Contemporary French Cultures And Societies

An interdisciplinary collection of writings on various aspects of change in contemporary French-speaking society, spanning the broad fields of politics and society, arts and culture, the French language, and francophone literatures.

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.

A thematic introduction to contemporary French culture and society, suitable for those taking courses or options in French Studies. It also provides a historical context for each of the themes that it discusses.

Margaret Mead collaborated with her long-time colleague Rhoda Métraux in this unique study of French culture. The Hoover Institute at Stanford University originally published this volume, which grew out of the Columbia University project on Research of Contemporary Cultures in 1954. It is one of the few works by American social scientists dealing with broad themes of French life. Mead and Métraux present a vivid picture of the French starting with the organization of the house and its architecture, and drawing original conclusions for the structure of French families and overall cultural values. This work, long out of print, is a fascinating and penetrating portrait of a contemporary European society.

France entered the twentieth century as a powerful European and colonial nation. In the course of the century, her role changed dramatically: in the first fifty years two World Wars and economic decline removed its status as a world power, whilst the immediate post-war era was marked by wars of independence in its colonies. Yet at the same time, in the second half of the century, France entered a period of unprecedented growth and social transformation. Throughout the century and into the new millennium France retained its former international reputation as a centre for cultural excellence and innovation and its culture, together with that of the Francophone world, reflected the increased richness and diversity of the period. This Companion explores this vibrant culture, and includes chapters on history, language, literature, thought, theatre, architecture, visual culture, film and music, and discuss the contributions of popular culture, Francophone culture, minorities and women.

Ethnic minorities, principally from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the surviving remnants of France's overseas empire, are increasingly visible in contemporary France. Post-Colonial Cultures in France edited by Alec Hargreaves and Mark McKinney is the first wide-ranging survey in English of the vibrant cultural practices now being forged by France's post-colonial minorities. The contributions in Post-Colonial Cultures in France cover both the ethnic diversity of minority groups and a variety of cultural forms ranging from literature and music to film and television. Using a diversity of critical and theoretical approaches from the disciplines of cultural studies, literary studies, migration studies, anthropology and history, Post-Colonial Cultures in France explores the globalization of cultures and international migration.

Offering an up-to-date, coherent approach to contemporary French cultural studies, this text explores French culture through the key themes of the past, culture and subcultures, cultural production and consumption, and the body.

Modern France is an up-to-date and accessible introduction to the nature of French society at the end of the twentieth century. The book examines the transition of France and French life as the nation moves from an industrial to a post-industrial economy, and the cultural and social dislocations that such an evoltuion implies. Sociological concepts and categories of class, race, gender, age and region are discussed as well as how they combine together to produce inequalities and identities. These concepts are then applied to a range of issues such as work, politics, education, health, religion and leisure. Modern France reveals the nature of French society at a critical moment in her evolution and how a member of the European Union reflects distinctiveness and commonality in the development of Europe as a whole.