French Language & Literature

This page suggests library resources relevant to Marcelle Clements' Proust seminar, FYSEM-UA 503 In Search of Lost Time. It is selective and intended to supplement the excellent sources recommended by Professor Clements in your syllabus. Included here are contextual materials, bibliographies and other online and print resources. 

Search here for books, articles, journals and other print materials, videos, sound recordings, e-books, e-journals, databases, and indexes in our local libraries and special collections.

Determining which Library of Congress subject headings [LCSH] are established for aspects of a topic is an important step in finding relevant materials.  If you do not know the official subject terms, begin with a basic keyword search using natural language.

For example, a basic catalog (BobCat) search for - Proust and music - leads to the following subject headings:

• Proust, Marcel, 1871-1922 -- Knowledge -- Music
• Music -- France -- 20th century -- History and criticism
• Music and literature
• Music in literature

Here are some more subject headings, specific to Proust:

• Proust, Marcel, 1871-1922. A la recherche du temps perdu.
• Proust, Marcel, 1871-1922. Amour de Swann.
• Proust, Marcel, 1871-1922 -- Criticism and interpretation
• Proust, Marcel, 1871-1922 -- Influence
• Proust, Marcel, 1871-1922 -- Characters -- Women

Feeling overwhelmed? Proceed in this order.

a) Open one of these online books:

• Marcel Proust in Context  
• Cambridge Introduction to Marcel Proust

Look at the table of contents, then try reading a little in the relevant chapters. (At the very least, in the Introduction, you will find descriptions of In Search of Lost Time sections, which should help you situate yourself.)

If you haven’t found anything useful, try these books.  They’re not quite as easy as the two above but they are actually much richer.  

• Proust Among the Stars
• The Proustian Quest

It is now astronomically unlikely that you don’t have something at least to read, if not to cite.

b)  Open one or two of the Important Essays.  Read a little.  Open one or two more.

c) Dive into a database search:

• MLA International Bibliography
• Project Muse
• JSTOR

using two search terms:  “Proust and ____”  (Fill in a keyword for your subject.)

d)  You should now be in business, or at least have a direction in which to go.  If not, e-mail Professor Clements at marcelle.clements@nyu.edu.