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ENGL 091: Feminist Film and Media Studies

Swarthmore College Library
English 091: Feminist Film and Media Studies
Patricia White, Professor
Megan Adams, Social Sciences Librarian & Women's Studies Specialist

"Dream Girls"
A film by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams
Image from Women Make Movies

Introduction

This guide will help you locate the most relevant library resources for this course, including feminist film reviews and feminist film criticism.

Useful General and Women-Focused Reference Books

General Books

Oxford Guide to Film Studies edited by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson
S McCabe Ref PN 1995 O93 1998

The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume by Ephrain Katz
S McCabe Ref PN 1993.45 K34 1994

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, 3rd edition edited by Nicolet V Elert, Aruna Vasudevan, and Leanda Shrimpton
S McCabe Ref PN 1997.8 I58 1996 v. 1-4

Volume 1: Films
Volume 2: Directors
Volume 3: Actors and Actresses
Volume 4: Writers and Production Assistants

Women-Related Books

Films For, By and About Women: Series I and Series II by Kaye Sullivan
S McCabe Ref PN 1995.9 W6 S95
S McCabe Ref PN 1995.9 W6 S95 1985

Provides brief synopses of films (documentary, theatrical, etc.) Extensive subject bibliography. Covers the period up to 1985.

Women and Film: A Bibliography by Rosemary Ribich Kowalski
S McCabe Ref PN 1995.9 W6 K68 1976

Bibliography of works about women as performers, as filmmakers, images of women, and as columnists and critics. Covers the period up to 1975.

Women of Color: A Filmography of Minority and Third World Women by Maryann Oshana
S McCabe Ref PN 1995.9 W6 O83 1985

Filmography of English-language films with American women minority or Thrid World characters. Covers films from 1930 to 1983.

Biographical Information

The following titles contain biographical information on women film directors.

Calling the Shots: Profiles of Women Filmmakers by Janis Cole and Holly Dale
S McCabe General Reserves PN1998.2 .C34 1993

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television edited by Emily J. McMurray
S McCabe Ref PN 2008 C58, vols. 1-33

Film Fatales: Independent Women Directors by Judith M. Redding and Victoria A. Brownworth
S McCabe Stacks PN1998.2 .R43 1997

Women's Companion to International Film edited by Annette Kuhn with Susannah Radstone
S McCabe Ref PN 1993.45 W6 1994

Women Directors: The Emergence of a New Cinema by Barbara Koenig Quart
S McCabe Stacks PN1995.9.W6 Q37 1988

Women Film Directors: An International Bio-Critical Dictionary by Gwendolyn Audrey Foster
S McCabe Ref PN 1998.2 F67 1995

Women Filmmakers & Their Films with introductory essays by Gwendolyn Audrey Foster and Katrien Jacobs; edited by Amy L. Unterburger
S McCabe Ref PN1998.2 .W66 1998

Using Tripod to Find Books

Try the following subject heading searches in Tripod, the combined online library catalog of Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore College Libraries.

To find more books, try keyword, author, or title searches.

Once you identify books you want, note their location, call number, and status. Items owned at Swarthmore College will be indicated by a location beginning with "S," those at Haverford with an "H," and those at Bryn Mawr with a "B." Items from Haverford and Bryn Mawr can be requested and will be delivered to Swarthmore within about 24-48 hours. Select the "Request" button at the top of the web page with the information about the book.

Using Print Indexes and Online Databases to Find Articles and Reviews

While Tripod will tell you what books and journals are owned by the Tri-College libraries, indexes and databases will tell you what articles are in which newspapers and journals. The following print indexes and online databases will be helpful to you as you do your research for this class. Remember that film studies and women's studies are both interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary; you may have to search in more than one or two of these sources to find relevant citations to articles and reviews.

Print Indexes

American Film Institute Catalog S McCabe Ref PN 1998 A6
Comprehensive information on films made from 1893-1970.
Film Literature Index S McCabe Ref PN 1993 F45.
We have 1973-1999. A useful subject heading to use is "feminist analysis"
Film Review Index S McCabe Ref PN1995 .F54 1986, v.1 and v. 2
Look up a film by title, find citations to reviews. 1882-1985.
Motion Picture Guide S McCabe Ref PN1993 N342, 1927-1999
Issued yearly since 1985. Provides basic information and synopses and critical appraisals of films.
New York Times Film Reviews S McCabe Ref PN1995 .N4, v. 1-19, 1913-1994.
Annual reprinting of film reviews published in the New York Times. For current reviews, use Academic Universe, select News, then select Arts & Sports.
Variety's Film Reviews S McCabe Ref PN1995 .V34, 1907-1996
Annual reprinting of film reviews published in Variety.

Online Indexes

AFI Database Access Online version of the printed American Film Institue Catalog.
Alternative Press Index Access Citations are drawn from roughly 380 alternative, radical, and left publications from 1991-present. Indexes many sources not indexed elsewhere.
ARTbibliographies Modern Access This databases indexes a full range of artistic journals. Coverage is from 1974-present.
Expanded Academic ASAP Access This cross-disciplinary databases offers much full-text. Citations and selected full text back to 1980.
GenderWatch Access

This full-text women's and gender studies database provides citations and full text back to the mid-1970s for selected titles.

International Index to the Performing Arts Full Text Access Of the 200 journals indexed in IIPA, 25 are full-text back to 1998.
MLA Bibliography Access The primary scholarly database in language and literature, from the Modern Language Association. Indexes over 3000 journals, many back to 1963.
PCI: Periodical Contents Index Access Indexes the contents of thousands of humanities and social sciences journals from their first issue (some back to the late 1700s) to the 1990s.
Project Muse Access This full text database of journals from several university presses and includes titles such as Camera Obscura and Cinema Journal. Full text is generally from the mid-to-late 1990s.
Wilson Indexes Access Contains the Art Index, among other databases. Indexes many journals back to the mid-1980s.
Women's Studies International Access This major women's studies index provides citations to articles, books, and other resources. It is compiled from 9 other databases, including Women's Studies Abstracts.

Selected Journals with Film Reviews

Film journals with owned in print or online by one of the Tri-College Libraries include:

Journal Title Location Indexed in:
Afterimage S McCabe Periodicals, 1975-present Art Index (Wilson)
ArtBibliographies Modern
Film Literature Index
American Film S McCabe Periodicals, 1975-1992 Art Index (Wilson)
Cahiers du Cinéma S McCabe Periodicals, 1951-1964 and 1967-present Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
International Index to Performing Arts
Camera Obscura S McCabe Periodicals, 1976-present
Online via Project Muse, 2000-present
Online via GenderWatch, 1995-1999		 Alternative Press Index
International Index to Performing Arts
MLA International Bibliography
Women's Resources International
CineAction! B Canaday, 1999-present Film Literature Index
International Index to Performing Arts
Cineaste

S McCabe Periodicals, 1977-present
Online via IIPAFT, 1997-present

 Alternative Press Index
Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
International Index to Performing Arts
MLA International Bibliography
PCI: Periodicals Contents Index
Cinema Journal S McCabe Periodicals, 1974-present
Online via Project Muse, 1999-present		 Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
International Index to Performing Arts
MLA International Bibliography
PCI: Periodicals Contents Index
Film Comment S McCabe Periodicals, 1970-present
Online via Expanded Academic, 1994-present		 Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
Humanities Index (Wilson)
International Index to Performing Arts
PCI: Periodicals Contents Index
Reader's Guide Abstracts (Wilson)
Film Culture S McCabe Periodicals, 1955-1992 Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
Film Quarterly S McCabe Periodicals, 1958-present
Online via Expanded Academic, 1994-present		 Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
Humanities Index (Wilson)
International Index to Performing Arts
MLA International Bibliography
PCI: Periodicals Contents Index
Reader's Guide Abstracts (Wilson)
Jump Cut S McCabe Microfilm, 1974-1997
Online via IIPAFT, 1998-present
Online via Wilson Index, 1998-present		 Alternative Press Index
Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
International Index to Performing Arts
Screen S McCabe Periodicals, 1975-present Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
Sight and Sound S McCabe Periodicals, 1932-present
Current issues in McCabe Coffee Bar 		Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
Humanities Index (Wilson)
International Index to Performing Arts
MLA International Bibliography
Wide Angle S McCabe Periodicals, 1977-present
Online via Project Muse, 1996-1999 		Art Index (Wilson)
Film Literature Index
International Index to Performing Arts
MLA International Bibliography

There are other journals on film studies available in the Tri-College Libraries. Try a subject search in Tripod using the following subject: motion pictures -- periodicals.

Using the World Wide Web

For More Information

Please contact:

Megan Adams, Social Sciences Librarian & Women's Studies Specialist
x8503, madams1@swarthmore.edu

Document created: 04/16/2001
Last Updated: 12/01/2004
Owner: Megan Adams, madams1@swarthmore.edu

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