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).
• In all courses the quality of written French (that is, accurate use of grammar and vocabulary ) is an important factor in grading. Command of the language affects how understandable, persuasive, and impressive writing is. As students move from 300- to 400- level courses they will be expected to show greater sophistication in sentence structure, grammar, and use of idioms.

  FRTR 221 FRENCH IN TRANSLATION: Pregnant Kings and Transvestite Saints: Gender in the French Middle Ages

Forget valiant knights, damsels in distress and all the other nineteenth-century myths about the Middle Ages. Twelfth- and thirteenth-century literature abounds with Impudent Damsels who ride alone through the wilderness, imprisoned knights lamenting in towers, warrior and saintly women who pass as men, and at least one pregnant king (and, by the way, it was Lancelot-not Guenevere-who bloodied the sheets). This course will investigate the ways in which medieval French romances, short narratives and lyric poetry characterize the distinction between masculinity and femininity, the relationship they suggest between biological sex and social behavior, and the numerous transgressions of the norms which they depict. All readings in English translation.

This course does not count for major credit in the French Dept.
This course may fulfill the Second Writing Requirement with permission of the instructor.

2:00-3:15 TR 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 offers an intensive review of grammar rules and their application to oral and written communication. Short readings in French will provide a context for discussion, writing, and grammar practice. Students will be graded on short quizzes, dictations, compositions, a mid-term, and a final exam. The course is conducted in French.

10:00-10:50 MWF TBA
11:00-12:15 TR Ms. Sapir
11:00-11:50 MWF Ms. Houyoux
1:00-1:50 MWF Ms. Houyoux

  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).Several papers in French (10-15 pages total).

9:00-9:50 MWF Ms. Bargach
9:30-10:45 TR TBA
10:00-10:50 MWF Ms. Bargach
12:30-13:45 TR Mr.Simon
2:00-3:15 TR Ms. Sapir

  FREN 333 ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Prerequisite: Completion of FREN 232 or equivalent. Permission of instructor 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 but not limited to politics, economics, education, language, and entertainment), 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 instructor 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.

2:00-2:50 MWF Ms. Stuart

  FREN 334 ADVANCED ORAL & WRITTEN EXPRESSION IN FRENCH

Prerequisite: Students must have completed French 331 and French 332 or their equivalent. Counts for major/minor 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.

11:00-12:15 MWF Mr. Scanga
2:00-3:15 TR Ms. Gandy

  FREN 339/527 FRENCH PHONETICS

This course, conducted in French, is designed to introduce basic concepts in phonetic theory and to teach students techniques for improving their own pronunciation. We shall examine the physical characteristics of individual sounds, the relationship between sounds and their written representations, the rules governing the pronunciation of "standard French", and the most salient phonological features of selected regional varieties (e.g. le français méridional). Working independently and regularly with audiotapes in the language laboratory, and as a group with the instructor in the classroom, students will have opportunities for oral practice in the production of French sounds (in isolation, in syllabic combinations, in rhythmic groups and in phrases). Requires much memorization. Basis of evaluation: 3-4 quizzes, final exam, ‘travaux pratiques’ (homework assignments), and daily in-class performance.

For students enrolled in FREN 527: a research paper, on an assigned topic in phonetics or phonology, is required in addition to the above-mentionned course work.

7:00-8:15 p.m. MW Ms. Saunders

  FREN 343 LITERATURE OF THE 19TH & 20TH CENTURIES

Le cours est consacré à la littérature moderne, de l'époque révolutionnaire à nos jours. Les auteurs retenus sont Staël, Duras, Lamartine, Baudelaire, Loti, Allégret et Camus. Dans le courant du semestre chaque étudiant fera quatre exposés oraux et écrira deux rédactions. La note finale sera établie de la manière suivante : 1/3, la moyenne des rapports oraux ; 1/3, la 1ère rédaction ; 1/3 la 2e rédaction. Les rédactions seront de type différent. La première sera consacrée à une question de synthèse portant sur la première moitié du cours. La seconde examinera de façon analytique un aspect important d'une ou plusieurs oeuvres que nous aurons examinées ensemble depuis le congé de printemps. La 1ère rédaction sera de 6 pages à interligne double (soit 1.500 mots) La seconde sera d'une dizaine de pages minimum plus notes et bibliographie. Chaque rédaction sera accompagnée de références aux sources que l'étudiant aura utilisées. La seconde rédaction comporte obligatoirement un travail de recherche en bibliothèque.

2:00-3:15 TR Mr. Arnold

  FREN 343 LITERATURE OF THE 19TH & 20TH CENTURIES

Prerequisite: French 332 or equivalent

Introduction to literary texts of 19th- and 20th-centuries. Close textual analyses of individual texts within broader literary and cultural contexts. Examination, among others, of sensibility and aesthetics of modernity (Baudelaire), the fantastic and the dream of the Orient (Flaubert), "feminine" expression (Colette), notions of the absurd and finality (Beckett), and relation between words and things (Ponge).

2:00-3:15 MW Ms. Lyu

  FREN 344 TOPICS IN FRENCH CINEMA - Le Texte écrit et le texte filmique

This course will focus on cinematic rewritings of French literary works from the 17th-20th centuries. Topics to be examined include literary theory and cinematic practice, narrative adaptations, and the reconstruction of plot for contemporary audiences. The class will be conducted in French. Texts will be read French.

Two papers and one final examination. Weekly response writing.

2:00-4:30 T Ms. Krueger

  FREN 345/493 TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES (3) -Victor Hugo: poète, dramaturge, romancier, critique social, artiste

Prerequisite: French 332

En étudiant les oeuvres de Victor Hugo, on aborde le romantisme, le réalisme, la critique sociale, la politique, une révolution théâtrale, l'exil, et l'histoire de la France depuis la Révolution de 1789 jusqu'à la déclaration de la Troisième République en 1875. En explorant des thèmes universels (l'amour passionné, l'amour maternel et paternel, l'injustice, la fatalité, entre autres), Hugo a créé des histoires qui scintillent aujourd'hui comme à son époque: par exemple, Notre-Dame de Paris, les Misérables, Ruy Blas.

Dans ce cours, nous étudierons des oeuvres choisies de Victor Hugo (de la poésie, une pièce, un roman, des dessins, des essais) afin d'apprécier son génie et de trouver des perspectives et des thèmes dont nous pourrions nous servir individuellement. Inclus dans le travail du cours: des discussions, des essais, des travaux en groupe, plusieurs intérrogations, un grand travail de recherche qui servira à l'exercice final et qu'on fera à travers le semestre. Ceux qui suivront le cours comme FREN 493 feront un essai supplémentaire et une présentation orale.

9:30-10:45 TR Ms. Barnett

  FREN 345 TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES (3) - L'Immigration en France

L'immigration est un sujet d'actualité quotidienne en Europe et en France en particulier.
Elle fait resurgir de vieux débats ainsi que des interrogations sur l'identité nationale. En abordant le thème de l'immigration, on traite divers aspects de la France d'aujourd'hui : l'histoire à laquelle ce phénomène est lié, ses conséquences sociales, culturelles, économiques, politiques et parfois humanitaires.

Des œuvres littéraires, des articles de presse et des films illustreront le cours.

Lectures : Gérard Noiriel, Population, immigration et identité nationale en France ; Claire Etcherelli, Elise ou la vraie vie ; Jean-Marie Le Clésio, Poisson d'or ; Michel Tournier, La goutte d'or.

12:-12:50 MWF Ms. Bargach

  FREN 345 TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES (3) - The most famous French-speaking mystery novelist of the 20th century

Belgian detective-story writer Georges Simenon owes his fame to Maigret, the superintendent of the Préfecture de Police in Paris and the main character of his 76 mystery novels. Maigret is to Simenon what Sherlock Holmes is to Conan Doyle or Hercule Poirot to Agatha Christie. At long last, here is a first-rate French writer who does not pile up long prepositional sentences. Simenon has been so successful that he has been translated in 87 languages. His books easily found in train stations and airport bookshops in cheap paperback editions are also available in the prestigious French literary series "La Pléiade." This course is an invitation to solve many mysteries, including the Simenon mystery itself. It will be taught in French.

11:00-11:50 MWF Ms. Zunz

  FREN 345 TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES (3) - The Culture of Love in the Middle Ages

Popular culture of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries-like that of the twenty-first-was obsessed with love. This course will examine definitions and uses of love in religious literature, music, poetry, art and romances. What is the relationship, for medieval artists, between the love of God and the love of human beings? What is the role of art in promoting and producing love? To what ends did medieval artists depict and sing about desire and affection? The final grade will depend upon class participation, two essays (each with revision), a midterm and a final exam; throughout the semester, we will devote class time to developing strategies for effective writing.

9:30-10:45 TR Ms. Ogden

  FREN 405 ROMANTICISM

Prerequisite: At least one course in French literature or culture beyond 332.

An examination of the aesthetic theory, ideals, and sensibility of Romanticism. Readings from a selection of poems, prose, and plays of the Romantic movement with special emphasis on the themes of the "mal du siècle," the "vague des passions," the spirit of rebellion, the fascination with dream, madness, and death as well as an exploration of the concept of the "héros romantique." The ways in which Romanticism breaks from Classicism and leads to other major literary movements of the nineteenth century will also be studied. Authors may include Madame de Staël, Chateaubriand, Musset, Lamartine, Hugo, Stendhal, Nerval.

3:30-4:45 MW Ms. Lyu

   FREN 405/550 Modern Sex: From Baudelaire to Baise-moi

Among the countless ways in which Western culture set about reinventing itself during the 19th and 20th centuries was a revolution in approaches to sex, gender and sexuality. These changes in sexual self-definition are reflected in French literature in a variety of contexts. In this course we will concentrate on self-consciously "modern" representations of sexuality in French literature starting with Baudelaire. Readings will include: selected Fleurs du mal; Zola's Thérèse Raquin; selections from Barbey d'Aurevilly's Diaboliques; Colette's Claudine à l'école; Gide's Immoraliste; Radiguet's Diable au corps; Genet's Journal du voleur; Duras's Amant; Guibert's A l'ami qui ne m'a pas sauvé la vie; and Despentes's Baise-moi. The course will be conducted in French. Requirements will include weekly response papers as well as longer projects.

N.B. This course will entail reading, discussion and viewing of explicit and potentially offensive material; any student wishing to avoid such material should not take the course.

3:30-6:00 T Ms. Ladenson

  FREN 408 SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE: Meditation, Imagination, and the Inner Life

Prerequisite: FREN 332

At times reviled and at other times cultivated, imagination was a faculty that left few authors indifferent. In this course we will emphasize readings that stress the positive value of imagination for the development of an "inner" life. These readings will come from writers such as Montaigne, François de Sales, Descartes, Pascal, Saint-Amant, Théophile de Viau, and Sévigné. To balance the view of imagination's position in French culture, we will also take into account some negative views of imagination in works by Molière and others.

9:30-10:45 TR Mr. Lyons

  FREN 428 HISTOIRE DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE

Prerequisites: a course in phonetics; good reading, writing and speaking ability in French.

The French language has been evolving for over two thousand years. This introductory course considers some of the ways in which the language has changed through time. We shall concentrate on some of the major linguistic changes (phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical) as well as socio-political events which have shaped the modern French language and attitudes towards it (such as the Roman and Germanic invasions, experiments in devising a spelling system; the effect of the Revolution on vocabulary; the way language was involved in issues of national and regional identity).

Requirements: Two exams [50%]; one essay relating to the external history of French, or an opinionated book report [25%]; an etymological (and /or phonological) exercise, and daily in-class participation-- answering questions orally, and writing out homework assignments [25%].
Material will be available in course packet from Copy Center and on the web. Additional readings will be placed on reserve in Library.

Conducted in French; highly recommended for all French majors, especially those interested in languages and linguistics, and those considering teaching as a career.

3:30-4:45 MW Ms. Saunders

  FREN 435

Prerequisite: B+ average in FREN 331, 332, 430

In this course, translation is viewed as an ART. Students will be initiated to the art of translation through authentic activities which approach the real work that professional translators do. Daily exercises (comment traduire des expressions idiomatiques, comment garder le sens en changeant la forme) will help students learn to look at translation with a critical eye ; become aware of the importance of context ; learn to deal with the translations of cultural references, metaphors and jeux de mots. Students will work on literary texts as well as on articles, on movies as well as on French TV in order to try and translate different styles de la langue française. Organized group activities and discussions will allow the students to reflect on the activity of translation, its problems and solutions. This course will be taught in French and open to students who have successfully completed FREN430 (or a comparable course in France) and who are very interested in and extremely curious about language phenomena.

11:00-12:15 TR Ms. Gandy

  FREN 438 LA FRANCE ACTUELLE

Que faut-il savoir de la France en ce début de millénaire? Dans ce cours, en grande partie documenté par la lecture de la presse quotidienne et des recherches sur la toile (Web), on cherchera à préciser les traits caractéristiques de la société française, de sa culture, de son système politique, de son économie, et de ses institutions. Comment les Français se définissent-ils eux-mêmes ? Quelles sont leurs préoccupations face au présent, et quel rôle entendent-ils jouer dans le cadre de l'Europe et du reste du monde ?

NB : This course will include a very important electronic component through the use of ToolKit. There will be NO written work in printed form, and students will be expected to familiarize themselves with the use of ToolKit within the first week of the semester. In addition to individual work, students will also be expected to work on research projects in teams of three or four persons.

Lectures exigées :
Laurence Wylie & Jean-François Brière, Les Français (Prentice Hall, 1995).
Henri Mendras, La seconde révolution française, 1965-1984 (Folio, 1994).
Pascal Baudry, L'autre rive : Comprendre les Américains pour comprendre les Français. (Le texte est disponible gratuitement par Internet avec les compliments de l'auteur : www.pbaudry.com)
En plus des trois ouvrages ci-dessus, L'état de la France, 2002-2003 sera disponible à la Réserve de Clemons.

Travaux : 4 ou 5 essais et/ou rapports de lectures de deux pages; un essai de recherche d'environ 6 pages ; examen de mi-semestre et examen final.

9:30-10:45 TR Mr. Simon

  FREN 445 ADVANCED TOPICS: CULTURE STUDIES

Ce cours vise à découvrir la Caraïbe, notamment son aire francophone à travers son histoire et sa géographie et, en particulier, par sa production littéraire. En effet, l'usage du français, introduit dès le XVIIe siècle (et la pratique des créoles voisins) soulignent une parenté culturelle entre la Guadeloupe, la Martinique et la Guyane (actuellement départements français d'outre-mer) et Haïti (première colonie à déclarer son indépendance.) D'une littérature de folklore et de nostalgie, et dans la continuité des idées défendues par Edouard Glissant, nous irons à la découverte d'une littérature antillaise à part entière.

10:00-10:50 MWF Ms. Houyoux

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