Collection Development Policy Statement

Library's Collection Development Objectives

LSU Libraries seeks to support teaching and research in French language, French and Francophone literature, literary theory, criticism, and cultural studies related to the Francophone world. This includes support for undergraduate majors and minors, as well as Master's and doctoral programs and faculty research. This policy seeks primarily to support the curriculum of the Department of French Studies, but the library's collections in the above-mentioned areas also support interdisciplinary and interdepartmental programs including those in Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Women's and Gender Studies, African and African-American Studies, and International Studies. Additionally, materials collected in the subject areas included in this policy support some courses and research in the departments of English, Theatre, Curriculum and Instruction, History, and Philosophy and Religious Studies. Works of important French and Francophone authors in English translation are used by students and faculty from throughout the university. The French Children's Literature Collection, housed in the Libraries = Education Resource Center (and not covered by this policy statement), serves teachers of French and their students throughout Louisiana in addition to LSU students and others in the campus community. This policy statement also does not address Special Collections materials, except where specifically mentioned.

Curriculum Program Descriptions

The Department of French Studies is a part of the College of Arts and Sciences. It has been designated by the university as a key department in the humanities, reflecting the historical importance of the French language and culture in Louisiana. In the fall of 1999, the French program was named by the university as one of twelve programs selected for priority enhancement over the next five years. The Center for French and Francophone Studies (CFFS), an adjunct to the department, promotes faculty and graduate research as well as sponsors conferences, lectures, and other programs. The CFFS has been designated a Acentre pluridisciplinaire@ by the French government, making the Center a recipient of an annual subsidy supporting CFFS projects and activities. The curriculum of the Department of French Studies includes language courses at beginning through advanced levels, as well as courses on all periods of French and Francophone literature; literary theory and criticism; cultural studies and theory; women's studies; film and film theory; applied and theoretical linguistics; and comparative literature. The department's strengths are literary theory and criticism and Francophone studies, with particular emphasis on the Caribbean, Africa, and North America. An expanding emphasis on Francophone Louisiana includes the projected development of an undergraduate minor in Cajun French. The Ph.D. program in French was ranked 20th in the United States by the National Research Council in 1995.

Eleven courses offered by the Department of French Studies fulfill general education requirements in the humanities for undergraduates in any degree program. Within the College of Arts and Sciences, eleven of the department's courses also fulfill undergraduate distribution requirements for the humanities. Students in the College of Education pursuing degrees in secondary education with a subject concentration in French are required to complete a minimum of 36 semester hours of French courses at or above the 2000 level. Students pursuing undergraduate minors in Women's and Gender Studies, African and African-American Studies, Audio-visual Arts, or Linguistics can take specific courses offered by the department as part of their programs. French courses can also be part of an undergraduate major in International Studies. Courses at the 4000 level and above can fulfill requirements for the M.A. in Liberal Arts, an interdepartmental degree program for adult (nontraditional) students.

Degrees offered by the department are the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in French. An undergraduate minor in Cajun French is being developed. Additionally, the department participates in the interdepartmental programs in Linguistics and Comparative Literature, both of which offer the M.A. and Ph.D. Exchange programs are maintained with several universities in France, and the department also participates in an exchange program sponsored by the French government.

There are 28 faculty members in the department, of whom thirteen are graduate faculty. Two faculty members hold joint appointments in the Department of English, and one holds a joint appointment in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. Several faculty members participate in the interdepartmental programs in Comparative Literature, Women's and Gender Studies, and Linguistics. Faculty are engaged in research and publication in the areas of literary and cultural studies, linguistics, and foreign language teaching.

E (Empty String)      - (Info unavailable)

New and Expanding Areas of Interest

• Wider approaches to French and Francophone culture and cultural studies

• Interdisciplinary studies

• Francophone cultures of Louisiana, both historical and contemporary

• Cajun French

Areas of Specialization / Major Faculty Research Interests

• 16th-20th century French literature

• Francophone literature (Africa, Caribbean, North America, Southeast Asia)

• Literary theory and criticism

• Women's writing

• Gender theory

• Literature and the visual arts

• Contemporary French philosophy

• French linguistics

• Comparative literature

• Second-language learning and teaching

• Medieval literature

• Semiotics

• Sociolinguistics

• Louisiana Francophone varieties of French and English

Treatment of Subject Depth / Delimitations

LSU Libraries collects generally in the areas of French language and literature, Francophone literature, and literary criticism and theory at the level of instructional support, and selectively in support of faculty research. Collecting is primarily of current, in-print monographs published in the U.S., Great Britain, France, and Canada. Predominant languages are English and French. Dictionaries and other reference works are collected selectively, as are serials.

The Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (within Special Collections) collects all available materials, in any format, pertaining to the Francophone culture of Louisiana and to all varieties of the French language in Louisiana, as well as works by and about Louisiana authors writing in French. In most cases, duplicate copies of current Louisiana-related books are purchased for the circulating collection.

Overlap with Other Subjects or Collections

Portions of the following areas are of some interest to the curriculum of the Department of French Studies, but other policy statements and selectors have the primary responsibility for collection development:

• Philosophy

• History

• Anthropology, folklore

• Women's and gender studies

• Linguistics

• Education

• Literary theory

• Film

• Fine arts

• Children's/young people's literature in French

Copyright © 1997-2001 LSU Libraries
URL: http://www.lib.lsu.edu/collserv/colldev/policies/french.html
Last updated: December 16, 2001
Contact the Collection Services Webmaster (LIBCS@lsu.edu) about this site.