The Renaissance in Europe: A Cultural Enquiry (AA305)

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Reference resources:

Skills

Webguide
WebGuide provides help and guidance on using the web effectively.

SAFARI
Safari is an interactive online tutorial designed to help you develop your ability to search for, evaluate and manage information. Follow the "OU students and staff" link to access all parts of the tutorial (you will need your OU computer user name and password). You can also use the "Guests" link to browse Safari as a visitor. It's an extensive resource covering all aspects of information retrieval and management, so use the contents page to select the sections that interest you. You might find that the most helpful sections initially are: planning a search; choosing resources; information quality; relevance and objectivity.

Learning with the OU
Learning with the OU has resources to help you get the most out of your studies. You can get help with assignments, recording and planning your development, course choice and other topics. You will need your OU computer user name and password to access this site. If you are not a currently registered student, follow this link to find out more about studying with the OU.

Resources

Before you can use some the resources below, you need to be logged in using your OU computer user name and password.

Early English Books Online (EEBO)
EEBO is an online version of more than 125 000 printed books. It offers unparalled access to facsimile editions of books printed in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Follow this link for a worked example and help, but be warned that EEBO is a complex tool, for which you will need to download plug-ins which may take quite a long time to load. You should also remember that reading online versions of classic texts (like, say, The Merchant of Venice) is not a substitute for reading your set text. Again, bear in mind that resources like EEBO are additional to the course and are not essential parts of the course material.

Help sheet for Early English Books Online (EEBO)
This help sheet written by OU Library staff gives simple instructions for using EEBO.

Oxford Reference Online
Oxford Reference Online is a large collection of reference works which is useful for looking up biographies, historical events, mythical references, architectural terms etc. It also includes links to dictionaries. You will need an Athens password to use this site.

Oxford English Dictionary
The complete text of the second edition. Useful for finding out about historical usage of words as well as for checking definitions and spellings. You will need your Athens password to use this site.

Grove Dictionary of Art
The Grove Dictionary of Art is a major reference work. Use it to look up information about artists, terms and styles. Click on 'links' at the top of entries for additional images. See the links below for help using this resource. You will need your OU computer user name and password to access this site.

Online walkthrough for Grove Dictionary of Art
This web link takes you to an introduction to the key features of the Grove Dictionary of Art online.

Help sheet for Grove Dictionary of Art
This help sheet written by OU Library staff gives simple instructions for using the Grove Dictionary of Art.

Grove Music Online
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (including Grove Dictionary of Opera) is one of the biggest music reference works ever created. You will need your OU computer user name and password to access this site.

Help sheet for Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
This help sheet written by OU Library staff gives simple instructions for using Grove Music Online.

SCRAN (Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network)
SCRAN gathers together written and visual materials from Scottish Archives. You may find it useful, particularly if you were excited by the Scottish materials covered in Video Cassette 5 Renaissance court architecture in England and Scotland. You will need an Athens password to use this site.

Intute
Intute Arts and Humanities is one of the main humanities gateway websites. It gives you access to a range of online resources reviewed by subject experts. You can either browse by subject or search for specific topics.

Online Galleries
There are many collections of images on the internet. Among the best are Artcyclopedia, Art History Resources on the Web, Carol Gerten's Fine Art, and the Web Gallery of Art. Because of the size of images, some pages may be slow to load.