Research Guides: DISC Polster: Heroes & Icons: Overview

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Library Search
Library Search allows you to to find and access books articles, books, streaming media and more through a single search box. It connects with about 70% of all of the SMU Libraries collections.
Library Search: Online Resources
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Research Guides
These research guides are the best place to start your research in any discipline. Find relevant databases, general tips about the research process, and citation help.

Find Background Information

World Mythology
Publication Date: 2013
Myths are organized by regions of the world and cultures, such as Oceania, South East Asia, and Meso-America.
Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art
Publication Date: 2010
This specialized encyclopedia is helpful for understanding the culture, the folklore, and the beliefs of the region that produced the myth.
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
Publication Date: 2013
The entries cover topics and persons in major areas of popular culture. Readers will gain perspective on the cultural context in which the topic or person has importance. Use the far right search box to search within this publication.
Encyclopedia of Religion
ISBN: 9780028657332
Publication Date: 2004
This is the standard reference work for this field. Use the search box on the right to search only within this publication.

Find Analysis (Secondary Sources)

MLA International Bibliography
This is a disciplinary database that provides scholarly articles, books, and more on language and literature, including folklore. The sources in this database can also be found through Library Search, but sometimes it is helpful to limit the scope of your search down to a specific discipline. You can also use more powerful search tools like a subject search.
SocINDEX with Full Text
This is a disciplinary database for sociology, which is the study of society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction and culture of everyday life.
JSTOR
Provides image and full-text online access to back issues of selected scholarly journals, books, and primary sources in a wide variety of disciplines.

Can be used for text mining. Data for Research is a free JSTOR service available to anyone interested in mining data for their research project.
Film & Television Literature Index
This is a disciplinary database that covers television and film writing.
APA PsycINFO
Contains how people have responded, psychologically, to various cultural icons, events, and phenomena.

Some eBooks about Superheroes

Find More Books about Superheroes
Add terms to limit the search to your topic.
Sample Search for Wonder Woman
more... less...

Replace "wonder woman" with the characters you're researching to find eBooks about them.

Captain America and the Nationalist Superhero: Metaphors, Narratives, and Geopolitics
Argues that these iconic superheroes contribute to our contemporary understandings of national identity, the righteous use of power, and the role of the U.S., Canada, and Britain in the world.
Superhero Thought Experiments: Comic Book Philosophy
Reading superhero comic books through a philosophical lens reveals how they experiment with complex issues of morality, metaphysics, meaning, and medium.
Superheroes and Gods
Provides a unique study of superheroes and gods in literature, popular culture, and ancient myth.
Do the Gods Wear Capes?
Chapter-length analyses of the early comic book adventures of Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Iron-Man,including: the problem of evil; the will-to-power; the tension between intimacy and vulnerability; and the challenge of love, in the face of mortality.

We are here for you

You have a team of librarians dedicated specifically to support DISC. From developing a solid thesis, to finding the right information, to evaluating and putting it all together, we can help.

Schedule Appointment Chat Email

Communication Arts Librarian

Megan Heuer

Contact:

mheuer@smu.edu
(214) 768-1856

Subjects:Advertising, Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Economics, Government, Human Rights, International Studies, Journalism, Political Science

Help with Searching and Citations

Library Search Help
Information on the best way to use Library Search to find articles, books, films, and journals.
Search Strategies
Help with searching in databases or on the internet, including Google Scholar.
VitalSource
Easy Writer and Style are both available here. Log into the VitalSource Bookshelf app using your school email address.
Redshelf
So What? is available here. Click to access ebooks and search by title.
RefWorks
RefWorks is an easy tool that helps you gather citations directory from library databases and then creates in-text citations and works cited directly in your paper. The Google Docs add on is the easiest to use. This guide links you to RefWorks and teaches you how to use it.

DISC Polster: Heroes & Icons: Overview