Introduction and general research tips
This guide is designed to help you with research into more contemporary American texts from the 20th and 21st centuries.
As with several of the other areas covered in this guide, we recommend starting with the databases on our General page when searching for secondary sources, particularly MLA Bibliography and Google Scholar for more contemporary texts. If you are looking at a very recent text, published in the last five years or so, you may need to tailor your search to book reviews and author interviews about your text, since there may not have been enough time for peer-reviewed scholarly work to be published.
Since research in this field can vary so widely, we also recommend starting with online archives like HathiTrust and Internet Archives when looking for primary sources. Also remember that many authors who fall under this period’s umbrella are still living, and their voices can be found in newspapers, podcasts, interviews, and other forms of both print and online content.
Flagship journals and other recommendations
General Research Tip: When working with contemporary texts and authors, it can be helpful to look for book reviews and interviews in addition to peer-reviewed scholarly work. Peer-review and publication are years-long processes and, if your research pertains to very contemporary work, broadening the scope of your search can help you find resources you may have unknowingly excluded.
- American LiteratureAmerican Literature is one of the bigger outlets for scholarly work on this period. Each issue contains book reviews and scholarly work that cover a wide range of authors and time periods, from the colonial to the contemporary.
- Contemporary LiteratureContemporary Literature contains scholarly essays on literature written in English. While they may not be limited to American literature, they are dedicated to covering current literature with a diverse range of critical approaches. They also publish interviews with living writers.
- Contemporary Women's WritingContemporary Women’s Writing focuses on scholarly work about women writers from 1970 through today. This publication aims to reflect on developments in women’s writing, survey a variety of work across specializations and regions, and look forward to new and exciting work being done today.
- Modernism/ModernityModernism/Modernity utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to modernist studies, linking music, architecture, visual arts, and history with literary study. While this scope is broad, this can also allow you to make connections between disciplines that may not have otherwise been apparent.
- Journal of Modern LiteratureJournal of Modern Literature showcases literary work in all languages, including related arts and cultural artifacts, from the 1900s to today. It is international and interdisciplinary in scope, publishing work from scholars around the world in a variety of genres and modes.
- MELUS (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States)MELUS features articles, interviews, and reviews that focus on American literature through a multi-ethnic scope. Most issues are organized around a central theme, with the aim of broadening our understanding of topics, criticisms, and theories that we use as literary scholars.
- Arizona QuarterlyArizona Quarterly publishes scholarly work on American literature, culture, and theory, encouraging debate and varied interpretation through critical reading and theoretical examination of texts.
- American Literary HistoryAmerican Literary History covers the study of American literature across all time periods, with the aim of providing a forum for the many competing voices and modes of thought at work in the field today. They publish essays and reviews, critical exchanges, articles on historical and theoretical questions, and welcome interdisciplinary studies.
Reference works
We recommend starting with reference works that deal directly with historical events relevant to your text.
Encyclopedia of America in the Twentieth Century by Publication Date: 1995The Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century is a four volume reference work that contains entries across multiple disciplines and fields related to American life in the 1900s. It is divided into six sections: the American people, politics, society and culture, the economy, science, technology and medicine, and global America. All volumes are available at the Bracken library.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture by Publication Date: 2000The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture contains entries ranging from short definitions to longer overview essays, all aiming to provide insightful coverage of all aspects of American culture from the end of World War II through the beginning of the 21st century, paying special attentions to issues of race, gender, class, and space.
Current and historical news
Since many contemporary works directly relate to contemporary events, we also recommend databases that contain current news content.
- New York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new windowThis database offers a full search of articles published in the New York Times from 1851 to three years ago, including digital full-text versions of past articles.
Other resources
- PennSoundPennSound archives interviews and recordings of poets reading and discussing their work, as well as readings and discussions of classic poetry written in English.
- Modernist Studies’ “Print Plus” PlatformModernist Studies’ “Print Plus” Platform is an open access companion to the journal of the same name, and is a great place to locate and explore current conversations about the field.
- The Modernist Journals ProjectThe Modernist Journals Project digitizes English-language literary magazines from the 1890s to the 1920s, and offers essays and other secondary support materials from the period. Their collection of literary magazines cuts off at 1922 and is cultivated with the aim of showing the rise and maturation of modernism in the early 20th century.
Professional organizations and conferences
- The Modernist Studies AssociationThe Modernist Studies Association is an international, interdisciplinary organization for Modernist scholars that aims to stimulate conversation and study across academic disciplines and specializations. They host an annual conference as well.
- The Louisville Conference on Literature & Culture Since 1900The Louisville Conference on Literature & Culture Since 1900 accepts critical papers on any topic that addresses literary works published since 1900, as well as their relationship to other arts and disciplines. They feature several Societies in Residence, including the E.E. Cummings Society, the T. S. Eliot Society, and the International Virginia Woolf Society, and also welcome submissions from creative writers and work addressing the conference’s topics on world/global Literatures.
- MELUS (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States)MELUS also hosts an annual conference where scholars interested in multi-ethnic American literature are welcome to submit their work in conjunction with that year’s theme.
- Regional affiliates of the Modern Language AssociationRegional affiliates of the Modern Language Association also host local conferences where you can hear scholarship on contemporary literature. If you are traveling from Ball State, the Midwest Modern Language Association and Northeast Modern Language Association both host annual conferences.