French Courses Descriptions
115F. Americans In Paris MWF 9:10-10:00
This first-year seminar looks at Paris as an historic and cultural phenomenon, examining why Americans have been so fascinated with this city. Readings and projects cover the eighteenth through twentieth centuries and include the history and evolving concept of the city. Paris will be explored through the writings of authors including Jefferson, Franklin, Stowe, Twain, Cassatt, Stein, and Hemingway. Writing projects will be biographical, historical, architectural or artistic, giving students the opportunity to try different literary forms in exploring Paris as an urban reality and as a myth. The course will include films and other media, as well as readings from letters, documents, travel literature and novels. Professor Mary Beth Raycraft
115F. The French Experience MWF 10:10-11:00
Today’s French speaking population of North America is concentrated in the province of Quebec, with a few small pockets in New England, other Canadian provinces, and in Cajun Louisiana. At its peak, however, the French presence in the Americas extended across a vast territory from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico and from Newfoundland to Lake Superior. Explorers and missionaries wrote volumes about life in the New World, from Jean de Lery’s gripping accounts of 16th century life in Brazil amongst the Tupinamba Indians, to Marie de L’Incarnation’s correspondence, detailing her attempts, as the first woman missionary in North America, to establish a convent in Quebec. We will attempt to understand the point of view of native populations to the arrival of Europeans, as well as studying the different strata of French colonizers: traders, les filles du roi -- women imported from France to help populate the colonies, Jesuit missionaries, the French elite, etc. We will also look at literary representations of the French experience in the New World by French and Anglo writers such as Longfellow’s epic “Evangeline,” a poetic rendering of the Acadian deportation of 1755, the folk record (songs and tales and oral histories) as well as literary works and films from Quebec. We will conclude by taking stock of the current state of French in America and questions of linguistic and cultural survival. Professor Susan Kevra
201W. French Composition 4 sections: MWF 10:10-11:00, MWF 11:10-12:00, MWF 12:10-1:00, TR 9:35-10:50
In this course students prepare themselves for advanced-level work in French. To
develop proficiency in reading and writing, students will study grammar and analyze
how it is used to create meaning in a variety of texts. Professors Patricia Armstrong,
Martine Prieto, & Mary Beth Raycraft
203. Phonetics MWF 2:10-3:00 C
Methodical comparison of French and English sounds. Correct formation of French
sounds; oral exercises and aural training. Professor Martine Prieto
210. The French and Francophone Cinema MWF 10:10-11:00 I
This course traces the social and technological sources of French film. We begin with the films of the first filmmakers, the Lumière brothers, working our way through the silent films of Méliès, Buñuel-Dali, and Vigo. Other directors include Renoir, Carné, Truffaut, Resnais, Godard, Rohmer, and Varda. The historical-cultural approach of the class will address the questions: Why did film begin in France? What cultural factors make French film distinct from Hollywood film? How do movies today, from around the world, pay allegiance to French origins? All films are subtitled in English. Readings and discussion will be in English. Prerequisite: 201W. Professor Lynn Ramey.
211. Textes & Contextes: the Middle Ages through the Enlightenment
4 sections: MWF 11:10-1:00, MWF 1:10-2:00, TR 11:10-12:15, TR 1:10-2:00
Recommended to take the semester after 201. Prerequisite: 201W. Professors Nathalie Debrauwere-Miller, Anthère Nzabatsinda, Lynn Ramey, & Virginia Scott
214. Advanced Conversational French MWF 1:10-2:00 C
Get ready to go to France OR keep up the French you learned in France! Students will
Discuss newspaper and magazine articles, complete web exercises, and analyze
contemporary French movies to improve oral and written communication skills.
Prerequisite: 201W. Professor Nathalie Porter
226. Advanced French Grammar MWF 1:10-2:00 C
Organized around language functions (raconter, exprimer ses sentiments, contredire,
interdire, etc.) this course helps students develop advanced-level proficiency in oral and
written French. Students will work on readings, translations, and presentations.
Prerequisite: 201W. Professor Martine Prieto
255. French Feminist Thought MWF 11:10-12:00 T
Dans ce cours nous tenterons de comprendre les particularités du féminisme français et
de la théorie féministe. Ce faisant, il est nécessaire de connaître le contexte idéologique, politique et culturel dans lequel la pensée féministe s’inscrit en France. Nous étudierons les écrits de quatre écrivains théoriciennes—Simone de Beauvoir, Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva—et de leur relation et/ou mise en pratique de leur théorie dans l’écriture féminine; et nous analyserons les différentes formes littéraires que les femmes ont investies pour s’exprimer: essai, roman, théâtre et autobiographie. Prerequisites: 201W & 220. 214 recommended, not required. Professors Nathalie Debrauwere-Miller & Marc Froment-Meurice
256. French Intellectual History TR 1:10-2:25 I
Parcours des grands mouvements intellectuels « français » de Descartes à Derrida : rationalisme; les philosophes des Lumières ; romantisme, socialisme ; positivisme; surréalisme ; existentialisme ; structuralisme ; postmodernité & déconstruction. Selon les auteurs et périodes, on étudiera des textes entiers ou des extraits. Prerequisites: French 201W & 220. Professor Marc Froment-Meurice
26 265. From Romanticism to Symbolism TR 2:35-3:50 T
On étudiera les grands mouvements littéraires du XIXème siècle à travers l’œuvre d’auteurs singuliers et souvent inclassables, de Chateaubriand et Nerval à Flaubert et Huysmans. Prerequisites: French 201W & 220. Professor Marc Froment-Meurice
294a. Zola: Naturalist to Activism TR 11:10-12:25 T
This course will introduce students to Emile Zola’s fiction, including examples of work from the long series of novels called Les Rougon Macquart, about a family under the Second Empire. Different facets of Zola’s writings will be discussed, including his method of researching his subject matter, the style of his writing, as well as the "environmental" influences of violence, prostitution, alcoholism and what he described as “the fatal convulsions that accompany the birth of a new world.” Students will also be introduced to the idea of the public intellectual, with reference to Zola’s “J’Accuse,” an open letter to the president denouncing the wrongful conviction of a Jewish officer of the French army for treason. Prerequisites: 201W & 220. Professor Bob Barsky
394. Les intellectuels en France et aux E-U, 1700-2000 M 3:10-5:30
This course will examine Franco-American relations on the basis of a comparison between intellectual life in France and America (Canada and the US). We will undertake a survey of the diverse roles that intellectuals have played, and continue to play in these countries, against a backdrop of the social, historical, political and academic context within which such work is undertaken. We will begin with a discussion precursor writings by (for example) Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire, and then turn to engagement in the Twentieth Century relating to the Spanish Civil War, WWII, Vietnam, Algeria, right up to current concerns. Along the way, issues in Franco-American relations will be discussed, beginning with the work of the Founding Fathers in the US, right up to current Franco-American relations. Professor Bob Barsky
Italian Course Descriptions
102. Intensive Elementary Italian MTWRF 12:10-1:00
This course is an intensive introduction to Italian whose goal is to achieve a similar
level of proficiency in one semester to that normally attained in two semesters. Before
enrolling in this course students are required to have studied at least one Romance
language, preferably at an intermediate or advanced level. Students who have
completed Italian 101A may enroll in this class but will not receive full credit.
103. Intermediate Italian 2 sections: MWF 10:10-11:00, MWF 9:10-10:00
103 is intended for students who have completed one year of college-level Italian or two years of high-school Italian. Emphasis is on expanding reading skills and on becoming more fluent in expressing ideas, opinions, wants, and descriptions in both written and oral form. Grammar is reviewed as a means of improving these skills. Students' performance will be evaluated through written grammar exercises, class participation, three projects (a combination of short compositions and oral presentations), four quizzes, a midterm, and a final exam. Professors Tracy Barrett & Andrea Mirabile
220. Introduction to Italian Literature MWF 11:10-12:00
A survey of the major works of Italian poetry, prose, and drama from the origins to the present. All readings are in Italian. Professor Tracy Barrett
240. Modern Italian Cinema MWF 12:10-1:00
An exploration of Italian cinema, and its several connections with literature and painting, from post-WWII controversial movies of Neorealismo to the international commercial success of the '90s: facing the challenges of a 'European' cinematography. (IN ENGLISH) Professor Andrea Mirabile
