What Users Say

• “I have used the LE to create bookshelves which I have included on the online course pages for my taught modules. What I most like is that students appear tempted to browse outside the immediate items recommended because of the online layout of the Encyclopedia, so its use has resulted in some quite creative exploratory research, even at first year undergraduate level.” Dr Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies, King’s College London
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is becoming an increasingly useful reference work and research tool for students and scholars of Hispanic Studies, with entries spanning the Early Modern through to the Contemporary, accompanied by helpful guidance on secondary reading.” Dr Federico Bonaddio, Senior Lecturer in Modern Spanish Studies, King’s College London
• “The LE, unlike other online resources is compiled and overseen by experts in the field. It provides students with a reliable standard that can't be corrupted in the way that other online sites can easily be. The surety, detail and concision of the LE make it the go-to site for literature students.” Dr Andrew Lesk, University of Toronto
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is unparalleled in its combination of range and rigour. It is an incredible achievement and an invaluable resource.” Dr Robert McGill, Associate Professor of English, University of Toronto
• “The Literary Encyclopedia plays an essential role in motivating my students to learn more about specific authors and their works. The enhanced digital features of the site allow easy access to reliable resources and links for Cultural and Literary projects and for cross-cultural classroom discussions. In my online and hybrid courses, students have greatly benefited from developing their cognitive skills independently with the use of The Literary Encyclopedia content. The site provided them with valuable background information for their study and reflection topics. From a pedagogical perspective, I appreciate its versatility. It offers rigorous editorial review and can be used in complement of or without a textbook. It is an excellent resource for homework, review, pre-test or test, as in-class activities or in online learning assignments.” Dr Marie-Anne Visoi, Associate Professor of French, University of Toronto
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is an excellent resource for students of Anglo-Saxon literature and culture. While most similar websites or handbooks content themselves with a handful of entries on this period, The Literary Encyclopedia has dozens of detailed, properly referenced articles by the leading scholars in the field, on everything from Beowulf and King Alfred the Great to the Old English language and Anglo-Saxon medicine.” Dr Richard Dance, Reader in Early English, University of Cambridge
• “The Literary Encyclopedia gives concise critical overviews of literary topics. I recommend it as an introductory source for material that hasn't been covered in lectures, and that students find they need to scope out as they develop their individual writing projects, for instance if they need to learn more about a particular author or literary movement. It's fuller than a dictionary, and more reliable than Wikipedia.” Dr Amy Morris, University of Cambridge
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is a wonderful resource. What sets it apart is the sheer quality of its short articles on an amazing breadth of topics. I regularly advise my students to use it to help them orientate themselves in relation to specific authors or works. In contrast to much online material, it offers them an authoritative overview that is also a gateway to further learning, enabling them to go on to undertake their own wider primary and secondary reading.” Dr Tom Walker, Ussher Assistant Professor in Irish Writing, Trinity College Dublin
• “As a literature professor I consistently refer my students to The Literary Encyclopedia as a starting point for background information and additional reading on the authors and works that are relevant to my courses. It is reassuring to know that the students are reading articles that have been written and edited by specialists in the field, as opposed to a wiki-type site on which the information is not always verified for accuracy and thoroughness. In addition, the bookshelf tool provides a way for students to help shape the direction of their studies in my courses; I can refer them to the sample bookshelves of articles on the site, and then I assign them the task of compiling their own bookshelves for their presentations and seminar paper topics.” Dr Jennifer Marston William, Professor of German, Purdue University
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is a highly useful tool for teachers and researchers alike. On my course websites I often place links to The Literary Encyclopedia pages dedicated to the authors we study. As a researcher I enjoy using the Timeline interface, which can generate a chronology on decolonization in Africa or produce a contextualizing timeline of political events for Olive Schreiner's 1911 study Woman and Labour. The updated interface and the new ways of encouraging users to draw on the resources available in the database (bookshelves dedicated to frequently taught topics, lists of recommended readings, and a travel grant for young/emerging scholars) are further valuable components.” Monica Popescu, Associate Professor, McGill University
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is an essential resource for students and even for instructors seeking background information on or critical approaches to a vast array of authors and works. Today's undergraduates expect to be able to use online sources for their study of literature; The Literary Encyclopedia guarantees that students have a resource their instructors can depend on for accurate and insightful starting points for reading and research. In other words, this resource gives teachers a trustworthy alternative to less reliable internet sources that students are likely to find on their own. Moreover, instructors will appreciate this resource for their own preparation and research.” Daniel Robinson, Professor of English, Widener University
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is proving an invaluable resource for students at Dulwich College. The constantly expanding collection of articles written by academics from around the world provides students with relevant and reliable information to enhance the quality of their research and enables them to write in confidence knowing that the information they have read is authoritative. The author chronologies provide an additional benefit allowing students to put an author’s works into historical context. A fantastic resource!” Paul Fletcher, Head of Libraries, Dulwich College, London
• “The Literary Encyclopedia is without a doubt one of the most relevant sources for students in the arts, humanities and social sciences in particular, as it provides serious, up-to-date, and, most importantly, accurate and critical information about key authors and texts. A wonderful resource. The editors are most helpful and efficient, and I am happy to be a part of such a tremendous collective effort.” Alexis Mevel, PhD student, Department of French, University of Nottingham
• “I consider Litencyc a very valuable tool and I recommend it constantly to my students; I think it is very important for us teachers to be able to show students that there are excellent online resources at their disposal. In the age of digital affluence it seems also pedagogically wise to 'ween' them from trusting too easily in Wikipedia and others that do not meet academic requirements.” Dominik Wallerius, PhD student and Tutor, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany
• “I love the LE! I subscribed even though I've finished my studies because it's so interesting and useful. While a student, I found the LE an invaluable tool and a legitimate source for research. I knew that my tutors would approve of my use of the site as the articles are written by specialist scholars. The further research available through the recommended reading and web resources is incredibly helpful.” Hayley Cameron, former BA student, University of Dundee