Library Research Guides: CINEMA & MEDIA STUDIES: Find Context & Overviews

Reference Collections

Specialized encyclopedias, handbooks, companions, and other reference works can be good starting places for getting an overview of a topic, definitions of key terms, vocabulary for searching, and suggestions for further reading. The following databases allow you to search across multiple reference works at once.

Encyclopedia Articles & More
This is a subset of SuperSearch that searches several reference databases at once.

Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Bibliographies are research guides in a variety of subject areas. Combining features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia, this resource directs researchers to top scholarship across a wide variety of topics.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Full text of over 100 reference books in all disciplines published by Oxford University Press
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Search 500+ reference works in all disciplines
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Search across encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books.
Sage Knowledge Online This link opens in a new window
Search across more than 100 encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works.

Overviews

The History of Cinema: A Very Short Introdution
Oxford University Press, 2018
Film: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Wood
Oxford University Press, 2012
Black and White Cinema: A Short History (e-book)
Rutgers University Press, 2015 (Also available in print in Clapp Library PN1995.9.B575 D59 2015)

Selected Reference Books

A Dictionary of Film Studies (e-book) by Annette Kuhn; Guy Westwell
Covers all aspects of film studies, including critical terms, concepts, movements, national and international cinemas, film history, genres, practices, and key technical terms and concepts. (Oxford University Press, 2020)
The Anthem Handbook of Screen Theory by Hunter Vaughan & Tom Conley (Eds.)
Publication Date: 2018
Offers a survey of the new horizons of film and media theory, focusing on the applicability of screen theories and updating the field for new social, cultural and geopolitical contexts.
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media
Publication Date: 2014
Presents "an interdisciplinary panorama of the ideas, genres, and theoretical concepts that have allowed digital media to produce some of the most innovative intellectual, artistic, and social practices of our time.... An easy-to-consult reference work for digital media scholars or for scholars in other disciplines wishing to familiarize themselves with this fast-developing field." (from the Preface)
A Companion to New Media Dynamics by John Hartley, Jean Burgess, & Axel Bruns (Eds.)
Publication Date: 2013
A collection of multidisciplinary readings that examine the origins, evolution, and cultural underpinnings of the media of the digital age. Features interdisciplinary contributions in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and creative arts. Addresses a wide range of issues from the ownership and regulation of new media to their form and cultural uses.
Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film (e-book) by Barry Keith Grant
Publication Date: 2006
Provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to film and film studies, covering such aspects as production, national traditions, studios, genres, critical theory and film history.
International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (e-book)
Publication Date: 2000
Provides detailed essays, authored by experts, on films and filmmakers, actors and actresses, directors, writers and other production artists. Also includes biographies; filmographies; comprehensive credits; major awards; and updated bibliographies.
Great Directors website
Critical essays on the life of work of renowned international film directors. Essays include filmographies, bibliographies, and links to related websites. From the online film journal Senses of Cinema.
Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series by Armstrong, Richard B.
Call Number: Clapp Ref PN1997.8 .A76 2001
Film Analysis Web Site 2.0 | Yale University
Definitions of terms used in film analysis, and of terminology for cinematic techniques
Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film by Aitken, Ian
Call Number: Clapp Ref PN1995.9.D6 E53 2006
Encyclopedia of Early Cinema (e-book)
Also available in print in Clapp Ref PN1993.45 .E53 2005
Women Filmmakers & Their Films by Unterberger, Amy L.
Call Number: Clapp Ref PN1998.2 .W66 1998
Women Film Directors: An International Bio-Critical Dictionary by Foster, Gwendolyn
Call Number: Clapp Ref PN1998.2 .F67 1995
The Oxford History of World Cinema
Call Number: Clapp Ref PN1993.5.A1 O96 1996
Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory (e-book)
Routledge, 2000