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ARTHIST 225 Ancient Mesoamerican Art and Architecture

A survey of the art and architecture of ancient Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America), beginning with the Olmec on Mexico’s Gulf Coast, covering the immense metropolis of Teotihuacan and the Maya and Zapotec civilizations, and ending with the Aztecs.

AGENDA

I. Introductions - how to get in touch with your subject librarian after this session 

2. Quick overview of this course guide 

3. Prompt - Architecture students will choose an architecture topic; museum students will choose a museum topic; other students can choose any topic. collecting BACKGROUND information and KEYWORDS 

Search keywords Maya calendar or Aztec calendar in several databases and Library Search (Emory's libary catalog) and Articles+

4. Discuss literature review 

5. Time permitting, demo some searching 

 

Collecting background information and keywords

Ex.  Zapotec - Paddock, John, and Joseph Heid. "Zapotec." Grove Art Online. 2003

Storey, Rebecca. "Teotihuacán." In The Oxford Companion To Archaeology. : Oxford University Press, 2012. 

What is a Literature Review

What is a Literature Review?
A literature or narrative review is a comprehensive review and analysis of the published literature on a specific topic or research question. The literature that is reviewed contains: books, articles, academic articles, conference proceedings, association papers, and dissertations. It contains the most pertinent studies and points to important past and current research and practices. It provides background and context, and shows how your research will contribute to the field. 

A literature review should: 

Provide a comprehensive and updated review of the literature;
Explain why this review has taken place;
Articulate a position or hypothesis;
Acknowledge and account for conflicting and corroborating points of view

1)    Define the topic or research question 
2)    Determine inclusion/exclusion criteria - Think about relevant dates, geographies (and languages), methods, and conflicting points of view
3)    Choose databases and conduct the search
4)    Review your results, 

  • Save your search results in a citation management tool (such as Zotero or EndNote)
  • De-duplicate your search results
  • Make sure that you've found the seminal pieces 
  • Check with your professor or a librarian to make sure your search has been comprehensive

5)    Synthesize the information gathered - Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of individual sources and evaluate for bias, methodologies, and thoroughness and develop your conclusions
6)    Analyze the information gathered

  • Are there gaps in the literature?
  • Where has significant research taken place, and who has done it?
  • Which methodological approaches work best?

7)    Organize your citations and focus on your research question and pertinent studies and compile your bibliography
 

1. Provide historical background for your research 

2. Give an overview of current context for the field 

3. Discuss relevant theories and concepts that underpin your research - your approach 

4. Provide relevant terminology and provide key definitions to clarify how terms are being used

5. Describe relevant research in the field and show how your work fits 

6. Gives supporting evidence for a practical problem, show the are is reputable and scholarly