FRNE 111 Them and Us: Diversity in Contemporary France
This course is an introduction to the
problematic of the Other in contemporary
France. The principles on which this civil society
is organized are analyzed, particularly those based
on the 1789 Declaration of the rights of men. The
course seeks to analyze what becomes of these
principles today in the face of growing resentment
against immigration and a crisis of national
identity. The course begins with a short
introduction to the 1789 revolution, which
established the basic principles of the modern
French state. Reflections on the French colonial
experience in Algeria and its legacy in contemporary
France serve as an introduction to the
immigration question today. (Gallouët, Spring,
offered alternate years)
FRNE 211 Black African Literature I: The Quest for Identity
An introduction to both oral
and written forms of expressions from Black
Africa. This course considers how writers and
bards seek to create an identity for their societies
and themselves in face of pressures not only from
foreign cultures, but also from within their own
societies. (Joseph, offered occasionally)
FRNE 213 Vietnamese Literature in Translation
In this course
students listen to the voices of dissidence and
read texts as an expression of a culture in which
politics and literature are intertwined, reading
texts from Vietnamese writers living in Vietnam,
or in exile in America and Australia. Prerequisite:
open to all, but recommended for
sophomores, and beyond. Taught in English.
(Etienne, offered occasionally)
Typical readings: Duong, Thu Huong, Nguyen
Du, Nguyen Huy Thiep, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ho
Xuan Huong
FRNE 214 Sénégal: An Orientation
This course
provides an introduction to the people, land,
and culture of Sénégal for students planning to
go on the Sénégal program. It includes an
introduction to Sénégalese history, religion,
economics, manners and customs, arts and crafts,
food, sports, geography, wildlife, and vegetation.
Students touch on issues of health and safe
traveling. There is extensive viewing of slides
and videotapes. (Joseph, offered alternate years)
FRNE 215 Existentialist Journeys
Modern
Francophone African films and fictions, inspired
by existentialist literature of political commitment,
portray individuals in quest for identity,
but the endpoint of their journeys remains
elusive and problematic as they wrestle with the
alienating effects of colonialism and postcolonialism.
Do Francophone African writers
and filmmakers renew European forms of the
novel and film? What remains for Existentialist
writers to learn from such journeys? Are
existentialist portrayals of Africans truly free of
the very racist and Eurocentric stereotypes that
the existentialists themselves decry? (Joseph,
offered occasionally)
FRNE 218 Island Voices: Culture and Identity In French Caribbean
Literature
This course
offers to students windows into the Francophone
Caribbean culture, society as a literary
construction. They analyze the problem of identity through a study of Caribbean literary
movements. Topics include discrimination and
violence; exile and identity; the writings of
diversity; French civilization and post-colonial
literatures relations; the search for Africa and
metaphors of root; writing in diaspora; gender
and literature relations. Taught in English.
(Dahouda, offered alternate years)
FRNE 219 Beyond Colonialism: Maghreb Literatures and
Cultures Between North and
South, Mediterranean and continental Africa,
with a rich 2,000-year history and the sequels of
colonization, the Maghreb region (Algeria,
Morocco, and Tunisia), faces many challenges:
national, tribal, linguistic and personal identities,
the various faces of Islam, tradition and
modernity. The texts of this course introduce
students into an extraordinarily diverse culture
that seeks solutions to all the challenges of
contemporary developing nations. Prerequisite:
open to all, but recommended for sophomores
and beyond. (Gallouët, offered alternate years)
FRNE 255 Modern French Theater
This course
introduces students to Modern French Theatre
and to the new dramatic forms that appear in the
course of the 20th century. The focus is on the
revolution that takes place in the performing and
visual arts and gives birth to Modern French
Theatre. Students learn to analyze the dramatic
text and the performance onstage and investigate
the relationships between culture, society and
theatre. (Louar, offered occasionally)
FRNE 311 Feudal Woman in France, Vietnam and Japan
This course focuses on the role played
by women in the shaping of tradition and culture
in medieval France, Vietnam and Japan.
Prerequisite: Open to all, but recommended for
sophomores and beyond. For French majors: FRE
251 and FRE 252, or permission of the instructor.
(Etienne, offered occasionally)
FRNE 341 Boulevard Saint-Germain: Beauvoir, Sartre, and Camus
The Western imagination of
the 20th century has evolved in response to, and
in spite of, the major traumas of two world wars
and their aftermath. This course examines how
the particular conceptions of the universe,
deriving from the stark realities of a war-torn continent, were formulated in the fictional
writing of de Beauvoir, Sartre and Camus, the
three voices that resonated with the deepest
chords of a wounded nation, a continent, a
world.
FRNE 351 Advanced Francophone Topics: Francophone African Fiction
A study of the
origins of Francophone African fiction in both
French European and African oral traditions. It
includes fragmentation of traditional models of
identity in both men and women and the call for
both master and slave to embrace a new freedom.
Prerequisite: FRE 253 and one of FRE 251, FRE
252, or permission of the instructor. (Joseph,
offered occasionally)
FRNE 395 Society and Culture of the Ancien Régime
This course offers a study of the structure
of the Old Régime of French society and its
impact and influence on architecture, painting,
and literature from Louis XIII to the French
Revolution. Literary texts, as well as multimedia
texts illustrating the social and artistic context,
are analyzed. Open to all, but recommended for
sophomores and beyond. This course should be
of interest to students of art, architecture,
comparative literature, French and Francophone
studies, history, political science.
COURSES TAUGHT IN FRENCH
101 Beginning French I
This is an
immersion course that teaches speaking, listening,
reading, writing, and French body language
through a creative combination of interactive
materials that introduce students to French
culture as well as language. This course, which
uses French as the principal language of
instruction in the classroom, includes two
mandatory laboratories per week. It is open only
to students with no prior experience in French, or
students who have been placed in FRE 101. (Fall)
102 Beginning French II
This course is a
continuation of FRE 101. It includes two
mandatory laboratories per week. Prerequisite:
FRE 101 or equivalent, or permission of
instructor. (Spring)
105 Intensive Beginning French
This
course offers qualified students the opportunity
to complete the elementary sequence of language
acquisition in one semester rather than two.
Students learn the fundamentals of the French
language (speaking, listening, writing, and
reading). Instruction and practice rely heavily on technological tools such as CDs, computerized
drilling exercises, and interactive Web activities.
Weekly laboratory is mandatory. First-year
students are placed in the class after examination
of their high school records; other students may
enroll with permission of the instructor. (Spring)
121 Intermediate French I
This course is
for students who successfully completed the
elementary sequence or equivalent. French
grammar fundamentals are reviewed and
practiced orally and in writing. Students work
with selected cultural topics from the
Francophone world, in written texts and video.
This course, which uses French as the principal
language of instruction in the classroom,
includes two mandatory laboratories per week.
Prerequisite: FRE 102 or equivalent, or
permission of the instructor. (Fall)
122 Intermediate French II
This course is a
continuation of FRE 121. It uses French as the
principal language of instruction in the
classroom and includes two mandatory
laboratories per week. Prerequisite: FRE 121 or
equivalent, or permission of instructor. (Spring)
125 Intensive Intermediate French
This
course offers qualified students the opportunity
to complete the intermediate sequence of
language acquisition in one semester instead of
two. Students review and reinforce all the
fundamentals of the French language (speaking,
listening, writing, and reading). Instruction and
practice depend heavily on the use of technology.
A mandatory weekly laboratory is included,
in addition to individual practice at the language
computer laboratory. First-year students are
placed in the class after examination of their
high-school records; other students can enroll
with permission of the instructor. Prerequisite:
FRE 102 or 105, or 121 or equivalent. (Fall)
226 French in Review I: Parler et Comprendre
This course offers a complete
grammar review while emphasizing aural and
speaking skills to prepare students for advanced
courses. The course, which uses French as the
principal language of instruction in the
classroom, includes two mandatory laboratories
per week. Prerequisite: FRE 122 or the
equivalent. (Fall)
227 French in Review II: Lire, écrire, et traduire
This course continues to review the
fundamentals of grammar while emphasizing the
skills of reading, writing, and translation.
Students read short stories from the
Francophone world and write weekly essays.
Prerequisite: FRE 226 or permission of
instructor. (Spring)
241 Prises de vue: Introduction to Contemporary France
This course seeks to
analyze contemporary French culture through its
representation in films and the media. Major
trends examined include youth, education,
immigration, women in society, and the political
system. Students pursue a research topic of their
choice and submit a portfolio at the end of the
term. The course includes a required laboratory
to view a film every Tuesday night. Students
improve their language skills through readings
and discussions, and writing weekly film reviews
and papers on relevant topics. This course is
highly recommended for students planning a
term in France. This course is crosslisted with
Media and Society. Prerequisites: FRE 226 and
FRE 227. (Spring)
242 Topics in French: Introduction to Quebec Studies
This course traces the rise and
development of the literature from French
Canadian and Québecois society in its cultural
expression, and political and historical contexts.
It offers students an understanding of contemporary
issues relevant to this French-speaking
community, such as rural and urban space
relations, colonization vs. independence, the
emergence of the feminist writers, quiet
revolution and the question of sovereignty,
violence, writing, and deconstruction, discourse
on church ideology, voices from immigrant
writers. Students explore a new imaginary space
while improving their French language skills
through readings, discussions, film reviews, and
papers on relevant topics. Prerequisite: FRE 226
and FRE 227, or permission of the instructor.
243 Topics in Francophone Cultures
This
course seeks to introduce the various manifestations
of French language and the many
Francophone cultures and societies throughout
the world. Students are introduced to the
concept of francophonie, its ideological and
political meaning as well as its cultural
manifestations and literary expressions. Students
discover the unity and the diversity of the
French-speaking countries. They learn about
contemporary issues in these countries, and
discuss the relations of the Francophone world
with France and the U.S. in the context of
globalization. The goal of this course is not
simply to acquaint students with issues and
realities around the Francophone world, but to
provide them with a broader cultural dimension that raises their consciousness of intercultural
perspectives. Students improve their level of
language proficiency by reading, discussions,
writing weekly film reviews, and papers on
relevant topics. Prerequisite: FRE 226 and 227,
or permission of the instructor.
251 Introduction to Literature I: Mystics, Friends and Lovers
The conventions
governing erotic love and passion in Europe
were first formulated by the troubadours in
Southern France. This course traces the
evolution of that love from the medieval to
present time but in the context of other
traditions of love such as mystic love of God,
marital love, homosexual love, and friendship.
252 Introduction to Literature II: Que sais je?
This course is an introduction to literary
discourse and a study of essays by significant
authors who have shaped French thought from
the Renaissance to the present. It follows the
evolution of the ways of knowing in French
culture, with particular consideration to the
development of traditional “universal” values
and their role in contemporary culturally
inscribed perceptions of self and other.
Prerequisite: Any one of FRE 241, 242, 243, or
permission of the instructor. (Spring)
253 Introduction to Literature III: Paris Outre-mer
Depending on the instructor, this
course follows various trajectories between Paris
and French former colonial empire cultures.
Students listen to voices in French from outside
France. Paris is considered a starting point,
rather than the center of Francophone cultures.
Special attention is given to the ambiguous lovehate
relations between French colonial and postcolonial
cultures. This course teaches explication
de textes, the French approach to reading literary
and other cultural texts. Prerequisite: Any one of
FRE 241, 242, 243, or permission of the
instructor. (Offered alternate years)
351 Advanced Francophone Topics: Francophone African Fiction
A study of the
origins of Francophone African fiction in both
French Euopean and African traditions. It
incl;udes fragmentation of traditional models of
identity in both and women and the call for both
master and slave to embrace a new freedom.
Prerequisite: FRE 253 and one of the FRE 251,
FRE 252, or permission of the instructor.
(Joseph, offered occasionally)
352 North African Literature: Narratives of Dissent and the Search
for Identity
This
course introduces narrative fiction from North
Africa written in French. Students study the rise
of Francophone narratives against colonialism
and analyze their development into the national
literatures of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
Paying particular attention to issues of gender,
language, and religion, students analyze how
these narratives of dissent evolve into fiction
constructing individual and national identities.
Prerequisite: FRE 253 and one of FRE 251, FRE
252, or permission of the instructor. (Gallouët,
offered alternate years)
353 Vietnamese Voices: Language of Exile
This course concentrates on Vietnamese writers
who chose to write in the language of the
oppressor during the colonial occupation, and on
contemporary writers living in France. In both
cases, language (French) becomes the location of
exile and the literary text is the site of alienation.
Students also read texts about Indochina
written by French writers in Vietnam. Prerequisite:
FRE 253 and one of FRE 251, FRE 252, or
permission of the instructor. (Étienne, offered
occasionally)
355 Voices from the Americas: Francophone Caribbean Identities
This course
deals with ways in which Francophone
Caribbean writers represent their society in a
context of deep alienations, and how they try to
reinvent themselves and their community
through the diversity of their unique culture and
humanity. Students improve their cultural and
language skills by discussing these major topics:
deconstructing colonization; the relation of self
to other; memory, migrancy and the quest for
identity; women in literature; French language
and local language relations; writers and their
imaginary homeland; Caribbean societies and the
racial problem; images of society in literature
(France or the French West Indies). Prerequisite: FRE 253 and one of FRE 251, FRE 252, or
permission of the instructor. (Dahouda, offered
every other year)
364 Voix Lyriques
In this course, students
participate in the metamorphoses of the world
through in depth analysis of poems. Prerequisites:
FRE 251 and FRE 252, or permission of the
instructor. (Offered occasionally)
380 Images de Femmes
Mother or lover,
sorceress or goddess, redeemer or temptress—she
often is a path toward the divine and often brings
total destruction. This course studies recurrent
literary images of the feminine and explores the
mythical and mystical dimensions of these images.
Prerequisites: FRE 251 and FRE 252, or
permission of the instructor. (Offered occasionally)
382 French Theater
In this course, students read and
analyze plays from Molière to the present time. A
play must be spoken, heard, and visualized—so an
important part of the course is devoted to the
creative interpretation of selected scenes which
are presented on stage toward the end of the term.
Prerequisites: FRE 251 and FRE 252, or
permission of the instructor. (Etienne, Fall)
383 Topics in Middle-Ages and XVIth Renaissance
Topics include Women in the
French Renaissance. Prerequisites: FRE 251 and
FRE 252, or permission of the instructor.
384 Topics in XVIIth and XVIIIth century
Topics include From d’Artagnan to the
Sun King: Power and Culture in the XVIIth
century; Epistolary Narratives; Representations
of the Other in the Ancien Régime. Prerequisites:
FRE 251 and FRE 252, or permission of the
instructor. (Gallouët, offered every other year)
385 Topics in XIXth and XXth century
Topics include Le théâtre moderne; The Immigrant Novel. Prerequisites: FRE 251 and FRE 252, or permission of the instructor. (Etienne, offered every other year)
450 Independent Study
495 Honors
For more information,
contact:
George Joseph, Professor of French and Francophone Studies, ext. 3794, 216 Smith Hall
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