Philosophy Research Guide  

About this Guide

This website provides a guide to conducting research in philosophy at Yale University, highlighting key resources and search strategies. Through this website, I try to give you some ways to crack open philosophy's numerous subjects.  Most of the pages give examples that you can use as a model for your searches, descriptions of the main resources, and tips on how to use certain databases.

It's important to know that even though the guide focuses on strategies for finding books, often the same or similar approaches will work in article databases.

Have questions?  Want to discuss your research needs?  Please contact me!

My official title is "Librarian for Performing Arts, Media and Philosophy."  I provide research guidance and select materials (books, databases, videos, microfilms, etc) for lots of interconnected fields: film, theater, philosophy, TV and radio, graphic novels, dance, journalism, cyberculture, performance art, circus ... you get the picture!  I also acquire the DVDs for the Yale College Council collection in Bass Library. Think this is a crazy combination?  Well, maybe ... but look at how many people are writing books with titles like Film and Philosophy, Star Wars and Philosophy, and South Park and Philosophy!

I've published mainly in theater history and theory, and also in social theory and digital humanities.  Much of my research involves studying philosophy, I often attend conferences pertaining to philosophy in social theory, and I serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Critical Realism.  My book, Theater, Communication, Critical Realism (Palgrave, 2010) applies critical realist philosophy to theater history.

My PhD is from the Interdisciplinary Program in Theater from Northwestern University.  I did my undergrad at the University of Michigan (Residential College, Comparative Literature), and I have both an MA (Comparative Literature, University of Iowa) and an MLS (Simmons College Graduate School of Library Science).

I've taught theater history and theory at the Ohio State University, the University of Washington, Tufts University, and the University of Helsinki.

You are welcome to contact me about your research and resources that you need -- see the information in the box in the right column.