruthers and Liam McIlvanney. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

The Cambridge companion to theatre history / edited by David Wiles and Christine Dymkowski. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Crime and punishment in the Middle Ages and early modern age : mental-historical investigations of basic human problems and social responses / edited by Albrecht Classen and Connie Scarborough. Berlin ; Boston : de Gruyter, c2012.

Goethe's Faust and cultural memory : comparatist interfaces / Lorna Fitzsimmons. Bethlehem : Lehigh University Press ; Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Pub. Group, c2012.

Heine und Byron : Poetik eingreifender Kunst am Beginn der Moderne / by Alexandra Böhm. Berlin : De Gruyter, [2013]

Imagined topographies : from colonial resource to postcolonial homeland / Jonathan Bishop Highfield. New York : Peter Lang, 2013.

International bohemia : scenes of nineteenth-century life / Daniel Cottom. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2013.

Literatur und Theorie seit der Postmoderne / Klaus Birnstiel/Erik Schilling (Hg.) ; mit einem Nachwort von Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht. Stuttgart : Hirzel, 2012.

Literature, geography, and the postmodern poetics of place / Eric Prieto. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Narrative, interrupted : the plotless, the disturbing and the trivial in literature / edited by Markku Lehtimäki, Laura Karttunen, Maria Mäkelä. Boston : De Gruyter, 2012.

Northern Irish poetry and the Russian turn : intertextuality in the work of Seamus Heaney, Tom Paulin and Medbh McGuckian / Stephanie Schwerter. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

On writing with photography / Karen Beckman and Liliane Weissberg, editors. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2013]

The poetics of piracy : emulating Spain in English literature / Barbara Fuchs. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2013.

 

(Re)visions of history in language and fiction / edited by Dorota Guttfeld, Monika Linke and Agnieszka Sowińska. Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2012.

Staging the superstitions of early modern Europe / edited by Verena Theile, Andrew D. McCarthy. Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate Pub., c2013.

Toxic voices : the villain from early Soviet literature to Socialist realism / Eric Laursen.
Evanston, Ill. : Northwestern University Press, c2013.

Weakness : a literary and philosophical history / Michael O'Sullivan. London ; New York : Continuum, c2012.

Brian away until Wed., 5/29 & reminder: WU Libraries closed on Memorial Day, 5/27

I will be out of town until  Wednesday, May 29, 2013. For immediate reference assistance, please contact the Olin Help Desk: (314) 935-5410; ref@wumail.wustl.edu or via chat/text.  Feel free to continue to email me and I'll respond upon my return.

As a reminder, Olin Library and the other WU library buildings will be closed on Monday, May 27, 2013 in observance of Memorial Day. However, you can still access all online resources during the holiday.

Thanks and have a great holiday!

Brian Vetruba (bvetruba@wustl.edu)
Germanic Languages and Literatures, Comparative Literature, European Studies Librarian

New eResources for Medieval Studies and Religious Studies

Lexikon des Mittelalters The Lexikon des Mittelalters (LexMA) is an indispensable tool for medievalists across all disciplines. It deals with all branches of Medieval Studies and covers the period from 300 to 1500 AD/CE for the whole of Europe and parts of the Middle East and North Africa. The ancient roots of Western Culture, as well as neighbouring cultures, such as the Byzantine, the Arabic and the Jewish, occupy a prominent position in the encyclopaedia.

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The Monumenta Germaniae Historica was founded in 1819 by the Gesellschaft für Deutschlands ältere Geschichtskunde. It is without doubt one of the most prestigious editorial undertakings for the critical publication of medieval historical texts. The MGH has established for all Western scholarship a standard for critical editions. The search-software offers a wide range of search possibilities.

International Encyclopedia for the Middle Ages The purpose of IEMA is to offer newly-written, commissioned, articles, fully peer-reviewed that supplement Lexikon des Mittelalters and offer supplementary notes to the original LexMA articles. The chronological range of IEMA is 300–1500 CE, and it covers all of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Bibliographie de Civilisation Medievale The Bibliographie de civilisation médiévale (BCM) has been established by the Centre d’Études Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale (Université de Poitiers) and aims to provide a comprehensive, current bibliography of monographs.

International Directory of Medievalists The International Directory of Medievalists Online is the continuation of the printed editions and contains 15,000 names and addresses of specialists from over 70 different countries with for the majority their fields of study.

Papal Letters Online (LITPA) The database Ut per litteras apostolicas represents an electronic version of the renowned Registres et lettres des Papes du XIIIe siècle (32 vols.; Rome, 1883- ) and the Registres et lettres des Papes du XIVe siècle (48 vols.; Rome, 1899- ). This publication provides access to valuable sources not only for church historians but those interested in politics, socio-economic affairs, warfare, cultural history, even the environment.

In Principio The database contains over 1,000,000 incipits covering Latin literature from the Pre-classical Age to the Renaissance. It is aimed at all those scholars and libraries interested in the writers, texts and manuscripts of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. It is an inevitable tool when studying or publishing a particular text or to make an inventory of manuscripts.

Vetus Latina Database (VLD) The huge panoply of Latin biblical texts which were in existence and use from the second century AD/CE until the time when the Vulgate became predominant are known under the common rubric of the Vetus Latina, or the Old Latin, Bible. The term Vetus Latina refers to all those biblical texts translated into Latin which are not found in the Vulgate. This database contains every citation, listed by book, chapter and verse of the Bible. The citations (over 300,000) can be searched individually or as a whole, following the biblical structure. The result of a search is an image of the card file available in the Vetus Latina Institute.

Dictionnaire d’Histoire et de Geographie Ecclesiastiques (DHGE) This online encyclopaedia is an unparalleled source of information for anyone interested in the history of the Church. It comprises a vast amount of information: 30 volumes, 70,000 entries and sub-entries, over 50,000 columns by specialists, aimed at an academic readership. Every year, about 1,000 articles are updated to further enrich the database.

Revue d’Histoire Ecclesiastique Bibliographie (RHE) The RHE bibliography covers the literature that deals with the different aspects of the Church's history. However, the bibliography does not limit itself to Church history stricto sensu: every theme touching Church history is covered (political history, social and economic history, archaeology, history of art, music, architecture, relations with Islam and Judaism, etc.) which makes the RHE a first line tool for the different disciplines.

Europa Sacra Online Europa Sacra offers complete coverage of Church prelates, information on all 1300 medieval bishoprics, archdioceses and patriarchates and prosopographical information on 18,507 bishops, archbishops and patriarchs.

Archive of Celtic-Latin Literature The Archive of Celtic-Latin Literature Online is a full-text database of the corpus of Latin literature produced in Celtic-speaking Europe from the period 400-1200 A.D. It contains more than 450 Latin works spanning the fields of theology, liturgy, computistics, grammar, hagiography, poetry and historiography, and including legal texts, charters, inscriptions, etc.

Aristoteles Latinus Database The ALD is a full-text database of the corpus of medieval translations of the works of Aristotle. The Latin versions of these texts constituted the main tools for the study of science and philosophy in the Middle Ages.

Library of Latin Texts B Library of Latin Texts (former abbreviation: CLCLT) is the world’s leading database for Latin texts. It contains texts from the beginning of Latin literature (Livius Andronicus, 240 BC) through to the texts of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). It covers all the works from the classical period, the most important patristic works, a very extensive corpus of Medieval Latin literature as well as works of recentior latinitas.

For questions, contact Brian (bvetruba@wustl.edu ; 5-4824 ; IM/chat)

Database of Latin Dictionaries--new eReference

Database of Latin Dictionaries The database grows gradually and comprises three kinds of dictionaries: dictionaries to assist translation from Latin into modern languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish), dictionaries providing semantic and etymological explanations in Latin of Latin words and historical Latin dictionaries. One dictionary included is the Kirchenlateinisches Wörterbuch (2011).

For questions, contact Brian (bvetruba@wustl.edu ; 5-4824 ; IM/chat)

La bibliographie des écrivains français (BIBLIFRE)--Online Bibliographic Database

The Bibliothèque bibliographique des littératures francophones européennes (Bi.B.Li.Fr.E.) represents an electronic version of the printed collection « Bibliographie des écrivains français » and is an indispensable bibliographic tool for the study of the French literature from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century. Includes citations for books, newspapers, articles, and more. 

 For questions, contact Brian (bvetruba@wustl.edu ; 5-4824 ; IM/chat)

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (2012)-new eREFERNCE

The WU Libraries now have online access to  The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics which includes all aspects of poetry and poetics: history, movements, genres, prosody, rhetorical devices, critical terms, and more. The 4th edition (2012) reflects recent changes in literary and cultural studies, providing up-to-date coverage and giving greater attention to the international aspects of poetry, all while preserving the best of the previous volumes. 

At well over a million words and more than 1,000 entries, the Encyclopedia has unparalleled breadth and depth. Entries range in length from brief paragraphs to major essays of 15,000 words, offering expert synthesis and indispensable bibliographies.

We have earlier editions in print and the 1993 edition online.

 For questions, contact Brian (bvetruba@wustl.edu ; 5-4824 ; IM/chat)

Olin Library Open on Sundays this Summer

While many WUSTL students and faculty bid farewell to campus for several months at this time of year, the libraries across the university are an important resource for those that remain, continuing their research, classes, and other academic pursuits over the course of the summer. With these users in mind, the Libraries have extended Olin Library's summer hours to include Sundays, giving users access to the library's collections, study space, and expert staff seven days a week.

"We hope that this will provide a quiet place to study and do research," says Stephanie Atkins, head of access. "We understand that the classes are shorter during the summer, and students need to maximize their research and study time. We can’t expect them to wait until Monday for the library to open again."

The added summer hours, which begin Sunday, May 19, at 10 a.m., were first implemented in July of 2012, in response to a student's request.

"We welcome all students’ input on how to improve the library," Atkins says. "Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and ideas."

For questions or comments, contact Brian (bvetruba@wustl.edu ; 5-4824 ; IM/chat)

New Books (Comp Lit/Gen Lit), March 2013

A selected lists of new books relevant to Comparative Literature, European Literature, and Literary Theory. 

If you're having trouble find a book, please ask at the Olin Help Desk or contact Brian.

Approaches to teaching Milton's Paradise lost / edited by Peter C. Herman. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2012.

Baudelaire in China : a study in literary reception / Gloria Bien. Newark : University of Delaware Press, 2013.

Conversing identities : encounters between British, Irish and Greek poetry, 1922-1952 / Konstanhtina Georganta. Amsterdan ; New York, NY : Rodopi, 2012.

Desert passions : Orientalism and romance novels / Hsu-Ming Teo. Austin : University of Texas Press, 2012.

Dominant narratives of colonial Hokkaido and imperial Japan : envisioning the periphery and the modern nation-state / Michele M. Mason. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, c2012.

Ex-changes : comparative studies in British and American cultures / edited by Katarzyna Wįeckowska and Edyta Lorek-Jezińska. Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars, 2012. 

The international Strindberg : new critical essays / edited by Anna Westerståhl Stenport. Evanston, Ill. : Northwestern University Press, 2012.

Homoeroticism in Imperial China : a sourcebook / edited and translated by Mark Stevenson and Wu Cuncun. New York : Routledge, 2013.

How to live together : novelistic simulations of some everyday spaces / Roland Barthes. Original title: Comment vivre ensemble: simulations romanesques de quelques espaces quotidiens. New York : Columbia University Press, c2012.

 

Inhabited by stories : critical essays on tales retold / edited by Nancy A. Barta-Smith and Danette DiMarco.  Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2012.

Modernism and the new Spain : Britain, cosmopolitan Europe, and literary history / Gayle Rogers. New York : Oxford University Press, c2012.

Plots of war : modern narratives of conflict / edited by Isabel Capeloa Gil, Adriana Martins. Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter, 2012.

The Routledge concise history of twentieth-century British literature / Ashley Dawson. London ; New York : Routledge, 2013.

Two-timing modernity : homosocial narrative in modern Japanese fiction / J. Keith Vincent. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Asia Center : distributed by Harvard University Press, 2012.

Under Western and Eastern eyes : Ost und West in der Reiseliteratur des 20. Jahrhunderts / Stefan Lampadius und Elmar Schenkel (Hrsg.). Leipzig : Leipziger Universitätsverlag, 2012.

Urbanism and urbanity : the Spanish bourgeois novel and contemporary customs (1845-1925) / Leigh Mercer. Lewisburg [Pa.] : Bucknell University Press ; Lanham, Md. : Co-published with The Rowman & Littlefield Pub., c2013.

The utopia of film : cinema and its futures in Godard, Kluge, and Tahimik / Christopher Pavsek. New York : Columbia University Press, [2013]

Weltliteratur : Modelle transnationaler Literaturwahrnehmung im 19. Jahrhundert / Peter Gossens. Stuttgart : Metzler, 2011.