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French Language

FRE 1130 Beginning French 1. F, S, SS.

Credits: 5.

This course and its sequel, FRE 1131, constitute the basic sequence in French for the development of overall skill in the language. Open only to students with little or no background in French.

Credits: 5; Prereq: FRE 1130 or FRE 1180 (grade of C or better, or S) or the equivalent, as proven by placement test score.

FRE 1180 Elementary French: Review and Progress. F, S, SS.

Credits: 3.

For students who have previous experience in French but who are not yet prepared for advanced elementary work in the language. FRE 1180 confirms overall skill in the language, to prepare students for FRE 1131.

FRE 1182 Preparation for Intermediate French. F, S, SS

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 1180, FRE 1130 or the equivalent.

Alternative to FRE 1131, for students who have had four years of high school French or equivalent, but whose placement scores are not high enough for FRE 2200. This course combines the material of FRE 1130 and 1131 in one semester. Course meets three times per week. FRE 2200 follows this course in the sequence.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 1131 or the equivalent; Coreq: FRE 2240.

Devoted to grammar review and compositions, this course and its sequel, 2201, develop reading and writing skills in French.

Syllabus in word format

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2200 or the equivalent; Coreq: FRE 2241.

Continued grammar review. Emphasizes practice in reading and developing vocabulary. Selected readings in French and Francophone fiction.

Syllabus in word format

Syllabus in word format for Dr. Tregouet's courses

Credits: 2; Coreq: FRE 2200.

Develops conversational skills

Syllabus in word format

Credits: 2; Coreq: FRE 2201.

Develops conversational skills. (H, I)

Syllabus in word format

Credits: 5; Prereq: ITA 2201 or POR 2201 or SPN 2201, or the equivalent.

An intensive course for students who have completed intermediate level of study in another Romance language. Assumes no previous study of French and offers a complete four skill (listening, speaking, reading and writing) introduction to the language. Satisfies CLAS language requirement; not for major or minor credit.

Credits: 1; Prereq: FRE 2240 or permission from instructor.

French-language reading and discussion section designed to accompany and complement courses of diverse content offered in other departments. Readings and discussion in this course will be in French to allow the students to develop specific vocabulary and fluency related to the content of the companion course, as well as to provide them with an international perspective on the issues of the main course.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2201 and FRE 2241 or the equivalent. First course of major sequence.

Systematic review of French grammar and introduction to applied syntax. Offers frequent opportunities for extensive writing at various stylistic levels (resume, free-lance composition, formal composition). Skills in literary analysis are honed by group interpretations of short stories.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3300 or the equivalent.

Continues thorough review of French grammar begun in FRE 3300. Includes stylistic analysis of different levels of language, both literary and journalistic. Aims to enhance both vocabulary and writing skills. Weekly compositions of varying lengths.

Credits: 2; Prereq: FRE 2201.

This course seeks to refine and develop students’ oral and comprehension skills. Students will acquire a more precise vocabulary relating to different domains. New vocabulary ranging from the colloquial to the most refined of discourses will allow students to recognize and use words and expressions in the proper register; course material allows students to move from discussions about themselves, to situations they are likely to encounter in daily life abroad, through interviewing techniques and professional interaction in the target language.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2201 or the equivalent.

An introduction to business practices in France with particular emphasis on active use of business vocabulary and salient cultural differences. Major topics covered include written business communication, financial institutions, trade and advertising. (I, S)

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3440 or by permission of instructor.

Continues the acquisition of business language, with special attention paid to technical readings, marketing, case studies and the role of France in the European Union. Emphasis is also placed on oral communication skills and contrasting U.S. and French business culture.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2201 or the equivalent.

This course situates France in space and time, studies the principal historical events that have formed and transformed the nation state, its "mentality" and its cultural production. Special attention is given to the significant political, intellectual, religious, social and artistic currents that have marked France and its image from ancient times to the present. (H, I)

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2201 or the equivalent.

This course informs students about the cultures of countries or regions where French is used either as the (or one of the) official language(s) or, in a less official capacity, by a segment of the population. Study of some of the historical, conceptual, practical and problematic aspects of Francophonie. In the second part of the semester, the course concentrates on one specific area (for instance, the Caribbean, or West Africa, or Quebec, etc., on a rotating basis). Literary samples included. (H, I)

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2201 or the equivalent.

An overview of contemporary France. Study of political, cultural, social and economic institutions and those aspects of metropolitan French culture which define it as French. Special attention given to notions of culture in general and the Franco-American relationship in particular. Videos, slides, films and student use of the World Wide Web may complement the course. (H, I).

Credits: 2; Prereq: FRE 2201 or the equivalent.

A survey of the units of speech cast in practical terms and organized by classes of sounds with particular emphasis on rhythm, vowels, nasalization, diphthongs and the complex phenomena that occur at word transitions in French. The course is taught in French, in an audio laboratory, with the instructor as monitor, and with a manual designed for individualized instruction.

Credits: 2; Prereq: FRE 3410 or the equivalent.

Oral practice with emphasis on the structure of oral communication and oral presentation. Students learn to utilize organizational frames, highlight transitions and otherwise make their oral reports clear and accessible. Speech acts and alternative options in communication are given ample attention. Especially useful to persons planning to use French in a variety of professions.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 or by permission of instructor.

Advanced writing course that provides a systematic study (or review) of French syntax, vocabulary and style with the help of drills, reading and speaking sessions. The course also includes some training in translation. A number of quizzes and written compositions, two or three 50-minute examinations, and some translations.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3780L or LIN 3010.

An introduction to French phonological processes, providing explanatory evidence for the production of speech sounds, for the classification of sounds, for their interrelationship with one another (gliding, nasalization, assimilation), for morphological and syllable structure, for specifically French phenomena such as liaison, elision, final consonant drop, schwa drop, and for the relationship of morphology to phonology, especially in the verb system.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320; LIN 3010 recommended.

Explores the French language as a system of communication and mental representation. This course analyzes the morphological, syntactic and semantic aspects of contemporary French, and emphasizes the historical, psychological and sociological dimension of linguistic investigation.

Credits: 1 to 4; Prereq: Permission of the department.

Credits: 1 to 4, repeatable to 6 credits. Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

Credits: may be repeated with a change of content up to a maximum of 6 credits; Prereq: by permission of department.

Credits: variable; Prereq: by permission of department.

FRT 2420 Contemporary French Thought. F, S.

Credits: 3; Prereq: None.

Rotating topics on post-war French intellectual life. Sample topics include The Politics of Culture; Bourdieu and Cultural Studies; DeGaulle’s France and Mitterrand’s Paris; The Making of Modern France. Readings and discussions in English. Not for major credit. Satisfies general education requirement. (H, I, S)

Credits: 3; Prereq: None.

Selected readings in English translation of major works of French literature. Designed for students with no knowledge of French; not for major credit. (H, I) GR-E†

Credits: 3; Prereq: None.

Examination of post-independence francophone literature from North Africa, the Caribbean, Belgium, Canada and Vietnam. All texts read in translation. (H, I) GR-E†

Credits: 4; Prereq: None.

This course presents a survey of the major developments and principal directors and films of the modern French cinema from its origins to the present. The class is open to French majors and non-majors and is taught in English. May count as an elective toward the FH major. (H, I)

FRT 3561. Women in French literature and/or Cinema.

Credits 3 to 4.

An introduction to the rich heritage of feminist traditions in France and Francophone countries through an exploration of women writers and thinkers (filmmakers, theorists), primarily of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Selected topics include L’écriture féminine or "Writing the Feminine;" autobiographical writing by French and Francophone women; women in French cinema; representations of women in French film and literature. Students will read, discuss and analyze a broad spectrum of primary and secondary sources from a feminist viewpoint. (H, I, S)

FRT 4523. European Identities, European Cinemas.

Credits 3. Prereq. : Consent of instructor.

Provides knowledge of different cultures, languages and identities that make up contemporary European cinemas. May count as an elective toward the FH major.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2201 or the equivalent.

This course provides an overview of French Medieval, Renaissance, and Classical literature and culture, and acquaints students with major literary, intellectual and historical trends through the study of representative works from each period. Special emphasis is placed on close reading of texts in order to train students to read critically and to familiarize them with major authors, genres and their interpretation. (H, I)

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 2201 or the equivalent.

Selected readings of outstanding authors of prose fiction, poetry, and theatre from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Provides the historical context for major literary movements and authors and trains students to read and write critically. The course is generally organized thematically. (H, I)

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

Selected readings with an emphasis on the history of ideas, the moralistes, and culture in the early modern period. Texts include Descartes, Cyrano de Bergerac, Pascal, Fontenelle, La Rochefoucauld, La Fayette, La Bruyère, Sévigné and Bousset.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent. Rotating topics.

Varied readings from sixteenth-century French authors such as Lemaire de Belges, Rabelais, Marguerite de Navarre, DesPériers, Calvin, Montaigne, Béroalde de Verville, Marot, Du Bellay, Ronsard, Monluc and d’Aubigné.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent. Rotating topics.

Rotating topics exploring the fiction, theatre, or intellectual prose of the Enlightenment. Special emphasis placed on the cultural climate and productions of the Ancient Régime.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

This course examines representative novels in 20th-century French literature from Proust to the New Novel and beyond. Course emphasis may include, but is not restricted to, study of genre, narrative techniques, literary modernism and major themes. The course combines an historical approach with close textual readings. Authors frequently studied include Proust, Gide, Malraux, Céline, Camus, Sartre, Robbe-Grillet, Butor, Sarraute and Duras.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

Study of outstanding plays of the Grand Siècle, including tragedies by Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine and comedies by Molière. Particular attention paid to the theatrical and ideological aspects of these plays.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

A study of selected plays (e.g. by Jarry, Claudel, Giraudoux, Camus, Anouilh, Ghelderode, Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, etc.), dramatic techniques and the evolution of modern French theatre as a genre.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

This course combines an historical approach with close readings of poetic texts. It also introduces students to a number of theoretical and critical writings. Although poetic texts taken from the traditional canon are paid due attention, students are also presented with the works of less frequently-taught poets.

Credits: 4: Prereq: FRE 3300.

A critical and historical study of the representation of gender and ethnicity in French cinema.

Credits: 3: Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

Old French texts from the tenth through the thirteenth centuries. The student will acquire a reading ability in old French through the study of works and authors such as: La Chanson de Roland, La Prise d’Orange, Chrétien de Troyes, Le Roman de la Rose, Ruteboeuf, Thibaut de Champagne, Adam de la Halle, Le Lancelot en Prose and Joinville.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

Middle French texts from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Texts and authors such as Froissart, Christine de Pisan, Charles d’Orléans, Commynes, Les Quinze joies de mariage, Antoine de la Salle, René d’Anjou, Eustache Deschamps, Guillaume de Machaut and François Villon.

Study of representative works in their historical contexts. Selections may include but are not restricted to Proust, Gide, Malraux, Camus, Duras in prose fiction; Claudel, Giraudoux, Anouilh, Beckett, Genet in theatre; and Apollinaire, Péguy, Valéry, Ponge, Char in poetry.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent. Rotating topics.

This course traces the development and the main tenets of nineteenth-century French Romanticism. The class concentrates on the various themes and genres (including poetry, theatre, the novel, etc.) exploited by "romantic" artists as well as the socio-economic and cultural matrices which fostered the movement. Specific attention may be devoted (but not limited) to: the relationship between literature and the visual arts, constructions of gendered, cultural and artistic subjectivities, exoticism (spatial, temporal and mystical voyages), representations of Paris and French society, etc. Beginning with pre-romantic authors, the course moves on to writers such as Lamartine, Stendhal, Hugo, Vigny, Balzac, Sand, Musset, Desbordes-Valmore, Nerval and Baudelaire.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent. Rotating topics.

This course introduces students to the development and the main tenets of latter nineteenth-century literary, artistic and cultural production. Over the semester students may concentrate on the various themes and genres (including poetry, theatre, the novel, etc.) exploited by writers of the period, as well as the socio-economic and cultural matrices which fostered the plethora of movements arising between 1850 and the fin de siècle. Specific attention may be devoted (but is not limited) to: definitions of Realism, Naturalism and Symbolism; representations of "modern life" and the industrialization of the literary market; the infiltration of scientific and mechanistic thought into literary production (poetry or prose); representations of women and the female body, of Paris and Parisian society.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

An introduction to the works of twentieth-century writers from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean (short and longer narratives, poetry, drama, essays). Emphasizes the Negritude Movement. Some Post-Negritude works, as well as some texts from North Africa, are also included. Due attention is paid to historical and political issues.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent.

Review and comparative analysis of approaches to literature from Romanticism to Deconstructionism. The act of reading and writing is examined through the eyes of Sainte-Beuve, Taine, Lanson, Bachelard, the Geneva School, Ricoeur, Bataille, Blanchot, Barthes, Foucault, Genette, Lacan, Kristeva, Todorov, Derrida and others.

Credits: 3; Prereq: FRE 3320 and FRW 3100 or FRW 3101 or the equivalent. Rotating topics.

This course is for French majors and minors in the spring semester of their senior year. Topics rotate given research interests or field of specialization of the teaching faculty. Recent topics have included La Poésie du Voyage; L’Ecriture Féminine; Le Discontinu chez La Rochefoucauld et La Bruyére; Charles Baudelaire: poète/critique de la vie moderne; Qu’est-ce que la Révolte?
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