French 230

French 230 (01)

Civilization of France: History, Art and Architecture
from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century

Department of French
Mount Holyoke College
Spring 2007

Professor: Nicole Vaget
Librarian: Shaoping Moss

Goals:

Find info and images on specific topics on religious medieval architecture, and paintings of the 17th, 18th, and 19th century for oral presentations, and also historical figures of the French Renaissance for developing a website project, 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 online encyclopedias and image databases to find information and locate images
3.       Learn how to use the library catalog to locate books and other items
4.       Learn how to evaluate the Internet resources and cite sources
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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.

NYPL Digital Gallery

Bibliothèque Nationale de France
http://www.bnf.fr/

Banque d'images

ARTstor Digital Library

Google Image Search (French)

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: “Architecture,” “Jeanne d’Arc".
Ref. DC 33.2 M44 1995

Dictionnaire de l'histoire de France. 2 vol. 1999.
Ref. DC35 .D52 1999

Historical Dictionary of the French Revolution 1789-1799.  1985.
Ref. DC147  .H57 1985

Historical Dictionary of Napoleonic France, 1799-1815.  1985.
Ref. DC201  .H673 1985

Historical Dictionary of France from the 1815 restoration to the Second Empire.  1987.
Ref. DC256  .H57 1987

Historical Dictionary of the French Second Empire, 1852-1870.  1985.
Ref. DC276  .H57 1985

Historical Dictionary of the Third French Republic, 1870-1940.  2 vol. 1986
Ref. DC337  .H57 1986

Historical Dictionary of the French Revolution.  2004.
Ref. DC147 .H36 2004

Historical Dictionary Of the Napoleonic Era.  2002.
Ref. DC147 .N34 2002

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:
Castles of France

Chenonceau

Architecture Online

Wikipedia -- the free encyclopedia

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.

Wikipédia L'encyclopédie libre

4.  MLA Citation Style:
http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/workshop/citmla.htm
http://library.menloschool.org/mla.html
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition
Also available in paper: Ref. LB2369  .G53 2003

5.  Finding Your Way in Williston Library:

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

Shaoping Moss, RIS, 2/21/2007