Research Guides: Francophone Studies: French2409

From Special Collections

The George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives: 45,000 volumes of rare books, 5,000 linear feet of manuscripts and College archives, 25,000 photographs, 500 historical maps, and related materials. Review the Rules for readers before making requests for materials.

Livingston French Autograph Collection
A collection of letters, notes, documents, approximately 800 items from more than 500 notable individuals, mostly from France, all items in French. All were prominent figures in their fields: literature, archeology, physics, chemistry, the church, theater, music, medicine, politics, and history. The Container List has a complete inventory.
Romance Language Book Collections
An overview of some of the major romance language book collections (more than 1300 volumes) in Special Collections. In 1829, with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Bowdoin's first professor of modern languages of Europe, the College became only the fourth college in the United States to teach modern languages.
Jane Webster Pearce Collection
The Jane Webster Pearce Collection, a 2006 bequest to Bowdoin College. Ms. Pearce, a resident of Green Island, Mt. Desert, Maine, was an avid book collector who, over a thirty year period, acquired designer bindings and artists' books primarily from bookbinders and artists whom she had met personally. The collection features works by Gérard Charrière, from whom she learned bookbinding techniques. Strong in French literature, especially the tales of Perrault, surrealist works and book arts.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Here are some dictionaries and encyclopedias which will be useful for 19th and 20th century French studies.

Encyclopedia Universalis.
Main Ref AE25 .E3 1994
A general encyclopedia, organized very much like the English Encyclopedia Britannica. It is in two parts" The Thesaurus-Index (part 1) provides brief articles and references to longer treatments in the main volumes (part 2). Illustrations are mostly black and white.
Dictionnaire de la langue française / Emile Littré
Main Ref folio PC2625 .L6 1881
Seven volumes. Called "The/Le Littré" A useful dictionary for pre-twentieth century works. Lots of quotations, etymologies, usage histories. Updated by Robert.
Dictionnaire alphabetique et analogique de la langue française / Paul Robert
Main Ref PC2625 .R55 1985
6 volumes. Called "The/Le Robert" Updates Littré, therefore strong for twentieth-century works. Numerous literary references and examples, as well as a strong cross-reference structure.
Le Petit Robert 2 : dictionnaire universel des noms propres alphabétique et analogique / Paul Robert
Main Ref AG5 .P53 1989
The second part of the popular abbreviated "Petit Robert" (as opposed to the "Grand Robert" above); this is actually a desk encyclopedia, containing proper names; entries include geographical, historical and biographical information. Similar in scope to the English Columbia Encyclopedia.
A Dictionary of Symbols
Main Ref GR931 .C4413 1994
An excellent symbology dictionary. Entries are lengthy and the discussion drawn from a wide range of disciplines including history, religion, anthropology, mythology, and more.
Collection littéraire Lagarde et Michard.
Main Libr PQ1109 .L3 1985
Generally cited as "Lagarde et Michard," this multivolume work is a useful synthesis of literaryand cultural history, critical analysis and bibliography. It is often used by French students to prepare for exams. Good for getting the context, based on received opinion (prevailing wisdom).

Subject Guide

Carmen Greenlee

Contact:

111B H-L Library and Media Commons
cgreenle@bowdoin.edu

207.725.3286

Subjects: Cinema Studies, Classics, Dance, Francophone Studies, German, Hispanic Studies, Italian Studies, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies, Medieval Renaissance, Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Religion, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Theater

Research Strategies

Plan your research. You'll need time not only to FIND sources, but to read them and decide if/how to use them.
Try keyword searching. This search method often turns up additional material, especially when the search words are new terminology, jargon or older terms - or terms in French.
Check for bibliography notes in records for relevant secondary sources other primary and secondary source materials and authors prominent in the area which you are researching.
Take time to browse the collection. It helps to know how French literature is organized in our Library.