You can use the library's online databases to find articles that speak to your own interests in Classics. Most commonly used for general Classical research are Humanities Source, JSTOR, and Project Muse, but the Philosopher's Index and the ATLA Religion Database can have relevant things for ancient philosophy and ancient religion. You can access all of these databases via https://www.hendrix.edu/baileylibrary/baileylibrary.aspx?id=1633.
More and more articles are available immediately online, but if you need to order one, interlibrary loan services are quick and free: https://www.hendrix.edu/baileylibrary/baileylibrary.aspx?id=1605.
Here's some advice for article-reading:
- Do a little preliminary thinking. Why did you choose a particular article? How does it connect to what you've read/thought/studied in the past? What are your hopes for it?
- As you're reading, keep two mental tracks open, one to chart how the article responds to your own thoughts/questions/motivations for reading it and one to get a sense of the logic of the article itself. That is, of course you want to read the article to see how it speaks to your own interests, but you don't want to ignore what the article itself is trying to do (which might be quite different from your own interests). The two things will intersect at times, but I think it's good to remember that they needn't be identical. Re-reading an article helps solidify your sense of both of these tracks, as does keeping marginal notes about both as you go.
- When you're done reading, collect your thoughts. Can you summarize the article's argument in two sentences? What about the article did you find particularly helpful? Are there parts of the argument that you weren't convinced by, and why? Does it help you make further connections to past work you've done? Does it point a way forward to other research articles, topics, or questions?
- Bibliographies and footnotes can be helpful for getting sources for further reading and research.
