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| Reviewed: |
Apr 26, 2001 by World Languages Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
An important site for French literary, philological, and cultural research, Athena holds an extensive collection of links to electronic text centers, such as ABU, Frantext, and the Bibliotheque nationale de France, and it also publishes its own texts. The collection includes works in French as well as English-language translations of French texts, and French-language translations of texts originally written in other languages. The site is searchable by theme, language, author, title, and keywords. |
| Learning Goals: |
Better understanding of French and Francophone texts and of literary translation; improved research skills. |
| Technical Requirements: |
A variety of modes of downloading may be used, some of whose tools are linked to the site. For the most part, texts are formatted in HTML and RTF. |
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| Strengths: |
Athena gives students and scholars of French or world literature ready access to a wealth of well- and lesser-known texts. With links to notes and references, several internal search engines and multimedia editions of texts, it greatly facilitates and enriches traditional literary research.
Athena may be considered as the first place to look for the best editions of classical texts in electronic format. The external links are up to date, making the site a most reliable resource. New titles of excellent quality are regularly developed by Athena team members. |
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
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| Strengths: |
This web site may be used for independent study and research or incorporated into a course in French literature or literary criticism. Since the primary language of the site is French and the subject matter is characteristic of upper-division and graduate courses, it is best suited to researchers and advanced learners of French. More engaging than entertaining, this site is an invaluable resource for serious scholars. |
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
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| Strengths: |
Designed by and for high-end users, Athena is nevertheless versatile and easy to use, accommodating a variety of applications and hardware. Its subtle, tasteful home page clearly delineates the scope of the collection: 1) texts by French authors, 2) French texts of uncertain authorship, 3) illustrated texts by Francophone authors, 4) texts translated into French, and 5) French texts translated into other languages. As a courtesy to long-term users, it carefully avoids unnecessary changes in URLs. The professionalism and collegiality that underlie the site's design, content, and terms of use attest to the Internet's contribution to textual scholarship. |
| Concerns: |
We would suggest offering a search engine at the top of each page (either javascript type or simply an alphabet) so that users will not have to scroll up and down the long lists of authors. In the search page,
users may be confused by the order of the choices they are offered, since Athena's own search engine appears only in second position, after Excite. A search run with the Excite engine will take users out of Athena while they thought they were searching this site's collection. |
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