GENERAL PURPOSE

French at Kenyon offers three types of major: French Literature, French Area Studies, and Modem Languages (the latter combines French with one of the other six languages offered in the department). The majority of courses requiring library support are in French and Francophone literature from the Middle Ages to the present. Related areas such as contemporary French civilization, French film, and literary criticism and history are also covered in our advanced courses.

GENERAL SUBJECT BOUNDARIES

The most intensive collection development is of major literary texts from France and, to a slightly lesser degree, from the entire French speaking world. We also acquire secondary works on French and Francophone literature, French literary theory, and French film criticism, all of which may be in French or English. Related areas of special interest to our faculty and students include French History and Cultural Studies, Post-Colonial Studies, Women's and Gender Studies.

TYPES OF MATERIALS COLLECTED

Our collection consists primarily of monographs dating back to the nineteenth century, as well as a small number of serials ranging from the major journals in the field such as The French Review andYale French Studies to the most influential French and Francophone newsweeklies such as Le Nouvel Observateur and Jeune Afrique. Major encyclopedias, dictionaries, periodical indexes and bibliographies complement our collection.

FORMAT OF MATERIALS COLLECTED

Printed books continue to be by far our major area of collection development. We are in the process of acquiring a significant collection of French and Francophone feature length movies and some documentaries. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more specialized databases are an area of interest as well, as is access to online information through Lexis-Nexis, the ARTFL database, electronic journals, and other sources.

LANGUAGES

Literary works in French, as well as some in Francophone languages such as Creole or French Canadian, are the backbone of our collection. We also acquire English translations of major works, especially poetry. Secondary works and criticism can be either in French or English, and occasionally in other European languages if necessary.

GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS

While the majority of our collection focuses on France, we must ensure adequate representation of the Francophone literature of Belgium, Switzerland, Francophone Africa, the French West Indies and Canada.

CHRONOLOGICAL GUIDELINES

All periods are covered from the Middle Ages onward, with approximately equal emphasis to each century (taking into account that there is more being published on certain periods than others). We acquire contemporary works on a limited basis, using as a guideline the importance of the author on the world literary scene.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS

Includes a few examples of French authors in the original or in English translation (e.g., Balzac, Baudelaire, Hugo, Maupassant, Voltaire).

OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE

We work through CONSORT to increase our access to less commonly-used materials, especially Francophone literature and literary/film theory and criticism. Students and faculty make extensive use of OhioLINK and ILL for their research, and consult a wide range of French Studies serials at the OSU Library.

CREATION DATE AND REVISION HISTORY

Created November 1999 by Mort Guiney

Reviewed November 2009 by Karen Greever

LC CLASS

PC, PQ