Undergraduate Courses in French

Department of Romance Languages

Fall 2000

**Course information subject to change**
**Cross-reference with Department Roster**

French-202 Advanced French

See Course Offerings for times

Staff

This course is a one-semester third-year level French course designed to prepare students for subsequent study in upper-level courses in literature, language or civilization. It is also the appropriate course for those students who have time for only one more French course and wish to solidify their knowledge of the language by continuing to work on all four skills. Includes a selective review of grammar integrated into oral/aural and written exercises based on film, poetry, short fiction as well as an introduction to contemporary cultural forms such as bande dessinee songs and sample new articles. NB. This course should be taken before French 211, 212, 214, etc.

French-211 French for Professions I

MW 3-4:30 Slowinski

MW 5-6:30 Slowinski

This content-based language course will introduce economic, business and professional terminology through the study of:

- France's particular brand of capitalism (role of the state), and the French economy with its accompanying specters of high labor costs, high unemployment, and growing social exclusion;

- France's economic position on world markets, its key industrial sectors (such as technology and nuclear energy) and key companies (including monopoles d' Etat);

- French monetary policy (transition to the Euro), financial institutions (banking and postal services, stock market and insurance), and specificity of the French fiscal system;

- Business practices (business letters, resumes, marketing and advertising, internal structure and legal forms of French companies...);

- France's atypical system of industrial relations: Role of the social partners as exemplified by the implementation of the 35-hour workweek;

- Cultural differences and their impact on the business world;

Prerequisite: An intermediate-high to advanced level of French. (The class is conducted entirely in French). No business background necessary.

Requirements: Mid-term and final examinations. Oral report based on a research topic of the student's choice (including a lexicon of the technical terms used in the report to be distributed to the class). Students will have access to the instructor's research library.

On completion of the course, students will have the opportunity to take the Certificat Pratique de Francais Commercial et Economique, administered by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Paris (CCIP). Non-native speakers are required to have this diploma if they wish to work in France, or enter a French or European business school. The diploma is also an asset for finding an internship or position with a U.S.-based multinational company.

French-212 Advanced French Grammar and Composition

Foreign Language Across the Curriculum

MWF 10-11 Staff

TR 1:30-3 Roulin

Intensive review of grammar integrated into writing practice. A good knowledge of basic French grammar is a prerequisite (French 202 or equivalent is recommended). Conducted entirely in French, the course will study selected grammatical difficulties of the French verbal and nominal systems including colloquial usage. Frequent oral and written assignments with opportunity for rewrites. There will also be a reading component (magazine and newspaper articles as well as selections from Camus's L'Etranger).

Section 1 will be a special FLAC (Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum) bridge course with the special area of focus being "Contemporary French Politics". Articles from French newspapers, videos of French newscasts and tapes of radio programs will be used as supplementary materials in order to prepare students to take content courses in French in disciplines other than French.

French-214 Advanced French Composition and Conversation

MWF 12-1 Donaldson-Evans

This is a course aimed at improving writing and conversational skills. It is based on the study and discussion of short extracts from a variety of texts (literary, journalistic, advertising, etc) which are used as models for writing and as a basis for oral discussion. Students will write frequent short compositions based on these extracts and will be asked to present a series of short oral reports. After the presentation of their oral reports students will then lead a discussion on the report. Videos of French news broadcasts and films will also be used to stimulate discussion and to aid in improving students' comprehension of contemporary spoken French. In order to improve reading comprehension and as a basis for discussion, we will allso read Emile Zola's Therese Raquin.

French-217 French Phonetics

MW 4-5:30 Moisset

Designed to provide students with a solid foundation in French phonetics and phonology. Part of the course will be devoted to learning how to produce discourse with native-like French pronunciation, rhythm and intonation. The second half of the course will be devoted to improving aural comprehension by examining stylistic and dialectical differences in spoken French.

French-221 Perspectives in French Literature

Freshman Seminar

Met Gen Req III: Arts & Letters

MWF 11-12 Samuels

MWF 1-2

This undergraduate survey course is designed to provide students with a thorough overview of the French literary tradition, from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries, and at the same time to unify a broadway variety of works under the rubric of textual eroticism and romance. Drawing on major plays, poems and prose narratives, students will be asked to explore such issues as: evolving conceptions of "love" in literature; the play between sexuality, religion and socio-economic systems; the constitution of subjectivity through desire; narcissism, incest, donjuanism and the family romance; the rhetoric of seduction as opposed to that of idealization, virtue and sacrifice; the relationship between the individual, the amorous couple, and the public sphere. All readings and class discussions will be in French.

French 223 French Youth Culture since World War II.

Distribution II: History & Tradition

T,R 1:30 - 3:00 Richman

Among the many dramatic transformations that have marked French culture and society since World War II, the emergence of la jeunesse will be our reference point to examine the major trends of the period. By means of films, short novels, and a basic historical text, we will consider the shifts in lifestyle, values, and identity among youth at critical moments in the history of the last 50 years.

Conducted entirely in French, this course requires the student to view 7 films outside of class, 1 written mid-term in class, reaction paragraphs for each film, 3 of which will be expanded to relate the films to the required readings of Francoise Sagan, Georges Perec and Rachid Djaidani. Students will also present to the class their research upon some aspect of youth culture or identity of their choice. The written part of that presentation will be integrated into the final exam paper.

French-226 French Civilization from the Beginnings to 1789

Registration Required for Lecture & Recitation

Hill MWF 11-12

Distribution II: History and Tradition

See Course Offerings for times

An introduction to the social, political and historical institutions of France from the Gallo-Roman period until the Revolution of 1789. Weekly audio-visual component concerning each period. Weekly papers and three quizzes. Required for majors in French and also of particular interest to majors in history, international relations, Wharton students, etc.

French 231 Francophone Afrtican Cinema

T 1:30 - 3:00 R 1:30 - 4:30 Moudileno

This course will introduce students to recent films by Francophone Africa's major directors. While attention will be given to aesthetic aspects and individual creativity, the screening and discussions will be organized around a variety of overlapping issues: Colonial History; The tradition/modernity opposition; urban life; gender and sexuality; politics; exile and migration.

Films will be screened on Tuesdays and discussed on Thursdays. Class and discussions in English. All films are subtitled.

French-250 French Literature in Translation

Gen Req III: Arts & Letters

Cross Listed: COML-272

MWF 12-1 Hill

In the context of the French Enlightenment, libertinage is commonly understood as a challenge not only to traditional sexual mores (e.g., modesty, virtue, and true love), but also to the dominant social, political, and religious precepts of the ancient regime. In this course, students will be encouraged to identify the presence, and gauge the extent, of such oppositional philosophy, presented in a selection of eighteenth-century French libertine texts. Other topics of discussion may include: the relationship between the individual lover and society; constructions of gender, otherness, and exoticism; the erotics of reading and writing; theatricality and voyeurism; and the rhetoric of sexual initiation, virtue and vice. All works will be read and discussed in English. Secondary readings from Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault.

NOTE: NUMERICAL SEQUENCE WITHIN THE 300 RANGE DOES NOT REFLECT INCREASING LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY.

French 350 17th Century French Literature

TR 12-1:30 DeJean

We will read a number of the masterpieces of the Golden Age of French literature, including works by Moliere, Racine, Lafayette, and La Fontaine. We will place special emphasis on the social and political context of their creation (the court of Versailles and the most brilliant years of Louis XIV's reign).

French 360 French Literature of the 18th Century Le Discours du Feminin au XVIII Siecle

Distribution III: Arts & Letters

MWF 11-12 Weber

Dans ce cours, nous etudierons une gamme large et diverse de pieces theatrales du 18' siecle, commencant par les drames comiques de Lesage et Marivaux, et passant par la "comedie larmoyante" de Nivelle de la Chaussee, la tragedie neo-classique de Voltaire et le drame bourgeois de Diderot, pour arriver enfin aux chefs d'oeuvre de Beaumarchais et au theatre de la Revolution francaise. Du point de vue de la "forme," nous examinerons de pres les evolutions du genre dramatique du siecle, et le contexte historique et culturel dans lequel ces changements ont lieu. Du point de vue du "contenu," nous traiterons des sujets tels que: les relations et les institutions familiales et socio-politiques; la pensee politique et philosophique des "Lumieres"; la construction et le role des femmes; la relation entre l'amour et le devoir, l'individu et la societe; et la fonction du pathos et du ridicule. Lectur, discussion et devoirs en francais.

French-385 Modern French Theater

Distribution III: Arts & Letters

MWF 12-1 Prince

A study of major movements and major dramatists from Giraudoux and Sartre to the theater of the absurd and its aftermath.

French 397 French Views of America

TR 10:30-12 Richman

At some point, the American student experiences the complex nature of French attitudes toward the United States. The overall goal of the course is to gain insights into that complexity by examining the impact of the discovery of the New World upon the Old one. Indeed, we will draw upon works which consider the nature of French culture and society as refracted through the lens provided by North and South America. We therefore begin with a historical overview of French relations ---both read and imaginary---with the New World, from the earliest explorations to the present. The course is divided into three parts focusing on three geopolitical areas and periods --- Brazil (16-20th centuries) New France (Canada until 1763), and the United States (1830 to the present). Readings will draw selections from the influential works of Jean de Léry, Michel de Montaigne, Claude Lévi-Strauss, French Jesuits, Alexis de Tocqueville and Jean Baudrillard. We will explore the excellent collection of original documents found in the university library and discuss two films indicative of the continued fascination with the earliest French presence. The last part of the course is devoted to student research on some aspect of current manifestations of French attitudes toward American influence upon language, culture, globalization and so on. Students will also interview Francophone members of the university community to guage their appreciation of these issues within a Franco-American dialogue. Conducted entirely in French. Two short papers, a mid-term, and one research project (7-10 pages).