The study of French culture has long ceased to be purely centred on literature. Undergraduate French courses now embrace all forms of cultural production and consumption, and students need to have a broad knowledge of everything from day-time TV and the latest detective novels to debates about national identity and immigration policies.
This stimulating text is an introduction to the full range of contemporary French culture. Written by a group of leading academics both within and outside France, each chapter focuses on a topic from the French cultural scene today. Starting with an overview of resources for further information (both in print and online), the text discusses the varied forms of French cultural expression and looks critically at what 'Frenchness' itself means. The book also explores examples of cultural production ranging from sport, media and literature to theatre, cinema, festivals and music. An essential resource for students and scholars alike, this text provides detailed material and analysis, as well as a launch-pad for further study.

Part I Introduction and Sources; Chapter 1 Introduction, William Kidd, Siân Reynolds; Chapter 2 France @ your fingertips, Elizabeth Ezra, Dougal Campbell; Part II The Background to French Cultural Exceptionalism; Chapter 3 How the French present is shaped by the past, Siân Reynolds; Chapter 4 French cultural policy, Susan Collard; Chapter 5 French education, Lucy Mitchell; Part III Cultural Differences and Identity Politics in France Today; Chapter 6 Social difference, Marion Demossier, Susan Milner; Chapter 7 Sexual fault lines, Lucille Cairns; Chapter 8 The challenges of multiculturalism, Alec G. Hargreaves; Chapter 9 French political culture, Brian Jenkins; Part IV Frenchness Revisited; Chapter 10 If it isn't clear, it isn't French, James Munro; Chapter 11 French public culture, Helen Beale; Chapter 12 Frenchness, William Kidd; Part V French Cultural Production at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century; Chapter 13 Sport and identity in the new France, Philip Dine; Chapter 14 Advertising culture in France, Alastair Duncan; Chapter 15 A night at the theatre, Christophe Campos; Chapter 16 Cinema in a nation of filmgoers, Sue Harris; Chapter 17 Festivals and fêtes populaires, Sue Harris; Chapter 18 From press barons to digital TV, Jean-Claude Sergeant; Chapter 19 From Messiaen to MC Solaar, Mary Breatnach, Eric Sterenfeld; Chapter 20 Reading books in France, Bernard C. Swift; Chapter 21 Intellectuals in French culture, Martyn Cornick; Chapter 22 The French contribution to contemporary cultural analysis, Jeremy F. Lane; Chapter -bm1 Conclusion Appendix;