This article studies interdisciplinarity and the intellectual base of 34 literaturejournals using citation data from Web of Science. Data from two time periods, 1978–1987and 1998–2007 were compared to reveal changes in the interdisciplinary citing ofmonographs. The study extends the analysis to non-source publications; using the classificationof monographs to show changes in the intellectual base. There is support forincreased interdisciplinary citing of sources, especially to the social sciences, and changesin the intellectual base reflect this. The results are explained using theories on the intellectualand social organization of scientific fields and the use of bibliometric methods onthe humanities is discussed. The article demonstrates how citation analysis can provideinsights into the communication patterns and intellectual structure of scholarly fields in thearts and humanities.

This article employs citation analysis on a micro level—the level of the cited document; in this case, WalterBenjamin’s Illuminations (1968/2007). The study showshow this frequently cited publication—more than 4,000citations in Web of Science—has been received. Thegrowth of citations and interdisciplinary citing is studied,and a novel approach—page citation analysis—is appliedto study how different parts of Illuminations have beencited.The article demonstrates howbibliometric methodscan be used together with qualitative accounts to mapthe impact and dissemination of a particular publication.Furthermore, it shows how bibliometric methods can beutilized to study intellectual structures in the humanities,and highlights the influence of the humanities onthe social sciences and sciences.

Purpose – The aim of this article is to study a locally-oriented and book-based research field usingtwo Swedish language sources. Knowledge about citation patterns outside journal-based, Englishlanguage databases is scarce; thus a substantial part of research in the humanities and the socialsciences is neglected in bibliometric studies.Design/methodology/approach – Citation characteristics (publication type, language, gender andage) in the journal Tidskrift fo¨ r Litteraturvetenskap (2000-2009) and in grant applications (2006-2009)are studied. The datasets are analyzed further, adopting an author-co-citation approach for depictingand comparing the “intellectual base” of the field.Findings – It is shown that monographs and anthologies are the main publication channel inSwedish literary research. English, followed by Swedish, is the major language, and the gender ofauthors seems to influence citation practices. Furthermore, a common intellectual base of literarystudies that is independent of publication type and language could be identified.Practical implications – Bibliometric analysis of fields within the humanities needs to go beyondestablished databases and materials. The extensive use of recent English language monographs inSwedish literary studies informs the acquisition policy of university libraries serving literaturescholars.Originality/value – Citation analysis of non-English sources offers further knowledge aboutscholarly fields with a local and “rural” profile. The approach of using references in grant applicationsprovides a novel and promising venue for bibliometric research.