Encyclopedia Of Contemporary French Culture

by Alexandra Hughes, Alex Hughes, Keith A Reader, Keith Reader

Overview

More than 700 alphabetically organized entries by an international team of contributors provide a fascinating survey of French culture post 1945.
Entries include:
* advertising
• Beur cinema
• Coco Chanel
• decolonization
• écriture feminine
• football
• francophone press
• gay activism
• Seuil
• youth culture
Entries range from short factual/biographical pieces to longer overview articles. All are extensively cross-referenced and longer entries are 'facts-fronted'so important information is clear at a glance. It includes a thematic contents list, extensive index and suggestions for further reading.
The Encyclopedia will provide hours of enjoyable browsing for all francophiles, and essential cultural context for students of French, Modern History, Comparative European Studies and Cultural Studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415131865
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/25/1998
Series:	500 Tips Series
Pages:	644
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Alex Hughes is Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Birmingham, and Keith Reader is Head of French Studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Editorial Reviews

"The book includes entries concerning every aspect of modern French life. Readers will be delighted to encounter unknown facts..." - Choice

From the Publisher

. . . a factual, accurate reference guide to contemporary French life is needed to dispel the misinformation about modern France that renders French thought suspect to some commentators. The book includes entries concerning every aspect of modern French life. Readers will be delighted to encounter unknown facts.

Choice

Although broad in scope, this rudimentary guide to post-1945 French and Francophone culture offers a respectable amount of authoritative information for the lay reader. The more than 700 entries include economy, fashion and design, food and drink, media, the arts, politics, sport, and more. Entries range from the brief and factual to lengthy, essay-type contributions. For instance, the description and analysis of the riots of May 1968 extend over almost four pages, whereas people usually get much briefer coverage (four or five lines). It is not always clear what criteria the editors used to determine the amount of information: Marc Chagall's entry is slightly shorter than that of Mehdi Charef, a young writer/director. Typically, entries begin with factual information and end with suggestions for further reading and numerous cross references to other related topics. An extensive index makes information easily accessible and seems more useful than the list of subject headings at the start of the book. This encyclopedia, prepared and edited by English-speaking academics, presupposes no knowledge of French or contemporary French history and institutions. Understandably, it is not comprehensive; there is no entry for the Eiffel Tower or other French monuments, for instance. Recommended especially for public libraries.--Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY

Library Journal

Some 700 entries provide cultural context for anyone studying the language or pursuing any course of study which touches on contemporary French culture. Entries include abortion, advertising, Beur cinema, Jacques Brel, Coco Chanel, child care, decolonization, ecriture feminine, football, francophone press, gay activism, green politics, management style, Paris Match, regional writing, Seuil, and youth culture. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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