WR 449/549: Critical Reviewing

Course Instructor

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:09:47 -0700

Sara Jameson

Course Reserves

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:18:36 -0700

Course Description

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:19:22 -0700

This class offers an opportunity for students to gain experience writing, reading and analyzing reviews of various kinds (movie, book, music, restaurant, art, etc.) and in various print and online journals. In addition to writing these and other reviews, we will read reviews published in a variety of sources (including The New York Times Review and The New Yorker, which will be in the course bundle) and study the history of reviewing as a cultural and institutional phenomenon, with the question of professional, amateur and citizen reviewers. We will also look at the relationship between the rhetorical situation of a publication (the left-leaning Nation versus the more moderate New Yorker, for instance) and the form and content of reviews that appear in its pages. Finally, in this class we will spend some time discussing what might be characterized as the economics, politics, and ethics of critical reviewing.

The Pour, a blog by Eric Asimov

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:28:33 -0700

Comic Book Reviews

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:47:46 -0700

Blogs

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:55:08 -0700

Selected Reviewing Sources

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:46:34 -0700

Newspapers

New York Times Microfilm, 3rd floor Valley Library
Oregonian Microfilm, 3rd floor Valley Library
Corvallis Gazette Times Microfilm, 3rd floor Valley Library
Los Angeles Times Microfilm, 3rd floor Valley Library
and many more...

Magazines

Atlantic Monthly AP2. A7, 6th floor Valley Library. Online in Academic Search Premier, 1993-present
New Yorker AP2 .N45, 6th floor Valley Library. Online in LexisNexis Academic, Dec. 27, 1999-present
Salon.com
New York Magazine
and many more...

Art & Architecture

Architectural Review NA1 .A63, 5th floor Valley Library
Art News N1 .A66, 5th floor Valley Library

Books

New York Times Book Review Z1219 .N42, 6th floor Valley Library
Times Literary Supplement Z1219 .T5, 6th floor Valley Library

Entertainment

Variety Online in LexisNexis Academicm July 19, 1993 to present
People AP2 .P417 Microfilm, 3rd floor Valley Library, Online in Academic Search Premier, Jan. 10, 1994 to present
Rolling Stone (fllm, music, concerts) AP2 .R73 Microfilm, 3rd floor Valley Library, Online in Academic Search Premier, Aug. 09, 1990 to present
Film Comment PN1993 .F438 Microfilm, 3rd floor Valley Library, Online in Academic Search Premier, Nov. 01, 2002 to present
Sight and Sound PN1993 .S5, 4th floor The Valley Library
Opera News ML1 .O6, 5th floor The Valley Library, Online in Academic Search Premier, May 01, 1990 to present
Gramophone (classical music) ML5 .G65, 5th floor The Valley Library

Fashion

WWD: Womens Wear Daily HF5001 .W67, 5th floor The Valley Library, Online in Business Source Premier, May 19, 2004 to present
Vogue TT500 .V6, 1st floor The Valley Library, Online in LexisNexis Academic, June 01, 2004 to present
Daily News Record HD9940 .U4 D551, 5th floor The Valley Library, Online in LexisNexis Academic, Aug. 01, 2006 to present

Restaurants & Food

Gourmet TX1 .G64, 1st floor The Valley Library
Bon Appetit HF5001 .W67, 5th floor The Valley Library, Online in Business Source Premier, May 19, 2004 to present

Finding Reviews

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:00:44 -0700

To find reviews in magazines or newspapers, use

Academic Search Premier (magazines & newspapers)
LexisNexis Academic (newspapers)

There are several ways to search for reviews:

by type or topic of the review (e.g., music or hip hop)
by critic's name
search or browse contents of a specific magazine or newspaper

Brief tutorials:

Academic Search Premier

LexisNexis Academic

Find Images You Have Permission to Use

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:58:41 -0700

Flickr - Advanced Search Screen

Images that have been licensed by their creators with a Creative Commons license - telling you how you can legally and ethically use their photos. Show me

Labeling and citing images

Even when the images you use are copyright free, you should acknowledge the creator and indicate the source.

For examples of using MLA style to fully cite images you use in a research paper, click here: citing images

Please be aware of legal restrictions on the use of images. Boston University has a useful webpage on Image Copyright .

Printing Posters

Student Media Services (Main Floor, Valley Library): production and printing services funded by student activity fees.