Reference works are written by scholars and provide information on a topic such as facts, definitions, histories, overviews, statistics, etc. Examples you may be familiar with are encyclopedias, biographies, dictionaries, etc.
Most reference works are in print and are located in the reference areas of the Library; most cannot be checked out. Try visiting the following areas in the Main Library (or check the Library Catalog):
For general literary analysis, explore the Literature and Language Library's guide for Literary Theory.
Literaturwissenschaftliches Lexikon: Grundbegriffe der Germanistik by 
Grundbegriffe der Literaturtheorie by
Der Leitfaden durch die Fülle der literaturtheoretischen Fachbegriffe. In über 210 Einträgen werden zentrale Begriffe der Literaturtheorie erläutert. Dazu zählen z.B. Dekonstruktion, Figur, Hermeneutik, Intermedialität, Kanon, Metapherntheorien, Motiv, New Historicism, Postkoloniale Literaturtheorie, Stoff und Symbol. Ein Nachschlagewerk für Studenten im Grundstudium.
Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature by
Whether it's a novel, memoir, diary, poem, or drama, a common thread runs through the literature of the Nazi Holocaust_a motif of personal testimony to the dearness of humanity. With that perspective the expert authors of Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature undertake profiling 128 of the most influential first generation authors who either survived, perished, or were closely connected to the Holocaust. Arranged alphabetically by author, all of the entries answer the same basic questions about the author and his or her work: What is the nature of the author's literary response to the Holocaust? What is his or her place in Holocaust literature? What does the author's work contribute to an understanding of the Holocaust? What is distinctive about the author's work? What are some key moments in the author's life? What issues does the author's work pose for the reader? To address these questions, the entries are generally organized into three primary divisions: (1) an opening section on why the author's work has a significant or distinctive place in Holocaust literature, (2) a second section containing information on the author's biography, and (3) a critical examination of the highlights of the author's work. In most cases, the third section is the longest, since the focus of the encyclopedia is the literature, not the author. The Encyclopedia is intended for all students and teachers of the Holocaust, regardless of their levels of learning. Avenues for further research are incorporated at the conclusion of each entry and in a comprehensive bibliography of primary works of Holocaust literature and a second bibliography of critical studies of Holocaust literature.
The Subject of Holocaust Fiction by
Fictional representations of horrific events run the risk of undercutting efforts to verify historical knowledge and may heighten our ability to respond intellectually and ethically to human experiences of devastation. In this captivating study of the epistemological, psychological, and ethical issues underlying Holocaust fiction, Emily Miller Budick examines the subjective experiences of fantasy, projection, and repression manifested in Holocaust fiction and in the reader's encounter with it. Considering works by Cynthia Ozick, Art Spiegelman, Aharon Appelfeld, Michael Chabon, and others, Budick investigates how the reading subject makes sense of these fictionalized presentations of memory and trauma, victims and victimizers.
Holocaust Novelists by
This award-winning multi-volume series is dedicated to making literature and its creators better understood and more accessible to students and interested readers, while satisfying the standards of librarians, teachers and scholars. Dictionary of Literary Biography provides reliable information in an easily comprehensible format, while placing writers in the larger perspective of literary history. Dictionary of Literary Biography systematically presents career biographies and criticism of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods.For a listing of Dictionary of Literary Biography volumes sorted by genre click here.
Reclams Romanlexikon : deutschsprachige erzählende Literatur vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart by 
This link opens in a new windowIn addition to the books linked below, you can find more works on German or Austrian authors via the Library Catalog:
Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon by 
Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950 by
Die Germanistik kann als Fach auf eine über 150jährige Geschichte zurückblicken. Als Wissenschaft von der deutschen Sprache und Literatur bildete sie sich in der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts heraus, und mit ihren Anfängen verbinden sich so berühmte Namen wie Jacob Grimm, Karl Lachmann und Wilhelm Wackernagel. Durch ihre Verbindung zu den anderen Philologien und Kulturwissenschaften war sie von Anfang an selbst ein Teil der Geistesgeschichte. Leben und Werk ihrer Vertreter sind daher nicht nur ein Spiegel der Wissenschafts-, sondern auch der Literatur- und Sozialgeschichte. Das Internationale Germanistenlexikon, das unter Beteiligung zahlreicher Fachgelehrter aus dem In- und Ausland am Deutschen Literaturarchiv in Marbach entwickelt wurde, bietet umfassende Informationen zu 1500 weltweit bedeutenden Germanisten zwischen 1800 und 1950. Es stellt ein grundlegendes Nachschlagewerk für Fachhistoriker und Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaftler dar und versammelt erstmals alle bio-bibliographischen Daten in systematischer Übersicht. Das Material wurde z. T. aus entlegenen Quellen und schwer zugänglichen Nachlässen gewonnen. Vorarbeiten zu diesem Lexikon wurden erbracht von Frau Dr. Christa Hempel-Küter. Jeder Artikel bietet neben ausführlichen Angaben zu Lebensdaten, akademischer Laufbahn, Ehrungen und Mitgliedschaften eine umfassende Bibliographie sowie Hinweise zum Nachlaß. Das Lexikon wird durch zahlreiche Indizes erschlossen, die gezielte Recherchen, z. B. nach Doktorvätern, Wirkungsorten oder Forschungsgegenständen, ermöglichen. Das Internationale Germanistenlexikon ist damit ein unverzichtbares, in seinem Materialreichtum einzigartiges Hilfsmittel für die Nachzeichnung und Analyse des historischen Weges der deutschen Philologie und ihrer Protagonisten. Das "Internationale Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950" findet aufmerksame Leser. Ihre Hinweise, Korrekturen und Ergänzungen, auch Diskussionsbeiträge, die eine größere Öffentlichkeit verdienen, publiziert der Herausgeber des Lexikons Christoph König in der Zeitschrift "Geschichte der Germanistik. Mitteilungen". Die dort neu eingerichtete Rubrik "Das aktuelle Lexikon" verzeichnet fortlaufend die relevanten neuen Informationen. Sie richtet sich an alle Besitzer und Nutzer des "Internationalen Germanistenlexikons 1800-1950". Interessenten an der Zeitschrift wenden sich bitte an den Wallstein-Verlag (Göttingen) oder schreiben an: Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Arbeitsstelle für die Erforschung der Geschichte der Germanistik, Postfach 1162, 71666 Marbach am Neckar; E-Mail:magg@dla-marbach.de.
Metzler Autoren Lexikon : deutschsprachige Dichter und Schriftsteller vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart by 
Lexikon der deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur seit 1945 by 
Lexikon der Weltliteratur : biographisch-bibliographisches Handwörterbuch nach Autoren und anonymen Werken ; deutsche Autoren A-Z by 
A History of Women's Writing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by
This book is the first English account of women's writing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, offering both an introduction and a chronological overview of the whole field of women's writing in German-speaking countries from the Middle Ages to the present day. It will appeal both to students and scholars of German literature, and to a wider readership interested in women's writing and gender studies wishing to learn about the diversity and development of writing by women in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The sixteen chapters, written by experts in their field, provide a comprehensive account of women's writing over a thousand-year period. Extensive guides to further reading, and a detailed guide to more than four hundred writers and works, together with an index for cross-referencing, form an integral part of the volume.
Writing the Self, Creating Community by
Beginning in the 1770s, the German literary market experienced unprecedented growth. The enormous demand for reading materials that stimulated this burgeoning market created new opportunities for women writers. At the same time, they still faced numerous obstacles. The new opportunities and limitations imposed on women writers are the subject of this book. The eleven essays contained within look beyond the negative strategies women writers employed, such as hiding their intellectual accomplishments or legitimizing their works by subordinating them to non-artistic purposes. Instead, they ask how women wrote about their own creative processes both directly, for example, by sketchinga female poetology, and indirectly, through literary representations of female authorship. This volume examines concepts of female authorship as they are presented in women's correspondence, theoretical statements, and literary works. The contributors bring to life the collaborative literary world of female writers through explorations of familial and professional mentorships, salons, writing circles, and their correspondences. They consider how female authors positioned themselves within contemporary intellectual discourses and analyze the tropes that shaped ideas about their authorship throughout the emerging literary marketplace of eighteenth century Europe.Contributors: Karin Baumgartner, Margaretmary Daley, Ruth P. Dawson, Denise M. Della Rossa, Renata Fuchs, Amy Jones, Julie L. J. Koehler, Elisabeth Krimmer, Sara Luly, Monika Nenon, Lauren Nossett, Angela Sanmann.Elisabeth Krimmer is Professor of German at the University of California, Davis, and Lauren Nossett is Visiting Assistant Professor of German at Randolph-Macon College.
Motive der Weltliteratur : ein Lexikon dichtungsgeschichtlicher Längsschnitte by 
Stoffe der Weltliteratur : ein Lexikon dichtungsgeschichtlicher Längsschnitte by In addition to the histories linked below, you can find others by using the Library Catalog. Try browsing by subject with these or related search terms:
German Literature by
German writers, be it Goethe, Nietzsche, Marx, Brecht or Mann, have had a profound influence on the modern world. This iVery Short Introduction/i illuminates the particular character and power of German literature and its impact on the wider cultural world.Nicholas Boyle presents an engrossing tour of the course of German literature from the middle Ages to the 20th century, focussing especially on the last 250 years. He looks at key themes like idealism, modernism, and trauma, showing how they have imbued the great German writers with such distinctivevoices.
Metzler Lexikon DDR-Literatur by
Die Literatur der DDR und was aus ihr wurde. Das Lexikon informiert in rund 280 Artikeln über das literarische Leben und die Kulturpolitik in der ehemaligen DDR. Es nimmt wichtige Autoren und Institutionen, zentrale Strömungen und Gattungen, literarische Debatten und kulturpolitische Ereignisse in den Blick. Systemkonforme Schriftsteller werden ebenso berücksichtigt wie systemkritische und diejenigen, die das Land verließen. Auch die weitere Entwicklung von in der DDR geborenen Autoren nach 1989 wird verfolgt.
The Long Shadow of the Past by
The process of coming to terms with its National Socialist past has been a long and difficult one in Austria. It is only over the past thirty years that the country's view of its role during the Third Reich has shifted decisively from that of victimhood to complicity, prompted by the Waldheim affair of 1986-1988. Austria's writers, filmmakers, and artists have been at the center of this process, holding upa mirror to the country's present and drawing attention to a still disturbing past.Katya Krylova's book undertakes close readings of key contemporary Austrian literary texts, films, and memorials that treat the legacy of Nazism and the Holocaust. The analysis focuses on texts by Robert Schindel, Elfriede Jelinek, and Anna Mitgutsch, documentary films by Ruth Beckermann and by Margareta Heinrich and Eduard Erne, as well as recent memorial projects inVienna, examining what these reveal about the evolving memory culture in contemporary Austria. Aimed at a broad readership, the book will be a key reference point for university teachers, undergraduates, and postgraduates engagedin scholarship on contemporary Austrian literature, film, and visual culture, and for general readers interested in confrontations with the National Socialist past in the Austrian context.KATYA KRYLOVA is Lecturer in German, Film and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen, UK. The Long Shadow of the Past is her second book.
Bibliographies of literary criticism for German-language literature are available two forms: online and in print. Online databases tend to be limited to works dating from the last few decades and to journal articles and book chapters (but often omit full books). Print bibliographies usually cover articles and books and can go back many years, perhaps even centuries. A list of online article indexes can be found in the box below.
To find more print bibliographies on German literature, search the Library Catalog using the subject heading German literature, bibliography.
Literaturrecherche für Germanisten : Studienausgabe by For 15th and 16th century books, visit the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
17th Century Books
Schriftstellerinnen, Künstlerinnen und gelehrte Frauen des deutschen Barock : ein Lexikon by 18th - 19th Centuries
Deutsches Exilarchiv 1933-1945 : Katalog der Bücher und Broschüren by 
