Course Offerings Spring 2013
Please, click on the course number to obtain some information. You can come back to the list by clicking on the title of the course.
FREN 102, FREN 202, FREN 210, FREN 212, FREN 290, FREN 301, FREN 305, FREN 314, FREN 315, FREN 385, FREN 391, FREN 411, FREN 412, FREN 450
FREN 102 Elementary French II
22484 and 27396 Davis-Medevielle
An introduction to the French language designed to develop basic communicative competence in speaking and writing skills, and basic listening and reading comprehension of cultural materials. Preliminary introduction to selected aspects of the Francophone world. Four class hours. Pre-requisite: French 101 or placement.
FREN 202 Intermediate French II
22 485, 20355 and 24140 Bennett
Continued review of basic French grammar through development of writing, speaking and comprehension skills, with additional emphasis on cultural and literary readings. Four class hours. Pre-requisite: French 201 or placement.
FREN 210 From Word to Text (GER 5)
20363 and 14694 A. Leruth
Continued development of all four language skills, with a special emphasis on reading and writing. This course will incorporate work with applied grammar, interactive video, film, and French and Francophone readings. Pre-requisite: French 202 or equivalent.
GE5 Lit/Hist of the Arts, Second Language
FREN 212 Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Francophone World (GER 4C)
20364 A.Leruth
An introduction to comparative cultural studies of the Francophone world. An exploration of the rich cultural exchanges among Francophone communities with an emphasis on their geographical, historical and social contexts. Sustained attention to oral and written expression. Pre-requisite: French 202 or equivalent.
GE4A Hist/Cultr Euro Tradition
FREN 290 FR 290 : Les presidents de la 5e République française.
27 405 M. Leruth- In French.
This course will examine the history, legacy, and cultural significance of the presidents of the French Fifth Republic from Charles De Gaulle (1958) to François Hollande (today). We'll examine in depth the most recent French presidential election (2012); and analyze political speeches, news footage, press articles, historians' perspectives, films, campagne propaganda, and other cultural documents.
FREN 301 Life in Montpellier
26678 Fauvel
This course has two primary objectives. The first will be to familiarize the students with Montpellier and the surrounding Languedoc region prior to their departure. It will therefore be constructed as a practical guide to life in Montpellier, the organization and logistics of the summer program, and Franco-American cultural differences they are likely to encounter in everyday situations while in France. This will include material about the city itself (geography, demographics, historical background), public transportation, shopping for necessities, historical and cultural sites to visit, the Mediterranean beaches, Paul Valery University and IEFE (institute for foreign students), the host family program, safety issues, and how to handle emergencies. The second major objective will be for the students to develop the topic of their independent cultural research project to be completed as French 302 on site in Montpellier.
FREN 305 The Craft of Writing
20365 Medevielle 23152 St Clair
This course is designed to develop the art of writing in French in more sophisticated prose than in lower level courses. You will focus on improving your writing proficiency in French in different modes of expression (narration, description, argumentation, exposition, etc.). Writing assignments will include a wide range of topics (architecture, nature, the environment, portraits, autobiographical writing, etc.) and each will be supported by specific activities to develop and refine appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures. Through practical exercises and peer-editing, as well as reflection and revising, you will focus on writing French in coherent, extended discourse with lexical flexibility, rhetorical skills, and style.
FREN 314 Intro French Cultural Studies (GER 4A/ GER 5)
M. Leruth 23153 in French –Prerequ.: FR 305
An introduction to the field of French Cultural Studies through the analysis of evolving constructs of French national identity.
GE4A Hist/Cultr Euro Tradition, GE5 Lit/Hist of the Arts, Second Language
FREN 315 Lit in its Cultural Contexts (GE 4A/ GE5)
Pacini 20367 in French –Prerequ.: FR 305
What can literature do? What has French literature done? Where is French literature today? What is its presence in the media? This course will examine a long history of reading, writing, and publication practices by studying a range of literary texts (from early modern fairy tales to the twentieth-century theater of the absurd). Assignments will focus on developing students' linguistic, analytical, and cyberliteracy skills, in addition to enhancing their cultural competency.
GE4A Hist/Cultr Euro Tradition, GE5 Lit/Hist of the Arts, Second Language
FR 385 : Monstrous Bodies in Francophone Literature.
28877 Compan – in French –Prerequ.: FR 314 or 315
This course offers an examination of the figure of the monster in Francophone Literature especially in relation to issues of race, gender, and sexuality. Through a wide variety of texts from the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, and Sub-Sahara Africa, we will consider the following questions: What is a Monster? What is its purpose? What is the relationship between humans and animals? And, most importantly, why do we create monsters?
FR 391 : Secrets et révélations.
Fauvel- in French - Prereq. : FR 314 or 315
Ce cours présentera des textes (Littérature du 20e et 21e, et films) qui tout à la fois masquent et révèlent un secret. Cette écriture de la révélation nous invitera à nous poser des questions comme : qu'est-ce qui définit un secret ? Qui définit le secret ? A quels différents niveaux se situe ce dernier (ex : le secret de famille ; le secret culturel ; le secret national) ? Et selon quelles lignes genrées, ethniques, socio-culturelles, politiques, artistiques et autres se dessine-t-il ? Qui est dans le secret et qui ne l'est pas ? A qui s'adresse l'écriture du secret ? Pourquoi et comment le secret préside-t-il à la narration d'une histoire ?
FREN 411 Independant Studies
20370, 26650, 26653 TBA
FREN 412 Teaching Practicum
27112 A.Leruth
FREN 450 Senior Seminar. African mirages: French identity constructions and Sub-Saharan Africans
27408 Médevielle – in French.
This seminar will explore several French constructions of Africa and Africans and their implication to the construction of narratives about French identity during the early modern, modern and contemporary eras (1500-1950). The first unit (1500-1600) will examine Brazil and West Africa as New Worlds. The second unit will focus on the translation of the image of the Cannibal (ex: Montaigne 1580) to Africa, and its effect on the image of sub-Saharan Africans. We will then turn to the question of slavery in the first French colonial empire, and explore the growing uneasiness of France towards the issue of African slavery (1700-1850). Finally, we will look at the spectacular representations of Africans during the second colonial empire and we will try to make sense of the dual construction of France as a democratic republic and an imperial power from 1890 to 1950.
