French Language, Culture and Literature

by Chao Chen, Humanities Reference Librarian

email chao.chen@tufts.edu | phone 617.627.2057 | home icon Homepage

Chao Chen

Print (all in Reference Collections)
Dictionnaire de Synonymes et Contraires. PC2591 .B44 1997

Dictionnaire du Français non Conventionnel. PC2689 .C44 1981

Warnant, Dictionnaire de la Prononciation Française. PC2137 .W3 1968

Le Nouveau Petit Robert. Dictionnaire Alphabétique et Analogique de la Langue Française.
(Nouvelle éd. du Petit Robert / de Paul Robert ; texte remanié et amplifié sous la direction de Josette Rey-Debove et Alain Rey.) PC2625 .R554 1996

Trésor de la Langue Française: Dictionnaire de la Langue du XIXe et du XXe Siècle. Ref. PC2625 .I4

Bilingual
Larousse French-English, English-French Dictionary (previously Grand Dictionnaire Français-Anglais, Anglais-Français.) PC2640 .G68 2003

Robert & Collins Senior Dictionnaire Français-Anglais, Anglais-Français. PC2640 .C69 2005

Historical Periods
Cotgrave. A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues. Reprint of the 1611 ed. PC2640. A2 C7 1611a.

Furetière. Le Dictionnaire Universel. Reprint of the 1690 ed. PC2620 .F7 1978.

And also: Godefroy (Middle Ages), Huguet (16th century), Encyclopédie (18th century, see the E-Text Tab), Dictionnaire du XIXe siècle, Bergeron (Québécois)

 

More Online Dictionaries

Oxford French-English Dictionary

ATILF- Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française.

Collins French Dictionary

Le Robert électronique [CD-ROM and printed guide] (Ref. PC2625 .R5525 1994)

La Langue Française de TV5

Online French dictionary with synonyms, conjugations of verbs, and also English-French and French-English sections.

WordReference.com—Le Dictionnaire Anglais Français


1. Dictionary of Literary Biography

2. Contemporary Literary Criticism--Select


3. Oxford Reference Online

Art and Architecture; social, political, religious history; history of ideas; all periods.

Search Oxford Reference Online

 

In print (most in Reference Collections)

Le Petit Robert: Dictionnaire Universel des Noms Propres. AG25 .R6 1995

Cyclopedia of World Authors. PN451 .C93 1997

Dictionnaire Critique et Documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs de Tous les Temps et de Tous les Pays N40 .B47 1966

Dictionnaire de Biographie Française CT143 .D5

Dictionnaire des Auteurs Français. PQ146 .D5 1962

Dictionnaire des Écrivains Français. PQ41 .M3

Dictionnaire des Figures et des Personnages. NX651.8 .A96 1981

Dictionnaire des Personnages Historiques . CT143 .D53 1995

Dictionnaire des Grands Auteurs de Littérature et des Sciences Humaines. Stacks: PN456 .B67 2000

Cultural and Literary Backgrounds
(in Referece Collections)
Encyclopædia Universalis. AE25 .E3 1984

Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Larousse. AE25 .G63 1982

Dictionnaire des Institutions de la France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe Siècles. Stacks: DC35 .M3 1968

Dictionnaire des Intellectuels Français: les Personnes, les Lieux, les Moments. DC33.7 .D48

Dictionnaire des Idées Contemporaines. B804 .M65

Dictionnaire d'Histoire de France. DC35 .D53

Dictionnaire de la Mythologie Grecque et Romaine. Grimal, BL715 .G7 2002.

Dictionnaire Biblique Culturel et Littéraire. BS440 .L33 2002

Cyclopedia of Literary Characters. PN44 .M3 1998

Dictionnaire des Symboles. GR931 .D52 1996

Dictionnaire des œuvres Littéraires de Langue Française. PQ41 .B4 1994

Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis. PN2035 .P313 1998

Dictionnaire du Théâtre Français Contemporain. PN2635 .S46

Dictionnaire Mondial des Films. PN1998 .D48 2002

Guide to French Petry Explication. PQ401 .C65 1993

Dictionnaire des Lettres Françaises. Stacks: PQ41 .D56 1994
Notes : [v. 1.] Le Moyen age -- [v. 2.] Le XVIIe siècle -- [v. 3.] Le XVIIIe si`ecle.

Dictionary of Modern French Literature: from the Age of Reason through Realism. PQ41 .D65 1986

Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIXe siècle / Pierre Larousse. Reprint of the 1866-1879 ed. [CD ROM, 2 volumes]. Circulation Desk: AE25 .L32 2002

Bibliographie des Revues et Journaux Littéraires des XIXe et XXe Siècles. PQ2 .P5

Dictionnaire des Lettres Françaises. Le XXe siècle / édition réalisée sous la direction de Martine Bercot et d'André Guyaux. Stacks: PQ41 .D562 1998

 

E-Sources

Quid, an almanac/encyclopedia (also as an annual publication on French institutions and their history. Ref. AE25 .Q85)

Ephraim Chamber's Cyclopaedia: English precursor to the Encyclopédi.

Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Dciences, des Arts et des Métiers

The print version: Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers. Nouvelle impression en facsimilé de la première édition de 1751-1780. (Ref. AE25 .E53 1751a)
v. 1-17. Texte. A-Z -- v.18-21. Texte. Suppl -- v. 22-23. Planches -- v. 33. Planches. Suppl. -- v. 34-35. Table, par P. Mouchon.

 

 


Dictionnaires d'Autrefois
French Dictionaries from the 17th - 20th centuries:

Nicot's Tresor de la Langue Française (1606);
Féraud's Dictionaire Critique de la Langue Française (Marseille, Mossy 1787-1788);
Littré's Dictionnaire de la Langue Française (1872-1877)
and the Dictionnaire de L'Académie Française 1st (1694), 4th (1762), 5th (1798), 6th (1835), and 8th (1932-5) editions.


Pierre Bayle's Dictionaire Historique et Critique

(a facsimile version of the 1740 edition.)


Louis Moréri, Le Grand Dictionnaire Historique


Classical French Writings

Over 2600 texts ranging from classic works of French literature to various kinds of non-fiction prose and technical writing from the 12th to the 20th century.

Plus the following collections:

B.A.S.I.L.E.: Le Corpus de la Littérature Narrative du Moyen Age au XXe Siècle: Romans, Contes, Nouvelles

Eighteenth Century Collections Online  (1701-1800)
(See also the guide for The French Enlightenment)

Voltaire électronique

The Bibliothèque bleue de Troyes: Online collection of 252 chapbooks from the 16th to 18th centuries.

The Montaigne Project: Full text searching of Montaigne's Essais with page images from the Bordeaux Copy.

Artamène ou le Grand Cyrus: Madeleine & Georges de Scudéry's 17th century novel.

Balzac. La Comédie humaine: Online critical edition with full text searching and supporting material.

CRL Pamphlets and Periodicals of the French Revolution of 1848

 

 

Gallica

Begun in 1997 as the major digitization project at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica includes full-text of over 100,000 volumes and 300,000 images covering the Middle Ages to the beginning of the twentieth century, with an emphasis on nineteenth-century material. Residing in Gallica are dictionaries and encyclopedias, journals, manuscripts, recordings and images. Various collections compose "Les Dossiers de Gallica," such as Gallica Classique (Garnier editions), La Bibliothèque de Voltaire à la Bibliothèque nationale de Russie, Le dossier “Sociétés Savantes.”

The Gerritsen Collection: Women's History online, 1543-1945.

The 734 French titles in this collection cover women in the military, law, and reforms in women's legal, civil, and economic rights, as well as women's influence on French literature from Gallic times through World War II. Here is a sample record:

Sand, George: Correspondance, 1812-1876
Paris: Calmann Levy,, 1882, 2386 pages

Deux visages de l'Astrée (Professor Eglal F. Henein)

arrow Readings on Course Reserves.




arrow WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)



Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.



Path of Discovery in the Catalogs

1. Find a title/author (assigned readings/Course Reserves);

2. Note the descriptive language of the Catalog record.

3. Use that language in further searches

  1. e.g. Click on subject/author in the record to see further results and related topics.
Author Jefferson, Ann
Title Biography and the Question of Literature in France
Publisher New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Subject French literature -- 19th century -- History and criticism.
French literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
Biography in literature.

Many more books on well-studied authors, so it helps to browse through some typical subject subdivisions in book Catalogs:

Diderot Denis (last name first in subject search)

Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 -- .Correspondence
Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 -- .Criticism And Interpretation.

Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 -- .Dramatic Works.

Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 -- .Encyclopédie.

Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 -- .Fiction.

Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 -- .Knowledge -- Art.

Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 -- .Manuscripts.


Perform a Keyword Search on a topic:

literature and ("French-speaking" or frencophone)

Note:

  • 1. include "and" in between keywords;
  • 2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;
  • 3. “ ” quotations marks around phrases.

MLA (International Bibliography of Language & Literature)

Enter your search terms:

 

jstor logo

Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science)

     


Select a Database(s) and Search:


Project Muse (with current years only)

Click on the number to pause the slide.

About JSTOR and Project Muse

1. The collections include journals from all displines— literary studies, French Studies, and others;

2. JStor are likely to include seminal works on a subject, which are highly original and influential, and central to the development or understanding of a subject.

3. Must check for up-to-date information from other sources when using JSTOR, because JSTOR don't offer current 3-5 years of the issues of their journals.

Range of Keywords—Scope of a Research Question


1. Start with a general search with simply the author's name, or title of the novel.

2. Examine the general search results to discover possible focuses on some typical elements; evidences you have collected in your reading of the text and you will use to support your thesis of the paper.

  • 1. imagery or themes.
  • 2. characters/characterization.
  • 3. the plot, events, actions;
  • 4. the settings
  • 5. literary devices, e.g. points of view, the interplay of biography and literature;
  • 6. and more.

Focus on an author

What issue or problem associated with the author?

André Malraux, a 20th-Century French writer who produced politically engaged works that challenged their audience to confront political and moral debates of their time.

Sample search:
Malraux and (engag* or moral* or politic*)


Note:

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. engag* searches for all forms of the word, engaged, engaging, etc.

 

Review of Recent Books

Reviews of recent books on a subject are likely to summarize the current state of research in an area;

A sample search in Project Muse and limited to Book Reviews :

surrealis* and (france or french) and AND review*

a journal article record


Note:

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. surrealis* searches for all forms of the word, surrealism, surrealist, etc.

 

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the FindItAtTufts button to these three options:

  • a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;
  • b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.
  • c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:

Current (United States and International)

  1. LexisNexis Academic (Foreign Language Sources)

    1. Libération
      Le Figaro
      Le Monde

  2. Factiva

Ethnic, Alternative and Independent Press

  1. Alt-PressWatch    
  2. Ethnic NewsWatch  from 1990 -
  3. Ethnic NewsWatch: A History  1960 -  1989

Historical

  1. Time Magazine (1923-Present)
  2. New York Times Online Archive
    (1851 - 3 years before current date)
  1. Times Digital Archive (1785 - 1985)

 


Factiva includes content in over 22 languages from over 150 countries and 350 geographic regions.


 

MLA Style: (note: Examples below are based on the 2009 MLA update.) 

BOOKS

Example
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication:
  Publisher, Year.
                   
Single author
Howard, Brett. Boston, a Social History. New York: Hawthorn,
  1976.
                   
Two or three authors
Gilbert, Sandra M. and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the
  Attic: the Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979.
                   
Editor or compiler as author
Monson, Ingrid, ed. The African Diaspora: a Musical Perspective
  . New York: Garland,  2000.
                   
Article or chapter in a book
Le Patourel, John. “Normans and Normandy.” Dictionary of the
  Middle Ages. Ed. Joseph  Strayer. New York: Scribner’s, 1987. 251-73.
                   

PERIODICALS
Example
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Volume
  (Year): Pages. Medium (Print or Web).
                   
Article in a scholarly journal paginated by volume
Wawrytko, Sandra. "Buddhism: Philosophy Beyond Gender."
  Journal of Chinese Philosophy 36 (2009): 293-312. Print.
                   
Article in a scholarly journal paginated by issue
Kokai, Jennifer.  "Molding a Heroine: Patience Wright and
  Transatlantic Notions of  American Female Patriotism."  Journal of American Drama and Theater 21.2   (2009):49-66. Print.
                   
Entire issue or special section of a journal
Perret, Delphine, ed. Maryse Conde. Spec. issue of Callaloo
  18.3 (1995): 535-711.  Print.
                   
Article in a popular magazine
Lacayo, Richard. “Kids are Us!” Time 23 Sept. 2002: 68-70.
  Print.
                   
Article in a newspaper
Hall, Christopher. “Reliving the 1200’s With Sweat, Muscle, and
  No-Tech Tools.”  New York Times 18 Aug. (2002): B27. Print.
                   

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
WORLD WIDE WEB
Example
Lastname, Firstname of author or editor. Title of Page. Title of
  overall site if distinct  from page title. Version or edition used. Publisher or sponsor. Date of publication.  Medium (web) Date of access.
                   
Feasley, Cordelia Throckmorton. Women's Bodies, Women's
  Property: German Common Law Books in the Fourteenth Century. Tisch Library, Tufts University. 30 Sept. 2008. Web May 2009.
                   

ARTICLE FROM A LIBRARY DATABASE
Example
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical.
  Volume. (Date): pages. Name of Database. Medium (web) Date of access.
                   
Lane, Philip J. "The Existential Condition of Television Crime
  Drama." Journal of Popular Culture. 35.1 (2001); 8-16. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 20 Oct. 2008.


 

Citation Management Tool: RefWorks

  • 1. Store your records of books, articles, etc.
  • 2. Generate a bibliography in the style of your choice.
  • 3. Format in-text notes/footnotes while you write.

Learn how to use RefWorks
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last updated: 1/25/10