HON 103 - Religious and Scientific Perspectives on Human Origins and the Human Body

Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Writing the Paper

Pat Prieto Reference & Instruction Librarian 207-780-5662 email me

This guide lists some reference sources for Honors 103: Religious and Scientific Perspectives on Human Origins and the Human Body. (Spring 2008). Because the course is interdisciplinary, the guide is selective, not comprehensive.

To find books, videos, government documents, as well as the titles of journals, held in the University of Maine System, consult URSUS, the online catalog. (Because journal articles are not individually included in URSUS, you will need to use a discipline-specific index to find titles of relevant articles. See INDEXES and DATABASES below)

Given the interdisciplinary nature of this course, you should probably start your search by using keywords. Among the many possibilities are: “religion and science;” “religion and the body”; “body and origin”; “human origin”; “gender and body”; “body anomaly”; “body identity”; “body and origin”; “body and self”and “creation myths.” Use the results of such searches to narrow or broaden your inquiries by clicking on the blue “subject headings” that appear at the bottom of each entry. You will arrive at such titles as Lost Souls: The Philosophic Origins of a Cultural Dilemma; The Origins of European Thought about the Body, the Mind, the Soul, the World, Time, and Fate : New Interpretations of Greek, Roman and Kindred Evidence also of some Basic Jewish and Christian beliefs; and Where Darwin meets the Bible: Creationists and Evolutionists in America.

To obtain materials not located at your USM library, but within URSUS, click on the Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM card, it begins with 25022....). Before you can do so, you must have your barcode activated at any circulation desk.

If an item is not available within URSUS, hit the Maine InfoNet button to search—and request from—other libraries in the state. If you still cannot locate an item, request it through Interlibrary Loan (Illiad).

Reference sources provide general background information on a topic. Below are some that may be useful.

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution
Por Ref GN 281 C345)

Encyclopedia of Anthropology
Gor Ref GN11 E63

The encyclopedia of religion [electronic resource] (see URSUS for link)

Encyclopedia of social welfare history in North America
POR Reference HV12 .E497 2005

Gale encyclopedia of mental disorders [electronic resource] (see URSUS for link)

Gale encyclopedia of science [electronic resource] (see URSUS for link)

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind
Por Ref GN 307 144

Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
Gor Ref GT 2850 E53

Poverty in the United States [electronic resource] : an encyclopedia of history, politics, and policy (see URSUS for link)

Putnam's Mythological Dictionary
Por Ref BL31 K3

Depending on your specific topic, you can use many of USM’s databases to find relevant material. Below are just a few that should be useful. For additional help finding research articles, see the Finding Articles Tutorial.

Academic Search Premier
Provides citation information and some full-text access to about 3500 peer-reviewed journals, and citation information for approximately 7000 journals, magazines, and newspapers in total. Coverage dates vary by resource.

AnthroSource
Developed by the American Anthropological Association, it contains a complete electronic archive of all AAA journals through 2003, access to a core collection of journals in the field of anthropology, aswell as current issues of eleven critical peer-reviewed publications.

BIOSIS Previews
Subject coverage includes agriculture, biochemistry, bioengineering, botany, ecology, genetics, microbiology, pharmacology, and zoology, from approximately 5500 journals, as well as from books, review papers, and technical reports. Coverage starts with 1990.

CINAHL
A nursing database with coverage from 1982.

Electronic journals: Full Text (EBSCOhost Electronic Journals Service)
Full-text articles from nearly 700 disciplinary journals.

ERIC (Education)
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) indexes "journal and non-journal education literature for K-12 teachers, school administrators, education faculty, school psychologists and education students". Sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, ERIC contains more than 1.2 million citations.

HeinOnline
Indexes and full-text access to legal and policy journals from around the world. Dates of coverage vary by resource

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Offers abstracts—and the first 24 pages—of all U.S dissertations since 1997. Abstracts of older dissertations as well.

ProQuest Newspapers
Offers full-text access to hundreds of international, national, and regional newspapers and news services, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Coverage dates vary by resource

PAIS International
Citations for articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs. Coverage starts with 1972; earlier print editions in the library.

Social Services Abstracts
Social Services Abstracts covers journal articles and dissertations in social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development (1980-present).

Sociological Abstracts
Abstracts of articles from sociology and psychology journals. Coverage dates vary by source.

Full-Text Journals

 The library provides full-text electronic access to a number of journals that you may find useful in this course. Among them:

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Anthropology

Journal of Memetics

Science and Christian Belief

Sexualities, Evolution, and Gender

Check URSUS for the titles of others. Use ILLiad to get electronic delivery of any article you cannot find in print or electronically at the university.

The Internet has myriad websites dealing with all aspects of anthropology, culture, religion, and science. Be sure the sites you use are reputable. For help in evaluating information taken from websites, use the Mariner tutorial

Pennsylvania Decision on Creationism in Schools

U.S. Judiciary Indexes all decisions of all federal courts

Google Scholar Useful for finding working papers and citations to relevant articles

Anthropology and Gender Links to myriad resources

Internet Public Library Guide to Anthropology

Catholic Anthropology. The church’s position on the significance of the body

American Association for the Advancement of Science. Listen to lectures about science and religion, evolution, and the origins of life.

Science and Religion in the Victorian Era. Gateway for articles and analysis

Society for Medical Anthropology. Reports, papers, and information about the field

For HON 103 research papers, use the APA style guidelines for citations. Also see the handout provided by Dr. Crader.

For additional assistance in citing your sources, see the Mariner tutorial. The libraries also have a variety of style manuals that will guide you through the citation process for each of your classes. They are available on tables near the reference desks.

Created by: Anne Edwards
Created on: 02.15.2006
Last Updated: 03.06.2008