ENGL 261: The Bible as Literature: Background Information

Why Start With Background Info?

Research, write, and speak from a position of knowledge

An overview of your topic area provides you with specialized vocabulary that is used relating to your topic (you can use these words for searches later in your research process), and helps you to understand the following:

• The historical perspective on your topic
• What the key issues are and how you may want to refine your topic
• Who are the stakeholders (the groups or individuals interested in or affected by this topic)
• A context of how your topic relates to the other issues that surround it

Searching Blooms Literature Database

Bloom's includes a number of entries on the Bible generally and on specific books of the Bible.  Most of the entries are from the following titles:  Critical Companion to the Bible; Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature; Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature; Literature suppressed on religious grounds; and Dictionary of literary and thematic terms.

Search Tips

Follow these steps:

1. Type the name of  the portion of the Bible you wish to research in the search box.  Click the magnifying glass or press enter.

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2.  You may narrow the results with the menu on the right or choose a specific type of article by looking at the bottom of each article entry

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3.  Clicking on the title of an individual item displays the full text.  Menu items under the title provide options to save, email the article to yourself (under "Share"), and get an MLA (or other) citation which you can copy and paste into a document or an email to yourself.

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