Course Descriptions

FREN 101G - (0) (Y)
Reading
Prerequisite: Open only to graduate students
Preparatory course in grammar and translation for graduate students who need to take a reading exam in French. Students who complete FREN 101G should be able to read and translate French texts with the proper dictionaries and grammar resources. Not a course in speaking, writing, or listening comprehension.

FREN 501 - (3) (Y)
Language Development
Careful applied re-study of the structure of the French language based on recent theories of communication and meaning. Investigates, and makes practical use of, general notions regarding levels of language, semantic vs. lexical fields, meaning in situation, rhetorical figures and discourse, etc. All forms of communication are considered, including oral and visual signs.

FREN 508 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Reading Old French
Prerequisites: Good reading knowledge of modern French
How to read Old French. Selections will be read and studied from several varieties of Old French including the Ile-de-France, Picard, and Anglo-Norman dialects. Some attention will be given to the derivation of French from Latin. Taught in English.

FREN 509 - (3) (SI)
Introduction to Old Provencal Language and Literature
Prerequisite: FREN 508 or permission of instructor
Old Provencal (alias Old Occitan) is presented as a grammatical system with some attention to its derivation from Latin. Readings of simple prose texts followed by poetic selections of the troubadours. Taught in English.

FREN 510 - (3) (E)
Medieval Literature in Modern French I
An introduction to literary forms, habits of style and thought, and conditions of composition from the late eleventh century to the late thirteenth. Chanson de Roland, Chrétien de Troyes, Marie de France, lyric poetry, etc.

FREN 511 - (3) (O)
Medieval Literature in Modern French II
An inquiry into the literary culture of the period from the late thirteenth century to the late fifteenth. Topics include the Roman de la Rose, Joinville and Froissart; the development of drama; new lyric forms, early humanism; Villon; and problems of literary history and hermeneutics for a neglected period in French culture.

FREN 520 - (3) (O)
Literature of the Sixteenth Century: Poetry
Study of the developments in theory and practice of French Renaissance poetry and poetics as seen in works by the Rhetoriqueurs, including Marot, Sebillet, Sceve, Labe, Du Bellay, Ronsard, and d’Aubigne.

FREN 521 - (3) (E)
Literature of the Sixteenth Century: Prose
Study of important trends in Renaissance thought and style as seen in the works of major prose writers including Erasmus, Rabelais, Marguerite de Navarre, and Montaigne.

FREN 527 - (3) (Y)
French Phonetics and Phonology
Not open to undergraduates who have taken FREN 427 or the equivalent
A study of the French sound system, both in theory and practice. Provides essential articulatory phonetics, distinctive features, morphophonemics, prosodics and contrastive analysis. Practice in the production, recognition, and transcription of speech sounds. Opportunity for the correction and improvement of individual problems in French pronunciation. Involves classroom and laboratory instruction.

FREN 529 - (3) (SI)
Applied Linguistics: French
A synchronic study of the structure of French to be made through a contrastive analysis of French as a target language and English as a source language. Analysis considers syntax primarily; some elements of semantics also are considered. The theoretical assumptions lead to practical procedures applicable in a teaching situation.

FREN 530, 531 - (3) (Y)
Literature of the Seventeenth Century
Study of the art forms and society during the “baroque” and “classical” periods of French literary history. Readings in theater, fiction, rhetoric, and poetry.

FREN 540, 541 - (3) (Y)
Literature of the Eighteenth Century

FREN 540: A study of religious, moral, and political thinking as reflected in the works of Bayle, Fontenelle, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Helvetius, and others.

FREN 541: A study of developing trends in traditional genres (drama, novel, poetry), as reflected in the works of Le Sage, Marivaux, Beaumarchais, Diderot, Chenier, Voltaire, Prevost, Rousseau, and others.

FREN 550, 551 - (3) (Y)
Literature of the Nineteenth Century
A study of romanticism, realism, naturalism, and symbolism. Analysis of representative texts by de Staël, Chateaubriand, Constant, Lamartine, Hugo, Vigny, Musset, Nerval, Balzac, Flaubert, Sand, Stendhal, Zola, Huysmans, Maupassant, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, and Mallarme.

FREN 560, 561 - (3) (Y)
Literature of the Twentieth Century

FREN 560: Principal literary movements and representative authors in the novel.

FREN 561: Principal literary movements and representative authors in drama and poetry.

FREN 570 - (3) (O)
African Literature
Study of the principal movements and representative authors writing in French in Northern, Central, and Western Africa, with special reference to the islands of Madagascar and Mauritius. Includes the literary and social history of those regions.

FREN 571 - (3) (E)
New World Literature
Study of the principal literary movements and representative authors of the French-speaking Caribbean and Canada, and the literary and social history of these regions.

FREN 580 - (3) (Y)
Civilization/Cultural Studies
Study of French culture (literature, arts, education, popular culture) from various socio-historical perspectives.

FREN 700 - (3) (O)
Proseminar
Required of all doctoral students unless exempted by the graduate advisor
Study of the motivations, ideas, and methods of literary theory, criticism and historiography (including genre studies); and the materials and methods of literary research.

FREN 702 - (3) (IR)
Linguistics
Introduction to linguistic theory with applications to pedagogical and literary studies.

FREN 704 - (1) (IR)
Theories and Methods of Language Teaching
Required for all graduate students.
Introduction to the pedagogical approaches currently practiced in second-language courses at the university level. Critically examines the theories underlying various methodologies, and their relation to teaching. Assignments include development and critique of pedagogical material; peer observation and analysis; and a final teaching portfolio project.

FREN 711 - (3) (IR)
History of the French Language
Study of the development of the French language from its origin to the present day with an examination of the oldest linguistic documents. Given in French or English as appropriate.

FRTR 790 - (3) (Y)
Comparative Caribbean Culture
A comparative examination of contemporary culture in the Caribbean region with an emphasis on literature. Historical writing (essays), musical forms, and film are considered as manifestations of the process of creolization in the area. Emphasizes questions of gender, ethnic diversity, and nation-building.

FRTR 791 - (3) (Y)
Comparative Caribbean Literature
A comparative examination of postcolonialism and postmodernism in the Caribbean region, emphasizing the dynamics of center and margin. Texts are taken from the anglophone, francophone, and Hispanic Caribbean.

FREN 810 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Medieval Literature
Prerequisite: FREN 508
a) Chansons de geste, chroniques, memories. b) Vies des saints, romans. c) Poesie non-narrative, theatre. d) Satire et humanisme.

FREN 820 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Sixteenth-Century Literature
a) Rabelais. b) Montaigne.

FREN 830 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Seventeenth-Century Literature
a) Moliere. b) Racine. c) Corneille. d) The Moralists. e) The Lyric of the early seventeenth century. f) La Fontaine. g) Contes et Nouvelles.

FREN 840 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Eighteenth-Century Literature
a) Voltaire. b) Diderot. c) Theater. d) Novel. e) Rousseau. f) Marivaux.

FREN 850 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Nineteenth-Century Literature
a) Flaubert. b) Zola. c) Balzac. d) Stendhal. e) Symbolist Theater. f) Naturalistic Novel. g) Musset. h) Hugo. i) Baudelaire and Nerval. j) La Decadence. k) Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarme. l) George Sand. m) Vigny.

FREN 860 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Twentieth-Century Literature
a) Proust. b) Gide. c) Theater. d) Roman-fleuve. e) Existentialism. f) New Novel. g) Valery. h) Dada and Surrealism. i) Supervielle and St. John Perse.

FREN 870 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Francophone Literature
Study of the Francophone literature of Africa, with special emphasis on post-World War II poets, novelists, and playwrights. Examines the role of cultural and literary reviews in the historical and ideological development of this literature.

FREN 880 - (3) (Y)
Selected Topics in French Civilization
Prerequisite: FREN 580 or permission of instructor
In-depth studies of cultural topics and research methodologies in French civilization.

FREN 893, 894 - (3) (Y)
Independent Study/Selected Topics in French Literature

FREN 896 - (3) (Y)
Thesis Research (M.A.)
For master’s thesis, taken under the supervision of a thesis director.

FREN 897 - (3-12) (Y)
Non-Topical Research
For master’s research, taken before a thesis director has been selected.

FREN 997 - (3-12) (Y)
Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Doctoral Research
For doctoral research, taken before a dissertation director has been selected.

FREN 999 - (3-12) (Y)
Dissertation Research (Ph.D)
For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.

Continue to: Departmental Degree Requirements
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