Undergraduate Course Offerings
Spring 2001

Departmental Writing Requirements:

The following writing requirements apply to courses in which the authorized enrollments do not exceed 20 (French 331 and 332) or 25 (literature and civilization courses numbered higher than French 332):

  • FREN 331 and 332: 10-15 pages, typically divided among 4 to 5 papers. Peer editing introduced during class and practiced outside.
  • 300-level literature and civilization courses: 10-15 pages, typically divided among 2 to 4 papers. Relatively less sophisticated content than at the 400-level. Peer editing outside of class may be offered to students as an option (or requirement).
  • 400-level literature and civilization courses: 15-20 pages, typically divided among 2 to 4 papers. Relatively more sophisticated content than at the 300-level. Peer editing outside of class may be offered to students as an option (or requirement).
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  FRTR 221 LITERARY LOVERS OF MEDIEVAL FRANCE: THE POETICS AND POLITICS OF DESIRE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY

To the nineteenth? and twentieth?century imagination, Medieval writings on love provided a wealth of romantic images, epitomized perhaps by Lancelot's choice of love over law and reputation to rescue Guenevere from an unhappy marriage. To thinkers and writers of the twelfth?century, however, love provided both literal and metaphoric frameworks for discussions of topics such as the nature of the soul, social hierarchies,and contemporary political developments. We will investigate the ways in which twelfth?century French authors developed some of the commonplaces of love which survive today and the diverse uses??theological, misogynist, proto?feminist, satiric??to which they put these principles. Requirements for the course include active participation, three six?page essays or two nine?page essays and a final exam. All readings will be in English translation and discussion will be in English. This course may not be taken as part of the requirements for the major or minor in French.

11:00-12:15 T R Ms. Ogden



  FREN 331 INTENSIVE GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION

Prerequisite: Exemption from FREN 201 & 202; or a score of 3 on the AP French language exam; or a score of at least 660 on the SAT. Required as preparation for all subsequent courses except FREN 333 and FREN 339.

This course will place emphasis on grammatical rules and their application to composition. Short readings in French will provide a context for discussion, writing, and grammar practice. Self-guided grammar exercises will be assigned as homework. Students will be graded on homework, contribution to small and whole-group discussions, short quizzes, dictations, compositions, a mid-term, and a final exam.

11:00-11:50 M W F Ms. Houyoux
1:00-1:50 M W F Ms. Sapir
2:00-2:50 M W F Ms. Houyoux



  FREN 331 INTENSIVE GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION

Prerequisite: Exemption from FREN 201 & 202; or a score of 3 on the AP French language exam; or a score of at least 660 on the SAT. Required as preparation for all subsequent courses except FREN 333 and FREN 339

This course will place emphasis on understanding the different elements of the French language (classification, origins, and formation of words) and on the relationship that exists between those words (syntax). Students will be asked to apply grammatical rules to composition. Short readings in French will provide a context for discussion, writing, and grammar practice. Students will be graded on dictations (weekly), compositions (bi-weekly), three "interrogations," and a final exam. The course will be taught in French.

9:00-9:50 M W F Ms. Zunz



  FREN 332 THE WRITING AND READING OF TEXTS

Prerequisite:French 331. This course is a prerequisite for all undergraduate courses on a higher level except French 333 and French 339.

The development of writing skills and strategies in French: grammar, vocabulary, organization and style. Careful reading and analysis of a variety of texts (for example, poetry , theater, fiction and essays). Sections will be limited to fifteen students. Several papers in French (10-15 pages total).

9:30-10:45 T R Ms. Barnett
11:00-12:15 T R Ms. McKinley
10:00-10:50 M W F Ms. Sapir
12:00-12:50 M W F Ms. Sapir
11:00-11:50 M W F Mr. Rubin
12:30-1:45 T R Ms. Rigaud



  FREN 333 FRENCH CONVERSATION AND FREE COMPOSITION (3)

Prerequisite: Completion of FREN 232 or equivalent. Permission of course chair for those having completed only FREN 202. Students having completed French 332 are excluded from this course and MUST enroll in French 334.

An intensive course designed to give students a better command of present-day spoken and written French. Conversation on topics of current events ( French and international), including some which class members choose, mastery of advanced vocabulary, weekly graded written and oral assignments including one guided short exposé, several one-two page papers, oral and written quizzes and a final exam. This course is designed for students who have not had the advantage of an extended stay in a French-speaking country. Students who have participated in semester study-abroad programs must confirm placement and transfer credit with the course chair to avoid duplication. Students who have studied in a French speaking country for a year should enroll in FREN 334. Section size is limited to 14 students. Consistent attendance and ACTIVE participation constitute 30% of the semester grade.

8:45-9:45 MWF Ms. Stuart



  FREN 334 FRENCH CONVERSATION AND FREE COMPOSITION

Prerequisite: Students must have completed French 331 and French 332 or their equivalent. Does not count for major credit.

An intensive course designed to improve more advanced students' oral and written language skills. Assignments include discussion on topics of current interest, presentations, translations, and compositions. All materials are French- or Francophone-related. The course focuses on language development in a Francophone cultural context, so students can get familiar with French and Francophone cultures and comfortable in expressing their viewpoints in French. Of course, consistent attendance and active participation are essential.

9:00-9:50 MWF Mr. Barreyre



  FREN 339 FRENCH PHONETICS

The study of the sound system of French (theory and practice): phonetic transcription, syllabification, articulation of vowels, consonants and semi?vowels (with practical exercises aimed at training the ear and improving pronunciation and enunciation), contrastive analysis of French and English sounds, etc. Involves classroom instruction and practice in the language laboratory. Basis of evaluation: 4 ? 5 quizzes, final exam, 'travaux pratiques' and in?class performance. Required text: D. Dansereau, Savoir Dire: cours de phonétique et de prononciation.

12:00-12:50 MWF Ms. Saunders
1:00-1:50 MWF Ms. Saunders



  FREN 342 17TH- AND 18TH-CENTURY LITERATURE

A survey of representative texts: poetry by a moralist (La Fontaine's Fables), tragedy (Racine's Britannicus), comedy (Molière's Le Misanthrope), philosophical fiction (Voltaire's Zadig) and autobiography (Rousseau, Nêveries). Historical and cultural aspects of the assigned works will be considered whenever relevant to close reading.

1:00-1:50 MWF Mr. Rubin



  FREN 343 LITERATURE OF THE 19th and 20th CENTURIES

Prerequisite: French 332

This course explores revolutions and counter revolutions in French poetry and prose from the early 19th through the late 20th centuries. Course work includes two papers, two exams, and several short writing and discussion assignments.

12:00-12:50 MWF TBA
12:30-1:45 TR Ms. Krueger



  FREN 344 INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH CINEMA

This course, conducted in French, combines a presentation of basic concepts for description of film with an overview of French cinema from the Frères Lumière to the Nouvelle Vague. Weekly screenings of films by such directors as René Clair, Marcel Carné, Luis Buñuel, René Clèment, Jean-Luc Godard, Max Ophüls, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Tati, Eric Rohmer, Jean Renoir, François Truffaut. Three short papers, a mid-term, and final examination.

2:00-3:15 T R Mr. Lyons



  FREN 345 TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES : BAROQUE CULTURE

Witch hunts, public burnings, spectacular exorcisms, royal pageants--these are some of the things that entertained and fascinated people in seventeenth-century France. The term "baroque" was first used to describe the art of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, but it has been appropriated to describe the entire culture of the period, from the rise of political absolutism to the varied expressions of religious fervor, alternately florid and austere. Among the most evident characteristics of the baroque mentality is a strong tendency to oppositional thinking, a tendency that appears aesthetically in a taste for antithesis and hyperbole. Another is the heightened contrast between absolute certainty and total doubt. A third is the simultaneous cultivation of sanctity and abjection. In this course we will read both non-fiction (autobiography, letters, philosophical and political discourses) and fiction of the seventeenth century itself, along with more recent studies. Three papers and a final exam.

11:00-12:15 T R Mr. Lyons



  FREN 345 TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES: AFRICAN LITERATURES AND CULTURES

This course will explore aspects of African literatures and cultures which demonstrate the complexity of the African experience through the creative arts. It will focus on selected issues of special resonance in contemporary African life. Oral literature and its continuing impact on all other art forms. Key issues in French colonial policy and its legacy in Africa: language, politics, education. The course will examine the image of the postcolonial state and society as found in contemporary arts: painting, sculpture, music, and cinema. Selections from painters and sculptors like Cheri Samba (Zaire-Congo), Ousmane Sow, Younousse Seye (Senegal), Werewere Liking (Cameroun), including such popular icons as Mamy Wata and forms such as Souwere glass painting ; from musicians like Youssou Ndour (Senegal), Cheb Khaled (Algeria), Seigneur Rochereau, Tshala Muana (Zaire-Congo), Salif Keita (Mali), and Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde); from Mande, Peul, and Kabyle oral literatures in French translation; from filmmakers D. D. Mambety, O. Sembene, G. Kabore, Dani Kouyate, Moussa Sene Absa .

Students should keep in mind that in addition to the reading assignments, a class visit to the National Museum of African Art in Washington may be required, depending on availability of funds. The grade will be based on contribution to discussions (regular class atendance is required), writing assignments consisting of 7 short papers and the final exam all written in clear and grammatically correct French.

In addition to a selection of texts placed on reserve in a box at Cabell Hall Room 307, the following books will feature among the required reading list: Manu Dibango Trois kilos de cafés; Werewere Liking - Statues colons; A. Sow - La Femme, la Vache, la Foi; A. H. Ba- Kaidara; M. Mammeri - Poèmes Kabyles anciens.

2:00-3:15 T R Mr. Dramé



  FREN 345 TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES: ROMANS DE FORMATION ET COLONIALISME

Le cours vise à:
--vous familiariser avec la colonisation française en Afrique de l'ouest et dans la Caraibe;
--étudier un genre: le roman de formation;
--vous entraîner à l'analyse de texte et à la présentation de recherches.
Redaction d'un journal de lecture, 2 analyses de texte et un travail de recherche.

9:00-9:50 M W F Ms. Houyoux



  FREN 401 LITERATURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES: DEFINITIONS OF IDENTITY IN THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES

Modern critics have generally credited the twelfth century with the invention of individuality or selfhood. What constitutes an individual before Descartes established the supremacy of human thought, Locke posited unalienable rights or Freud developed the concept of the unconscious? Through a consideration of narrative and lyric representations of the individual, we will investigate twelfth-century French understandings of knightliness, saintliness, nationality, otherness and the relationship between the individual and society. Requirements for the course include active participation, three six-page essays or two nine-page essays and a final exam.

2:00-3:15 T R Ms. Ogden



  FREN 435 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OF TRANSLATION:

Prerequisite: French 430 or equivalent

A continuation of FREN 430 Grammaire et style. The course will pursue the contrastive study of French and English structures and vocabulary with further, fairly extensive translations and re-translations. Classroom work will be seminar or workshop style to the extent class size allows. There will be experiments in collective translation and "peer editing."

12:30-1:45 T R Mr. Cook



  FREN 438 FRENCH SOCIETY AND CIVILIZATION: LA SOCIETE FRANCAISE DEPUIS 1945

Prerequisite: (unless exempted by the instructor) a 300- level civilization course or its equivalent

This course focuses on the evolution of French society, politics and culture from the end of the Second World War until the present. We first examine how geography, history, and political forces have shaped contemporary France (including Charles de Gaulle's role during this period, decolonization, the economic and baby "booms"). Once this historical background is set, we then focus on major current social issues as changing family structures, the role of women, education, immigration, religion, decentralization, and France's place in the European Union. We rely heavily upon the press and visual media for that purpose, and group-work and computer-based projects on the World Wide Web are important features of this course. All students must have an e-mail account set up prior to the first day of class. Questions concerning this course should be directed to the instructors at jhorne@virginia.edu, or barreyre@virginia.edu.

12:30-1:45 T R Ms. Horne
12:30-1:45 T R Mr. Barreyre



  FREN 444 FRENCH LITERATURE AND FILM

Study of the representation of Africa in American, Western European and African films. Ideological Constructions of the African as "other"History of African cinema. Sociological and ideological filmmmakers from different cultural backgrounds and studies the ways in which their perspectives on Africa are often informed by their own social and ideological positions as well as the demands of exoticism. It also examines the constructions of the African as "other" and the kinds of responses such constructions have elicited from Africa's filmmakerts. These filmic "inventions" are analyzed through a selection of French, British, American, and African films by such directors as John Huston, S. Pollack, J-J Annaud, M. Radford, Ngangura Mweze, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Souleymane Cisse, Gaston Kabore, Amadou Seck, Dani Kouyate, Brian Tilley, Jean-Marie Teno on a variety of subjects relative to the image of Africa in cinema. The final grade will be based on 2 short papers (4 pages/each), a final paper (7-10 pages), an oral presentation and contributions to discussions. Each oral presentation will lead to a written paper on the subject of the presentation; the paper will address suggestions made during discussions in class. Papers should be analytical, and written in clear, grammatical French using correct terminology supplied with this description.

11:00-12:15 T R Mr. Dramé



  FREN 452 FRENCH POETRY

Prerequisite: at least one French literature or culture course above 332.

A study of a selection of French poems from the Middle Ages to the present with special emphasis on the modern periods (19th-20th centuries). Through a careful examination of the language of poetry, we will learn how to read a poem and think about what it means to "read" a poem. The ways in which a poetic text constitutes itself and engenders its own meaning and/or non?meaning will be analyzed in depth.

Short response papers, oral presentations, papers, and exams.

12:30-1:45 T R Ms. Lyu

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