French 215

French 215 (02) 

Introduction to the Literature and Culture of France #and the French-Speaking World

Department of French
Mount Holyoke College
Spring 2007

Professor: Dr. Aya Tanaka
Librarian: Shaoping Moss

Goals:

Find info on the specific topics in French literature and culture for class presentations and short papers through using three kinds of resources: print, electronic databases and Internet.

Objectives:

1.         Learn when and how to use each resource
2.         Learn how to use the library catalog to locate books
3.         Learn how to evaluate the Internet resources

_____________________________________________________________________

1.  Online sources:

The Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (French-English). 2nd ed. 1998
Also available in paper: Ref. PC 2640.83 1997

Encyclopedia Britannica Online
An enhanced version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.  Its content includes long and short articles from two encyclopedias, media database, magazine articles, the Web's best sites, and videos.

Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment
Covers the “long” Enlightenment, from the rise of Descartes' disciples in 1670 to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1815.

Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
Provides 3,000 concise and detailed articles on all aspects of the period from the fifth to the fifteenth century.

Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
This encyclopedia provides authoritative and up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe.

The ARTFL Project (ARTFL)

Bibliothègue Nationale de France

Five Colleges Libraries catalog
To find books on a particular topic, or by title or author, search the Library catalog.

2.  Print sources :

La Grande Encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres, et des arts
The Great Encyclopedia: a systematic inventory of science, letters, and the arts is a 31-volume encyclopedia published in France from 1886 to 1902 by H. Lamirault, and later by the Société anonyme de la grande encyclopédie.
Ref. AE25  .G7

Medieval France, An Encyclopedia. 1995.
Provides fairly short entries on all aspects of medieval France; each entry includes a short bibliography. Examples of entries are: “Manuscripts,” “Marie de France,” "Rnart."Ref. DC 33.2 M44 1995

A New History of French Literature. 1989
Essays on French literature arranged chronologically written by leading scholars in each area. The essays cover literary themes and movements, a few highly influential authors and works, and connections between literature and politics.
Ref. PQ 119 N48 1989

Guide to French Literature. 2 vols. 1992.
Vol. 1 covers the beginnings to 1789, vol. 2 covers 1789 to the 1980's. Most of the articles focus on a single author and include a biography, descriptions of the author's works, and a bibliography.
Ref. PQ 41 L48 1992

Dictionnaire des lettres françaises. 6 vols. 1992.
Revised edition of a work originally published 1951-1960. It is arranged by century: v. 1 covers the Middle Ages, v. 2 covers the 16th century, v. 3. covers the 17th century, v. 4 covers the 18th century and v. 6 covers the 20th century.
Ref. PQ 41 D53 1992

Dictionnaire des littératures de langue française. 4 vols. 1994.
A guide to most French and francophone authors, genres, and geographic areas from the 15th-20th centuries.  Extensive indices are included.
Ref. PQ 41 B4 1994

The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French. 1995.
The best one-volume starting point for French and francophone literature.
Ref. PQ 41 N48 1995Books

Literature of the French and Occitan Middle Ages: Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries. 1999.
Ref.  PQ151 .D42 1999

Seventeenth-Century French Writers. 2002.
Ref. PQ 241 S48 2002

Writers of the French Enlightenment. 2 vols. 2005.
Ref. PQ261 .W75 2005
These are four of many volumes in the series "Dictionary of literary biography" which provides extensive essays on individual authors grouped by period and genre.  Each article includes a chronological list of the author's work, as well as a selected bibliography for further reading.

3.  Evaluating Quality in Information:

http://www.virtualchase.com/researchskills/quality3.html
Quality in information comprises several characteristics, including accuracy, scope of coverage, objectivity, timeliness, authority, and verifiability.

Web Sites
http://www.google.com/
http://www.google.fr/
http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://fr.wikipedia.org/

Can You Trust Wikipedia?
In this October 2005 article from the Guardian Unlimited, the online companion to the British newspaper The Guardian, subject experts were asked for opinions about sections of the popular online, open access encyclopedia Wikipedia, in the wake of "the founder of the online encyclopedia ... admitt[ing] some of its entries are 'a horrific embarrassment.'"  It also includes ratings and comments on specific entries.

4.  MLA Citation Style:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition

5.  Finding Your Way in Williston Library:

You can also browse the stacks for books on French literature, history and culture. Here are some locations to try:

• DC (French history and culture)
• PC (French Language, including dictionaries)
• PQ (French Literature)
• French Language and literature books are on Level 5 of the Williston wing, call numbers NE – PQ
• French history and culture books are on Level 2 of the Williston wing, call numbers DC – HB

6.  Need more help?

Come to the reference desk, try “Ask a Librarian”  or contact Shaoping Moss (x3034, smoss@mtholyoke.edu)

Shaoping Moss, smoss@mtholyoke.edu; RIS

2/2/07