Skip to Main Content
Syracuse University Libraries

French Language and Literature: FRENCH 409

This guide outlines key resources and strategies for searching French language and literature at the Syracuse University Libraries

Research Strategies

Familiarize yourself with your topic.  Be sure you are able to answer the following questions before beginning your research:
  • Who?
  • What?
  • Where?
  • When?
  • Why?
  • How?

Gather background information about your topic using reference sources.

  • Reference books provide important information on a topic, include specific details, and point to other useful sources of information. They point the way into the core literature of a topic contained in books, journals, reports, and many other types of publications.
  • They can also summarize, digest, or review the literature on a topic in ways that save you time and energy.
  • Knowing the reference sources in your discipline can increase the efficiency of your searches by enabling you to better focus your questions.

Be sure to evaluate the kinds of sources you are using.  Review your print sources and pay special attention to Internet sources.

Read the source carefully.  Note organizational differences between tools. Not all works are comprehensive in scope.

Be creative. Try alternative and related headings to locate the information you need. If your initial search is so broad that you have too many sources, then narrow your search. If your search brings back too few sources, then broaden the search, using more general terms.

Reference Works

Title: Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment /

Publisher: Chicago, IL ; London : Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001.

https://libezproxy.syr.edu/login?url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315063140

 

 

Title: The Enlightenment: a brief history with documents

Call number: CB411 .J327 2017 (2nd Floor, Bird)

 

 

Title: The Marquis de Sade : the man, his works, and his critics : an annotated bibliography 
               
Author: Michael, Colette Verger,
               
Publisher: New York : Garland, 1986.

Call number: PQ2063.S3 M53 1986 (5th Floor, Bird)

 

 

Title: The Cambridge companion to Voltaire 
               
Publisher: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, ©2009.

Call Number: PQ2122 .C36 2009 (5th Floor, Bird)

 

Title: Studies on Voltaire and the eighteenth century

Publisher: Geneva: Institut et musee Voltaire

Call number PQ 2105.A2 S6

In the Facility, by request

Volumes for 2000- can also be searched under individual authors/titles


Title: Diderot studies
               
Publisher: [Syracuse, N.Y.] : Syracuse University Press, ©1949-
                 Genève : Librairie Droz

https://catalog.syr.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=274265

 

 

Title: Montesquieu and social theory 
               
Author: Baum, John Alan,
               

 http://libezproxy.syr.edu/login?url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780080243177  

 

Title: Opera and the Enlightenment 
               
Publisher: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Call number:  ML1720.3 .O64 1995 (4th Floor, Bird)

 

Title: Architecture of the French Enlightenment- Allan Braham

Publisher: Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.

Call number: NA 1046.B75 (King Library, 3rd floor Slocum)

Searching Print and Electronic Resources

Begin your research using the Syracuse University Libraries' catalog. The Classic Catalog is recommended for locating specific authors and titles. SUMMON's interface does allow easy searching of multiple formats.
 
Searching Tips:
  • French writers are usually listed under their family name.   
    • e.g. Aulnoy, Madame d' (Marie-Catherine)
  • Be aware of variant spellings as well as how accent marks are treated in various catalogs.
  • Early modern authors may be listed by their title. Older resources may not cross reference these variant listings.
    • e.g.  Charrière, Madame de  or  Charrière, Isabelle
  • Articles should not be used if they appear at the beginning of a title.
    • e.g.  Princesse de Clèves
  • Certain individual titles may not be available in separate editions in our library. Check for œuvres which may contain the specific work.
  • The Classic Catalog subject search is based upon a thesaurus of terms developed by the Library of Congress.
    • e.g.  French fiction-18th century-History and Criticism or Enlightenment.

Books and Periodicals

  • Begin your research with books / monographs. Book are:
    • Well vetted
    • Provide background or overviews of a topic
    • Include extensive bibliographies
    • May be older publications
  • Periodicals
    • Articles may be very current
    • Generally focused on a specific aspect of a topic

Selecting Databases

  • Not every database functions the same way, nor has the same content or coverage dates
  • Consider the focus of your research when deciding which database or databases to search

Is your search general, literary, humanistic, social science based, or scientific in nature?

Services

Consultation:

Please call or email Barbara Opar (443-3518/2905 or baopar@syr.edu) if you are having trouble finding the right information for an assignment.  You can also schedule an appointment if you need help using electronic resources or for more in-depth assistance with a research project.

InterLibrary Loan:

While the Syracuse Library has extensive holdings in the area of French language and literature, certain kinds of resources may be limited or unavailable. ILL is a service available to help students and faculty obtain books on loan from other academic libraries. Periodical articles are provided free of charge in digital form. Click here for more information.

Storage Requests:

Syracuse University Libraries store certain older or lesser used materials off-site. Forms for delivery back to campus are available on the Libraries' home page. Deliveries take place only Monday through Friday. All language and literature and most other older bound periodicals are now located at the Facility. For further details, see Delivery Service.

Type of Periodicals

  • Popular 
  • Trade
  • Academic 
  • Scholarly
  • Refereed 
  • Peer-Reviewed

There are minor differences in the meaning of the last four terms, but they are often used interchangeably.

Not all academic journals are peer-reviewed 

 

Recommended Databases

Reference tools / background information

Overviews of Humanities Topics

Overviews of Social Science Topics

Literature Database(s)

  • MLA International

  • The MLA International Bibliography is a subject index for books, articles and websites published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. It is produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), an organization dedicated to the study and teaching of language and literature. The electronic version of the Bibliography dates back to 1925 and contains over 2 million citations from more than 4,400 periodicals (including peer-reviewed e-journals) and 1,000 book publishers. It is compiled by the staff of the MLA Department of Bibliographic Information Services with the cooperation of more than 100 contributing bibliographers in the United States and abroad. Such international coverage is represented by literature from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, and while the majority of records are from English-language publications, at least sixty other languages are represented including French, Spanish, German, Russian, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Language Database(s)

Cultural(Art, Architecture, Music)

Image Databases

Audio Database

Streaming Videos