FYE: French Civilization
Humanities Liaison Librarian
- Steve Lawson
- Tutt Library Room 173
- (in the Learning Commons,
off the Map Room) - (719) 389-6857
- Email me or Chat with me now
This is the library research guide for FE159 / FR159 “French Civilization,” taught by Professor Alistaire Tallent.
Thouret’s map of France from c. 1790 showing his proposal for 80 perfectly regular departments. From Strange Maps.
Getting started
For translating words and phrases, Oxford Language Dictionaries Online is very useful.
I don’t recommend wandering aimlessly through the stacks, but browsing in selected call number areas in both the regular circulating collection and the reference collection can be helpful when you are starting a project. Here are suggested call number areas for this course:
- DC call numbers are for French history. In reference, you’ll find books like the Historical dictionary of World War II France.
- N call numbers are for art. You might also try The Grove Dictionary Of Art Online for an overview of your topic and suggested bibliography.
- PC2000 – PQ4000 is where you’ll find books on the French language, so look here if you need a French/English dictionary for certain terms or phrases.
- PQ1 – PQ3999 call numbers are for French literature. Contemporary Authors can be a good source for an overview of present-day authors’ careers.
Finding books
The TIGER catalog is where you find books (and videos, government documents, microfilm, etc.) in Tutt Library and other locations at Colorado College. You won’t find journal articles here (or in any other library catalog, generally speaking)
Prospector - Colorado Unified Catalog makes it easy for you to get books (videos, CDs, etc.) from libraries around Colorado delivered to the Tutt Library circulation desk. This usually takes 3 to 5 business days, so plan ahead.
Finding articles
The best article database for you will depend on your topic.
- Art: Start with Art Abstracts . You might also find the Bibliography Of The History Of Art useful.
- Current events: If your topic is too recent to be treated “historically,” try LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe
- History: Use Historical Abstracts for articles in history.
- Literature: The MLA International Bibliography is our best database for articles on literature and literary criticism.
You might also try ARTFL Project, University Of Chicago for full-text online versions of French books back to the 17th Century.