RELI-111 | Moodle site: Course
Robert Doran | Susan Niditch
You could use Discover to get started searching for books and articles, but that can feel overwhelming. Try spending a few minutes first searching a keyword or group's name in Reference Universe, or in the index of one of the below books—it can save you lots of time getting up to speed.
The encyclopedia of apocalypticism (New York : Continuum, 1998), Frost Reference / BL501 .E53 1998
Encyclopedia of religion, online or Frost Reference / BL31 .E46 2005
Continuum history of apocalypticism, ed. Bernard J. McGinn, John J. Collins, Stephen J. Stein (New York : Continuum, 2003), Frost Stacks / BL501 .C66 2003
Controversial new religions, ed. James R. Lewis, Jesper Aa. Petersen (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), Frost Stacks / BP603 .C66 2014
Bloomsbury companion to new religious movements, ed. George D. Chryssides and Benjamin E. Zeller (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014), Frost Stacks / BP603 .B57 2014
In searching the Five Colleges Catalog, try a keyword search [Jonestown or "Jim Jones"], then look for subject headings [Apocalyptic literature, End of the world -- Comparative studies] in the record to click through to other books. If you're still deciding on a topic, you can try a search strategy like this to browse:
apocalyp* OR millenial*
AND religio* OR cult OR sect
AND leader OR group
A concept map can be really helpful as you move into the research process. It
... serves as a visual tool for organizing ideas
... uses free association
... aids in developing questions
... reveals themes and patterns
... helps you generate search terms.
Download a blank one here: