In-Depth Research Guide: French
Librarians for French:
Jacqueline B. Fitzpatrick, Research & Instruction, x3497
Brooke Henderson, Collections, x3258
Contents:
- French 207: Perspectives in French Culture & Society: French Identity in the Age of Globalization
- French 229: America Through French Eyes: Perceptions & Realities
- French 349: La Belle Epoque: Politics, Society, & Culture in France, 1880-1914
Related academic department:
Offcampus Access · Databases A-Z · Research Guides by Subject | by Course · Reference Books Online · Library Catalog
| Find books |
Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Access to the BNF's online catalog, Bn-Opale, including all serials cataloged since 1960 and all books since 1970. Also includes online exhibitions and a virtual tour of the BNF's new quarters.
Wellesley College Library catalog
WorldCat searches library catalogs worldwide for books, journal titles, video recordings, etc.
| Find background information |
Biography
Dictionnaire de Biographie Francaise - Vols. 1 (1933) -16 (1984) - Clapp Lib qCT143 .D5
Dictionary of Canadian Biography - Vols. 1-14, covering 1000-1920 - Clapp Ref F1005 .D49
International Who's Who - 1935 to present - Clapp Ref qCT120 .I5 Who's Who in France - '53/'54 through '85/'86. Then '90/'91, '92/'93, '93/'94, '94/'95, '97/'98 - Clapp Ref DC705 .A1W46
Background Information, Language Skills, and Dictionaries
About.com: French Language is a site containing French lessons, quizzes, sound files, dictionaries, translation tips, a Q & A forum, etc.
ABU: La Bibliotheque Universelle has access to a collection of full-text e-books by French authors, as well as links to French dictionaries and other reference tools.
Bibliotheque et Archives Nationales: Quebec provides access to over 1,500 books from the 19th and 20th centuries. The library has also digitized several Quebec newspapers, over 6,000 historical illustrations & photographs of Montreal, a series of maps from the New France era to the 20th century, and an extensive collection of old postcards and stamps.
Columbia History of Twentieth-Century French Thought, edited by Lawrence D. Kritzman & translated by Malcolm DeBevoise - Clapp Lib qDC33.7 .C575 2006.
Dictionnaire des Difficultes de La Langue Francaise by Adolphe V. Thomas, editor. - Clapp Ref PC460 .T45 2001.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary French Culture by Alex Hughes & Keith Reader - Clapp Ref DC33.7 .E53 1998. Also available electronically: Encyclopedia of Contemporary French Culture
French in Action - The web-based video learning version produced by Yale University, WGBH, & Wellesley College.
French in Action: A Beginning Course in Language & Culture: The Capretz Method by Pierre J. Capretz - Clapp Lib & Knapp Reserve qPC2129.E5 C36 1997.
French Language and Literature: An Annotated Bibliography by Fernande Bassan - Clapp Ref Z2175 .A2 B39 1989.
French Periodical Index, 1973/74-1995 - Clapp Ref AI7 .F7.
Gallica is a catalog of the digital collection of the Bibliotheque Nationale de la France. There are over 70,000 digital documents, more than 1,200 full-text documents, & over 80,0000 images going back to the Middle Ages and up to the 20th century.
Nouveau Petit Robert: Dictionnaire Alphabetique et Analogique de La Langue Francaise by Paul Robert - Clapp Ref PC2625 .R5546 2005 (plus earlier editions.)
Oxford Business French Dictionary provides access to over 50,000 words & phrases from the general language of business in many core areas, including Internet use & e-commerce. The French-English Dictionary will come up, but you can choose the English-French version, if you prefer.
Oxford Hachette French Dictionary edited by Jean-Benoit Ormal-Grenon & Natalie Pomier - Clapp Ref PC2640 .O93 2001. The electronic versio, Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (English-French & French-English) has been completely updated and features a new cultural notes section on life in the French-speaking world.
Quid - Clapp Ref AY834 .Q5 (Copies are missing for certain years) by Dominique Fremy. This title is considered the most prominent French almanac.
Quid - For the online version of the famous French almanac. The section with statistics & maps of French regions and departements is particularly useful.
Research and Reference Guide to French Studies by Charles B. Osburn - Clapp Ref Z2175 .A2 O8 1981.
Guides to French Literature
Concise Oxford Dictionary of French Literature by Joyce M.H. Reid - Clapp Ref PQ41 .C6.
Critical Bibliography of French Literature, 1947-current by D.C.Cabeen, General Editor - Clapp Ref Z2171 .C3.
Dictionary of Modern French Literature: From the Age of Reason Through Realism by Sandra W.Dolbow - Clapp Ref PQ41 .D65 1986.
Dictionnaire de Litterature Contemporaine, 1900-1962 (1962) by Jean-Pierre de Beaumarchais et al - Clapp Ref PQ305 .B54.
Dictionnaire des Litteratures de Langue Francaise by Jean-Pierre de Beaumarchais et al - Clapp Ref PQ41 .B4 1994.
Dictionnaire des Ouevres Litteraires de Langue Francaise by Jean-Pierre deBeaumarchais & Daniel Couty - Clapp Ref PQ41 .B42 1994.
Feminist Encyclopedia of French Literature by E.M. Sartori, editor-in-chief. - Clapp Ref PQ149 .F47 1999.
Guide to French Poetry Explication by Kathleen Coleman - Clapp Ref PQ401 .C65 1993.
Oxford Companion to French Literature by Sir Paul Harvey and J.E. Heseltine - Clapp Ref PQ41 .H3.
Guides to Authors
Dictionnaire de Litterature Francaise Contemporaine by Claude Bonnefoy et al - Clapp Ref PQ305 .B584.
Dictionnaire des Ecrivains d'Aujourd'hui Dans les Pays d'Ouest: Normandie, Maine, Anjou, Touraire, Poitou-Charentes, Vende by Jacques Gohier - Clapp Ref PQ3801.G63 1980.
Dictionnaire des Ecrivains d'Aujourd'hui en Bretagne by Jacques Gohier - Clapp Ref PQ3801 .G64 1984.
French Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Source Book by E. M. Sartori - Clapp PQ149 .F73 1991.
Guide Illustrede la Litterature Francaise Moderne by Marcel Girard - Clapp Lib PQ305 .G5.
Plays By French And Francophone Women : A Critical Anthology edited & translated by Christiane P. Makward And Judith G. Miller - Clapp Lib PQ1240.E5 P53 1994.
Literary Criticism: Contemporary Authors
Contemporary Foreign Language Writers by JamesVinson and Daniel Kirkpatrick. - Clapp Ref PN771 .C585 1984.
Critical Survey of Long Fiction: Foreign Language Series (5 vols.) edited by Frank Magill - Clapp Ref PN3451 .C75 1984.
Critical Survey of Poetry: Foreign Language Series (5 vols.) edited by Frank Magill - Clapp Ref PN41 .C7 1984.
Feminist Encyclopedia of French Literature by E.M.Sartori - Clapp Ref PQ149 .F47 1999.
French Feminist Criticism: Women, Language, and Literature by Elissa D.Gelfand - Clapp Lib. & Ref HQ1386 .G44 1985.
French Novelists 1900-1930 in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 65 - Clapp Ref PQ671 .F67 1988.
French Novelists 1930-1960 in the Dictionary of Liiterary Biography, Vol. 72 - Clapp Ref PQ671 .F68 1988.
French Novelists since 1960 in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 83 - Clapp Ref PQ671 .F69 1989.
Nineteenth-Century French Fiction Writers: Romanticism and Realism, 1800-1860 in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 119 - Clapp Ref PQ655 .N56 1992.
Guides to French Literature and Authors of North America
Canadian Writers: A Biographical Dictionary by Guy Sylvestre - Clapp Ref PR9127 .S9.
Canadian Writers Since 1960 in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 53 - Clapp Ref PR9186.2 .C36 1986.
Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. Oxford University Press - Clapp Ref PR9180.2 .O94 1997.
| Find articles and essays |
Major Indexes and Databases
Academic Search Premier is a multi-disciplinary database. Dates of articles will vary.
L'Annee Philologique is a major ongoing international bibliography that covers all aspects of classical studies from prehistory to the Middle Ages.
ARTFL A French Textual Database with 2000 full-texts of literary criticism, biology, history, economics, philosophy. 17th-20th Century
EconLit has journals dealing with economic topics and issues (some with full-text, working papers, and more). 1969 +
Giga Presse lists more than 800 online magazine and journal sites in French. It is excellent for finding free access to full-text periodicals.
Historical Abstracts Major index to articles and books on the history of the world since 1450, excluding United States and Canada. 1954 +
Infotrac contains several databases covering all academic disciplines. Academic/General OneFile would be the best choice for topics to research dealing with France, its people, politics, and culture.
JSTOR contains a scholarly collection of journal articles that cover the major disciplines from the first issues of that journal but NOT the last five years.
LexisNexis Academic News Full-text of national and international newspapers, magazines, documents, wire services and more. None before 1980 and later dates will vary by title.
MLA Bibliography has articles on literature, linguistics, film, and folklore.
New York Times Online A ProQuest product that is an exact replica with graphics of the Times in PDF format for the years 1851-2001.
PAIS - Public Affairs Information Service is a database with journals and documents in economics, development, political science, and environmental studies. 1972 +
Periodicals Index Online is an index to articles published in over 4,500 periodicals, in as many as 40 languages, and covering topics in the humanities and social sciences. 1665-1995
Project Muse Academic journals in the humanities and social sciences from the latest five years.
Times of London Full facsimile images of specific articles from the Times for the years 1785-1985.
**Other databases may be useful for you, depending on your specific topic and approach. AskUs and get some customized suggestions.
French Journals Available at Wellesley:
Cahiers du Cinema from 1968 to the present. Clapp Lib - qPN1993 .C25
Communications from 1975 to the present. Clapp Lib - P87 .C6
Esprit from 1939 to the present. Clapp Lib (Off-campus holdings before 1970) - AP20 .E78
Francais Moderne from 1933 to the present. Clapp Lib PC2002 .F3 (Off-campus holdings before 1970)
Paris-Match from 1969 to the present. Clapp Lib - fAP20 .P342
Le Point from 1987 to the present. Clapp Lib - qAP21 .P6
Les Temps Modernes from 1945 to the present. Clapp Lib - AP20 .T42
| Key Websites |
Catalogue Collectif de France is the Union Catalog of the BNF, university & municipal libraries. The user can locate descriptions of specific collections within French libraries, & search for individual titles.
Chartres: Cathedral of Notre-Dame is a joint project of the University of Pittsburgh's Digital Research Library and its Art History professor, Alison Stones. It has over 3000 images of the cathedral and is the most comprehensove of the sites for further understanding and and research on Chartres.
ClicNet is maintained by Swarthmore College. Its list is designed especially for students and teachers of French --- a Francophone cultural & literary site. There are articles on literary news, biographies, theatre arts, etc.
Embassy of France in the United States (Washington, DC site): This lists the French Ambassadors to the United States.
Google France provides a French interface and allows search results only to French language sites.
HAPAX contains French resources on the Web & can search for information on the Louvre and D'Orsay Museums, film, culture, education, history, language, literary criticism and music.
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution is a project of the Center for History & New Media @ George Mason University & the American Social History Project @ City University of New York. It contains 12 topical essays, 250 images, 350 text documents 13 song recordings, 13 maps, a timeline, & a glossary.
LiRE.fr is a French site with critical & biographical information on French authors plus information on newly published French titles.
Litterature de Langue Francaise en Ligne is a site maintained by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. It has links to libraries, author sites, online texts, theater, dictionaries, francophone literature, etc.
Ministere: Culture/Communication France's culture portal.
OU CALL, Ohio University's organized guide to contemporary French language and culture.
Reading Women Writers and African Literatures is a resource for Francophone African women writers, south of the Sahara. This database gives short biography/bibliographies, family portraits, searches by country, overviews of critical essays, and comprehensive lists of the works in French and those translated into English. There is a modified English version of the information, as well as the French version.
Tennessee Bob's Famous French Links (University of Tennessee)
Tresor de la Langue Francaise Informatise (TLFi) is a great source of information on French words.
University of Adelaide University Library: French resources
WESS Web: Western European Studies Section for the Association of College & Research Libraries. Scroll down to the French Studies Web.
What you need to know - About French - This site provides free resources for students, teachers, & lovers of French. There are lessons, quizzes, sound files, translation tips, Q & A Forum, etc.
Yahoo! France - French language directory to over 7000 French Internet sites on all topics.
Country Information
CIA The World Factbook: France Last updated December 13, 2007
Les Pages de Paris - French and English versions are provided for this electronic guidebook of Paris
Social Science and History
France-Diplomatie: French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (news, history, geography, institutions, etc.).
Government Portal for France's Prime Minister
Legislating the French Family: Feminism, Theater, & Republican Politics, 1870-1920 by Jean Elisabeth Pedersen. Clapp Lib HQ737 .P34 2003.
Ministry of the Economy, Finance, and Industry (minefi) : Links to economic & budgetary offices in France.
News
List of francophone sites by country (ClicNet)
Television
france2.fr: This links to online news reports (8 a.m. & 1 p.m.)
france.3fr: National edition or "2 minutes sur la 3"
FranceLink Direct links to country's online media outlets
Radio
comfm Has tabs for radio, tv, video, music, & podcast
Wellesley College Library •IS • Jacqueline Fitzpatrick • last modified: January 25, 2008