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Byzantine History AUBG Library Resources
Gergana Georgieva
Information Literacy Librarian
2010
Levels of instruction
1. The subject matter – facts, people, places, events, dates;
2. Interpretation;
3. Research and analytical skills students must learn to find information and create their interpretations
Rationale
• Interdisciplinary nature of the discipline • There is no single yes-or-no answer in
history• You should know the context to be able to
make a sound judgment
Primary sources
• Created at the time of the event, especially by those taking part in the events:
• Diaries, letters, newspapers, magazine articles, tape recordings, pictures, maps, government documents, court records, business records, church records
Secondary sources
• Created after the event – usually by scholars
• Books, book reviews, scholarly journal articles
• Put facts into context, citations of primary sources
The 7 Steps of Research• Identify and develop your topic• Find background information• Use the online catalog to find books• Find periodicals articles (print and electronic)• Find Internet resources• Evaluate what you have found• Cite what you find using a standard format for
your bibliography
Identify and develop your topic
• State your topic as a question.
• Find keywords that describe your topic
• Test the keywords
Background information
• Common background sources• Why background sources? • How to use background sources
effectively?• Bibliographies
Background information - print
• Historical dictionary of Byzantium / John H. Rosser Ref DF552 .R67 2001
• The Oxford dictionary of Byzantium / Alexander P. Kazhdan, editor in chief Ref DF521 .O93 1991
Background information - electronic
• Oxford Reference Online
Dynasties of the world Oxford Dictionary of the Classical WorldA Dictionary of World HistoryThe Oxford Companion to Classical CivilizationThe Concise Oxford Companion to ClassicalLiteratureWho's Who in the Classical WorldOxford Dictionary of the Classical World
BooksWhy do we consult books?
– Authorship – Analysis – Multiple viewpoints– Additional resources
“A historical monograph is the culmination of years spent reading, researching in the field, plowing through musty tomes, and pouring over dusty, fragile manuscripts.”
Joel. D. Kitchens
Books - print• On-line catalog • Byzantine Empire History• Byzantine Empire History, 1057-1453• Byzantine Empire -- History -- 1081-1453. • Byzantine Empire -- History -- 527-1081. • Byzantine Empire -- History -- Basil II Bulgaroctonus, 976-1025. • Byzantine Empire -- History -- Constantine XI Dragases, 1448-1453.
• Byzantine Empire -- History -- Dictionaries. • Byzantine Empire -- History -- Justinian I, 527-565 • Byzantine Empire -- History -- Justinian I, 527-565 • Byzantine Empire -- History -- Justinian I, 527-565 -- Historiography.
Books - electronic
• Ebrary• Byzantine Empresses : Women and Powe
r in Byzantium, AD 527-1204
• Perfect Servant : Eunuchs and the Social Construction of Gender in Byzantium
• Perfect Servant : Eunuchs and the Social Construction of Gender in Byzantium
• Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World
Find periodicals articles - electronic
Electronic Journals Portal
Byzantinoslavica (0007-7712) from 2008 to 2008 in Central and Eastern European Online Library
Greek, Roman and Byzantine studies (0017-3916) from 01/04/1995 to 01/12/2005 in ProQuest Central
Databases
CEEOL
DOAJ
EBSCO
JSTOR
ProQuest Central
Find Internet resources
• Search engines • Directories • http://www.google.com/Top/Society/History
/By_Time_Period/Middle_Ages/Byzantine_Empire/
• Byzantine Empire < History < Europe in the Yahoo! Directory
• Discipline Specific Resources
Searching: How to be Effective?
• Narrow your search – Be more specific– Use phrases – Add a discriminating or qualifying word or
phrase • Broaden your search
– Use lower case – Use truncation
Evaluate
• S – Scope – are all aspects of the topic covered• T – Treatment – is the information free from bias• A – Authority – are the authors qualified to
provide this information• R – Relevance – does it address your topic• T – Timeliness – Is the information current for
your purpose
Cite
• Most common styles of citing
– Modern Language Association (MLA)– American Psychological Association (APA)
Step 1
• Long Term Effects of the Great Plague in Constantinople 541-543
Keywords• Great Plague• Constantinople• 5th c. • Effects • Justinian I • Procopius • Evagrius
• Bubonic plague • Buboes• Plague of Justinian• Black Death
Step 2
• Reference Sources – The Oxford dictionary of Byzantium
Ref DF521 .O93 1991 - Historical dictionary of Byzantium
Ref DF552 .R67 2001
Step 2-continued
• Oxford Reference Online
Dynasties of the world Oxford Dictionary of the Classical WorldA Dictionary of World HistoryThe Oxford Companion to Classical CivilizationThe Concise Oxford Companion to ClassicalLiteratureWho's Who in the Classical WorldOxford Dictionary of the Classical World
Step 3
• On-line catalog • Subject headings
– Byzantine Empire -- History -- Justinian I, 527-565 – Byzantine Empire -- History -- Justinian I, 527-565 – Byzantine Empire -- History -- Justinian I, 527-565 --
Historiography.
– Justinian I, Emperor of the East, 483?-565.– Justinianus I, Emperor of the East, 483?-565 -- Fictio
n
Step 3 - continued
• Ebrary• Byzantine Empresses : Women and Powe
r in Byzantium, AD 527-1204• Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantin
e World
Step 4• Print Periodicals • Electronic Periodicals
– Electronic Journals Portal • Greek, Roman and Byzantine studies (0017-
3916) from 01/04/1995 to 01/12/2005 in ProQuest Central
• Greece and Rome (0017-3835) from 1931 to 2003 in JSTOR Arts and Sciences II Collection from 01/10/2001 to 1 year ago in ProQuest Central
Step 4 - Databases
ProQuest Central
Procopius' Secret History: Rethinking the Date
Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire and the Birth of Europe
We're just a flea bite away from catastrophe ourselves; A history of Byzantium and the plague that brought it down echoes in our fretful times;
• JSTOR– Justinian and the Historian Procopius – The Barbarians in Justinian's Armies – Procopius and the Imperial Panels of S. Vit
ale
– That Earlier Plague – The End of an Epoch
Step 4 - Databases
Step 5
• Discipline Specific Resources
– http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medweb/– http://www.doaks.org/– http://home.vicnet.net.au/~byzaus/– http://www.byzantium.ac.uk/index.htm
Ask a Librarian • At Reference/Circulation desk • Virtual Reference
Monday-Friday 9.00-17.00• By e-mail: [email protected]• By phone: 888 341/354• And more …
