Librarian
Monica Moore
Contact:
Hesburgh Library
153 Hesburgh Library
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 631-2987
mmoore18@nd.edu
Subjects:French Language and Literature
Overview of French Language and Literature
French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens of other nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, etc. is referred to as francophone literature.
Related subjects include: Art, Art History, and Design, Architecture, Film, Television and Theater, Classics, History, Western Europe, Medieval Studies, Theology and Religion, and Music.
Other Related Resources
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Department of Romance Languages and LiteraturesPrograms, faculty and staff, courses, news and events.
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Dictionaries are most often collections of words in one or more specific languages, usually arranged in alphabetical order, providing information like word meanings, usage, etymology, and, when they contain more than one language, translations. Some dictionaries include information more commonly found in encyclopedias. Encyclopedias are collections of information on terms, figures, eras, locations also arranged alphabetically, and, alongside definitions of terms, they also include more in-depth general information on a topic. Encyclopedias can be general or subject-specific.
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Grand RobertThe electronic version of the Grand Robert de la langue française includes all 6 volumes of the most current edition.
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Grand Robert & CollinsLe grand Robert & Collins : franc̦ais-anglais, anglais-franc̦ais
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LarousseContains French and other bilingual dictionaries.
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Encyclopedia UniversalisA French-language general encyclopedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Articles are written by a staff of full-time editors and expert contributors from a wide variety of disciplines. Includes multimedia content, a world atlas, an integrated dictionary, bibliographies, and original source documents. A daily calendar provides topical information related to current events.
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Routledge Dictionary of Cultural References in Modern FrenchThis cultural dictionary of French provides the reader with clear and concise explanations of the crucial cultural dimension behind the most frequently used words and phrases found in the contemporary French press.
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Anglo-Norman On-line HubAlthough Anglo-Norman became an acquired second language in later generations as Middle English emerged, it was still in use for complex administrative matters and affairs of state well into the 15th century. This site offers resources for understanding these records of Britain's past.
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ARTFL (American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language) ProjectProvides full-text of classical French writings, including literary works, political tracts, philosophical writings, and technical treatises.
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Oxford business French dictionary (French-English)Essential vocabulary, clear translations, usage and grammar help in this French-English dictionary.
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International encyclopaedia for the Middle AgesIntended as a complement to Lexikon des Mittelalters and integrated with it online. Usage info: Licensed for 3 simultaneous users. Access info: Click on "Enter databases" then select International encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages.
Guides, Handbooks & Finding Aids
Reference resources like Handbooks, Guides, and Manuals provide subject-specific, sometimes technical information to aid in understanding important aspects of the discipline or subject that they treat. Finding Aids are useful for finding information within libraries, archives, or specific collections.
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New Oxford Companion to Literature in FrenchSurveys literature in French from all over the world, identifying writers from many countries, intellectual and cultural movements, and literary and theatrical genres.
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The Oxford companion to Canadian literatureMore than 350 new entries on new writers, books, and extended entries on established authors. The entries cover fiction, prose poetry, and drama, prominent writers and literary magazines.
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The Cambridge History of French Literature by ISBN: 9780511976322Publication Date: 2011-05-28From Occitan poetry to Francophone writing produced in the Caribbean and North Africa, from intellectual history to current films, and from medieval manuscripts to bandes dessinées, this History covers French literature from its beginnings to the present day. With equal attention to all genres, historical periods and registers, this is the most comprehensive guide to literature written in French ever produced in English, and the first in decades to offer such an array of topics and perspectives. Contributors attend to issues of orality, history, peripheries, visual culture, alterity, sexuality, religion, politics, autobiography and testimony. The result is a collection that, despite the wide variety of topics and perspectives, presents a unified view of the richness of French-speaking cultures. This History gives support to the idea that French writing will continue to prosper in the twenty-first century as it adapts, adds to, and refocuses the rich legacy of its past. -
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval French Literature by ISBN: 9781139001809Publication Date: 2009-03-28Medieval French literature encompasses 450 years of literary output in Old and Middle French, mostly produced in Northern France and England. These texts, including courtly lyrics, prose and verse romances, dits amoureux and plays, proved hugely influential for other European literary traditions in the medieval period and beyond. This Companion offers a wide-ranging and stimulating guide to literature composed in medieval French from its beginnings in the ninth century until the Renaissance. The essays are grounded in detailed analysis of canonical texts and authors such as the Chanson de Roland, the Roman de la Rose, Villon's Testament, Chrétien de Troyes, Machaut, Christine de Pisan and the Tristan romances. Featuring a chronology and suggestions for further reading, this is the ideal companion for students and scholars in other fields wishing to discover the riches of the French medieval tradition. -
The Cambridge History of French Thought by ISBN: 9781316681572Publication Date: 2019-04-25French thinkers have revolutionized European thought about knowledge, religion, politics, and society. Delivering a comprehensive history of thought in France from the Middle Ages to the present, this book follows themes and developments of thought across the centuries. It provides readers with studies of both systematic thinkers and those who operate less systematically, through essays or fragments, and places them all in their many contexts. Informed by up-to-date research, these accessible chapters are written by prominent experts in their fields who investigate key concepts in non-technical language. Chapters feature treatments of specific thinkers as individuals including Voltaire, Rousseau, Descartes and Derrida, but also more general movements and schools of thought from humanism to liberalism, via the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Marxism, and feminism. Furthermore, the influence of gender, race, empire and slavery are investigated to offer a broad and fulfilling account of French thought throughout the ages.
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The Routledge Handbook of French Politics and Culture by ISBN: 9781315656717Publication Date: 2019-11-12The Routledge Handbook of French Politics and Culture provides a detailed survey of the highly differentiated field of research on French politics, society and culture across the social sciences and humanities. The handbook includes contributions from the most eminent authors in their respective fields who bring their authority to bear on the task of outlining the current state-of-the art research in French Studies across disciplinary boundaries. As such, it represents an innovative as well as an authoritative survey of the field, representing an opportunity for a critical examination of the contrasts and the continuities in methodological and disciplinary orientations in a single volume. The Routledge Handbook of French Politics and Culture will be essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in, and actively concerned about, research on French politics, society and culture. -
Modern France: A Very Short Introduction by ISBN: 9780199874903Publication Date: 2011-01-01In this Very Short Introduction, Vanessa Schwartz argues that modern France, as both a world stage and a global crossroads, is an essential actor in the development of contemporary culture. Indeed, French is the only language other than English spoken on five continents, and more people still visit France than anywhere else in the world. French fashion continues to dominate haute couture and, at the same time, French people are at the forefront of international style, which was as true in the first half of the twentieth century as it is today. This tension between Frenchness as both particular and transnational remains one of the most compelling qualities of the culture. If French culture and culture producers are working around the globe, if Paris is an international capital, the marvel is that France still manages to attract visitors from all over the world seeking out the drama of its historic castles and significant battlefields, its more than 300 cheeses and the renowned wines grown in its rich soil. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam -
The French Revolution:A Very Short Introduction by ISBN: 0191540277Beginning with a discussion of familiar images of the French Revolution, this work looks at how the ancien régime became ancien as well as examining cases in which achievement failed to match ambition.
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French Literature: A Very Short Introduction by ISBN: 9780191574375The heritage of literature in the French language is rich, varied, extensive in time and space, and appealing both to its immediate public--readers of French--and also to a global audience reached through translations and film adaptations. The first great works of this repertory were written in the twelfth century in northern France, and now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, this literature includes authors writing in many parts of the world, ranging from the Caribbean to Western Africa. This Very Short Introduction gives the reader a basic orientation to this lively literary world by focusing on texts (epics, novels, plays, poems, screenplays) that concern protagonists whose adventures and conflicts reveal shifts in literary and social practices. From the hero of the medieval Song of Roland to the Caribbean heroines of I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem or the European expatriate in Japan in Fear and Trembling, these problematic protagonists allow us to understand what interests writers and readers across the wide world of French literature.
Biographies
Biographies provides a description of a person's life, detailing the basic facts like birth and death, education, family background, etc. but also portraying the individual subject's experience of those life events.
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Gale Virtual Reference LibraryProvides searchable full-text e-book versions of many reference works, including multi-volume encyclopedias, biographical collections, business plan handbooks, company history compilations, consumer health references, and specialized handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias.
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L’ÎLE: l'Infocentre Littéraire des écrivainsBiographical resource for Quebec writers and literature