Literary Research and the British Renaissance and Early Modern Period Strategies and Sources

Recognizing that every literary era presents scholars with particular challenges, this volume describes best practices and important reference resources, both print and electronic, that can be used to conduct literary research of the British Renaissance and early modern period of English literature. Although the focus is England, the book also addresses Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Literary Research and the British Renaissance and Early Modern Period examines specific research characteristics integral to studying these periods, including a more inclusive canon and the predominance of Shakespeare, a dual environment of print and manuscript production, the challenges of reading early modern handwriting, a lack of reviewing media, the role of translations, and researching nonstandard genres. Central to this work and to literary research of the era are the equally valid approaches of studying this literature through the more traditional Renaissance lens and varying theoretical approaches falling under the rubric "early modern".

Jennifer Bowers is assistant professor and social sciences reference librarian at the University of Denver Penrose Library. Peggy Keeran is professor and arts and humanities reference librarian at the University of Denver Penrose Library. The authors are coeditors of Scarecrow Press's literary Research: Strategies and Sources series and wrote the first volume of the series, Literary Research and the British Romantic Era: Strategies and Sources (2005).