Heroes

STEP ONE: Familiarize Yourself with the Prompt

The first step to any successful research assignment is fully understanding your professor's prompt. Pay special attention to what you are supposed to be comparing and the comparison criteria. If your modern hero is not on the list, do not proceed until you meet with Professor Bento. If your modern hero is on the list, meet with Professor Bento anyway! Note how many sources and the types of sources required. Also, there is an outline provided: use it!

Essay 3 Prompt: Final Research Paper

STEP TWO: Gather Your Search Terms

Be strategic, creative, and thorough as you develop your list of search terms. You will be using these terms to search databases, catalogs, and the web.

You can search for sources about the big ideas you're exploring in class:

heroes
archetypes
myths

You can also look for sources about specific literary works/characters:

Beowulf
Odysseus
Achilles
your literary hero here

Finding sources on authors can also be very helpful as you complete your analysis:

Joseph Campbell
Otto Rank
Lord Ragland
Carl Jung
your author here

STEP THREE: Build Background Knowledge

Start with the MJC Library's background reading databases. Gale eBooks and eBook Collection: EBSCOhost are two databases you can use to find topic overviews of major ideas, authors, and specific characters and works.

The articles below are just a few of your options; search the databases and you'll find many more gems.

Analysis of Jung's The Archtypes and the Collective Unconscious
Chapter from 50 Psychology Classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon
Archetypes
Overview article on Jungian archetypes from The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology
Campbell, Joseph (1904-1987)
Concise overview on Campbell and his monomyth theory.
Heroes
This article has a great section on Theories of Hero Myths
Myth
This article is dense, but discusses all the theories explored in your course.
Professor Bento's Infamous Other Articles List
An eclectic list of useful articles compiled by your professor.

Introduction: Heroes & Heroines
From the Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: Heroes and Heroines

STEP FOUR: Find More Focused Information (including scholarly sources)

When you are ready to move beyond background reading, the library has databases where you can find magazine articles, journal articles, and even films. Three of the databases listed below -- JSTOR, EBSCOhost Databases, and Gale Databases
-- include scholarly journal articles.

JSTOR
JSTOR currently offers more than 12 million scholarly journal articles, 100,000 books, and millions of images and primary source materials in 75 disciplines
EBSCOhost Databases
Search multiple databases simultaneously covering almost any topic you need to research at MJC. EBSCO databases include scholarly journals , as well as magazines, newspapers, books, and conference proceedings.
Gale Databases
Search multiple databases covering almost any topic you need to research at MJC. Gale databases include scholarly journals as well as magazines, newspapers, books, videos, and images.

Google Scholar
Identify articles available in MJC Library Databases and via open-access journals.

Kanopy
Kanopy is a video streaming database with a broad selection of over 26,000 documentaries, feature films and training videos from thousands of producers.
Films on Demand
Use Films on Demand when you want educational video content. This streaming video collection contains unlimited, 24/7 access to thousands of videos.

STEP FOUR (CONTINUED): More Great Sources

Mythology by Edith Hamilton
An eBook version of your textbook.
Heroes and Heroines by Salem Press
ISBN: 9781619251816
Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
Call Number: East Campus BL313 .C28 2008
Campbell outlines the Hero's Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world's mythic traditions.
The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious by Jung, Carl
Jung's essay is contained in this eBook
The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth, and Drama by Lord Raglan
Heroic figures, invested with a common pattern that satisfies the human desire for idealization, are the focus of this intriguing study of legendary characters -- from Oedipus and King Arthur to heroes of the Trojan War and Robin Hood.
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler
Call Number: PN1996 .V64 2020
Publication Date: 2020
Writers are storytellers. The best of them have utilized the principles of myth to create masterful stories that are dramatic, entertaining and psychologically true. Based on the work of Joseph Campbell, this edition provides an insider's look at how writers (both fiction and non-fiction) can utilize mythic structure to create powerful narratives. Writers will discover step by step guidelines for structuring plots and creating realistic characters.

Do you want to see what else the MJC Library has available? Search our catalog of eBooks, print books, and more.

OneSearch (Library Catalog)
Why search here? Use OneSearch when you want a simple, one-stop search for discovering and accessing materials that the MJC Library owns.
What's included: Physical books, ebooks, videos, articles, digital media, and more.

Related research guides

Use these MJC Library Research Guides to learn important research skills:

Evaluate Your Sources (Research Guide)
Ready, Set, Cite (MLA)
In-depth help on using the MLA style

Your class librarian

Kathleen Ennis

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Subjects: Arts & Humanities, Biography, Citing Sources, Communication Studies, English, Faculty Guides, Library How-to, Research Tips