Collins Memorial Library: FREN 102: Beginning French: Getting Started

Use the resources below to learn more about the topic that you have selected for your presentation.

Subject Encyclopedias for French History and Culture

Subject encyclopedias are excellent starting points for your research. Scholars write the entries, which typically offer not only an overview of the topic (the who, what, where, and when), but also an account of how experts and others have interpreted the matter over time.

Start with these subject encyclopedias and branch out as needed.

Print encyclopedias and dictionaries are located on the first floor of Collins Library.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary French Culture by Alex Hughes (Editor); Keith Reader (Editor)
Call Number: DC33.7 .E53 1998 Reference
ISBN: 9780415131865
Publication Date: 1998
Over 700 entries provide a detailed survey of post-1945 French culture.
Francoscopie 2030 by Gérard Mermet (editor)
Call Number: DC415 .M47 2018 Reference
ISBN: 9782035960641
Publication Date: 2018
Provides a fascinating compendium of demographic information and results of opinion polls on all aspects of contemporary French life (in French).
France: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present by William J. Roberts
Call Number: DC35 .R64 2004 Reference
ISBN: 9780816044733
Publication Date: 2004
Provides detailed information on the people, events, and issues that are crucial to the study of French history.
Dictionnaire d'Histoire de France Perrin by Anthony Rowley; Frédéric Besset
Call Number: DC35 .D53 2002 Reference
ISBN: 2262013217
Publication Date: 2002
Provides short entries (in French) on key people, events, places, and themes in French history.
Histoire de France Larousse
Call Number: DC38 .H57 2002 Reference
ISBN: 9782035053510
Publication Date: 2002
Provides a richly illustrated narrative of the main themes of French history (in French).
Medieval France by William W. Kibler (Editor); Grover A. Zinn (Editor); John Bell Henneman (Editor); Lawrence Earp (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access
ISBN: 9780824044442
Publication Date: 1995
Covers the political, intellectual, literary, and musical history of the country from the early fifth century to the late 15th.
Daily Life During the French Revolution by James M. Anderson
Call Number: DC148 .A656 2007 Print Books
ISBN: 9780313336836
Publication Date: 2007
Explores the daily lives of people of all social classes during the French Revolution, providing information on the economy, clothes and fashions, arts, entertainment, food, education, family life, health, medicine, religion, military, and other related topics.
The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French by Peter France (Editor)
Call Number: PQ41 .N48 1995 Reference
Publication Date: 1995
Click on the title above for online access. Surveys literature in French from all over the world, identifying writers from many countries, intellectual and cultural movements, and literary and theatrical genres.
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion by Valerie Steele [editor]
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access
Publication Date: 2004
A survey of clothing, costume and fashion. Coverage includes the origins of clothing and body adornment, the development of fabrics and technologies, and the social meanings of dress, as well as representative costumes from a wide range of historical eras.
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture by Solomon H. Katz (Editor)
Call Number: Click on the title above for online access
ISBN: 9780684805689
Publication Date: 2002
A three-volume survey of food and its place in human culture and society, presented through 600 alphabetically sorted entries. Features multidisciplinary coverage of such topics as comfort food, ethnicity and food, medieval banquets, and nutrient composition, among many others. Includes photographs, illustrations, sidebars, recipes, menus, and timelines.

Online Reference Collections

Not sure where to look? Each of these online collections will introduce you to a wealth of dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Arts & Humanities Through the Eras
Profiling milestones and movements in the arts, literature, music and religion from a specific period.
Biography Reference Source
A collection of full-text biographies, including the complete full-text run of Biography Today and Biography.
Gale eBooks
Provides full text access to several dozen subject encyclopedias, with strengths in the arts, humanities, and medicine.
Literature Resource Center
Full-text database of bio-critical essays on authors, along with representative examples of book reviews (both popular and scholarly) and literary criticism.
Art Online (Oxford)
Covers all aspects of Western and non-Western visual art. Note: Access limited to 3 simultaneous users.
Music Online (Oxford)
Offers the ability to access and cross-search multiple music reference resources in one location. Note: Access is limited to 3 simultaneous users.
Oxford Reference
Provides full text access to hundreds of Oxford reference titles, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks.
SAGE Knowledge
Provides full-text access to dozens of Sage reference books, with a strong emphasis on the social sciences.

Country Information

Europa World
Online version of the Europa World Yearbook, covering political and economic information from over 250 countries and territories. Includes comparative statistical information, directories and maps.
World FactBook
Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for world entities.

Collins Memorial Library

FREN 102: Beginning French

Humanities & Interdisciplinary Studies Librarian

Related Subject Guides

Subject Encyclopedias for French History and Culture

Online Reference Collections

Country Information