One of the first documents that I reviewed at the Bibliothèque nationale de France – François Mitterand. Originally published by le Journal des réformes sociales in 1879, this edition detailed the publication’s utopian socialist program. Photo Credit: Alan Chen.
Archival research is already demanding enough as is, so the challenge can only mount when researching in a foreign language in a foreign archive. If you find yourself in this situation, however, fret not! In the blog post that follows, I want to reflect on my time in one of France’s most imposing archives this past summer: la Bibliothèque nationale de France – François Mitterrand (BnF). In doing so, I hope to distill my first two weeks in the archives down into a brief guide on how to navigate a foreign archive in a foreign language.
Accessing the Archival Materials
As you begin your adventure into the archives, let’s assume that you have a working list of materials that you’d like to consult. Before you can cross the bridge into all that lovely literature, you must first come face-to-face with the ugly troll of the introductory archival appointment. Luckily, the archival representative is not there to give you a hard time—but there may be cultural barriers that render these appointments difficult. For one, make sure to come to your consultation prepared with some knowledge of the local higher education system. The BnF requires that prospective researchers be at least undergraduate-level students. Simple as this may sound, France’s higher education system functions differently than that of the U.S.: whereas a traditional undergraduate degree in the U.S. will conventionally last you four years, a traditional undergraduate degree in France will only occupy three years (often leaving time for students to pursue Masters degrees). Equally confusing is that the thèse—or thesis—of the French higher education system belongs to doctoral candidates, and not to undergraduates. Therefore, in order to smoothly complete the archival registration process at the archival appointment, it is extremely helpful to know the foreign counterparts of your educational level and your research project.
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