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Undergraduate Courses in French
Spring 2001
French-110 Elementary French
MW 6:30-9 Staff
A first-semester elementary language course for students who have never
studied French before or who have taken the placement test and received
a score that places them in the 110 level. All students who have
previously studied French are required to take the placement test.
Class work emphasizes the development of speaking and listening comprehension
with training in reading and writing. Work outside of class with
audio and video cassettes required for additional practice and preparation.
French-120 Elementary French
See course offerings for times Staff
The continuation of the elementary level sequence (French 110) designed
to develop functional proficiency in the four skills. The primary
emphasis is on the development of the oral-aural skills, speaking and
listening. Reading on topics in French culture as well as frequent
writing practice are also included in the course.
French-130 Intermediate French
See course offerings for times Staff
The first part of intermediate level sequence designed to develop functional
proficiency in the four skills. For students who have completed
French 120 or 121 or have a placement score within the range set for
the 130 level. The primary emphasis is on the development of the
oral-aural skills, speaking and listening. Review of the basic
structures learned in elementary French. Regular readings on topics
in French culture as well as frequent writing practice are also included
in the course.
French-134 Intermediate French: Accelerated
MWF 9-10; TR 9-10:30 Staff
Permission needed from the department.
An intensive two credit third and fourth semester course designed
to enable students to attain a functional level of proficiency in French.
The FRENCH IN ACTION video series will be used as the basis for developing
listening and speaking skills. There will be a review of the basic grammatical
structures learned in elementary French; other structures will be introduced
systematically. The primary emphasis is on the development of
the oral-aural skills, speaking and listening. Regular readings on topics
in French culture as well as frequent writing practice are also included
in the course. Normally Spring sections are open only to students
who have completed French 112. Also offered in the summer
Penn-in-Tours program in France.
French-140 Intermediate French
See course offerings for times Staff
The continuation of French 130. Designed to enable students to
attain a functional level of proficiency in French. Considerable
emphasis is placed on developing listening and speaking skills.
There will be a review of the basic grammatical structures learned in
elementary French; other structures will be introduced systematically.
Regular readings on topics in French culture as well as frequent writing
practice are also included in the course.
French-180 Advanced French in Residence
Open only to residents in La Maison Francaise. Staff
French-202 Advanced French
See course offerings for times Staff
French 202 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: speaking, listening, reading and writing; together
with a selective review of grammar.
The class will study a series of thematic units dealing with a wide
variety of literary texts, films, TV, songs, comedy sketches and "bandes
dessinées". Each unit takes as its theme a particular aspect
of French culture, and within this context work will be done on all
four skills. Student work will be evaluated both in terms of progress
in language skills and of ability to handle and engage in the content
areas.
French-211 French for Professions I
MW 5-6:30 Slowinski
Prerequisite: Intermediate-high advanced level French.
This content-based language course, taught in French, introduces economic,
business and professional terminology through the study of the following
topics: the French economy and monetary policy (transition to the Euro);
financial institutions (banking and postal services, stock market and
insurance); specificity of the French fiscal system; business practices
(business letters and resumes); advertising and the internal structure
and legal forms of French companies. France's atypical system
of industrial relations as well as cultural differences and their impact
on the business world will also be explored.
On completion of the course, students will have the opportunity to
take the Certificat Pratique de Francais Commercial et Economique, administered
by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
French-212 Advanced French Grammar and Composition
See Course Offerings Met
Staff
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' L'Etranger).
French-214 Advanced French Composition and Conversation
MWF 10-11 Staff
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
be used to stimulate discussion and to aid in improving students' comprehension
of contemporary spoken French.
French-217 French Phonetics
TR 3-4:30 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-222 Perspectives in French Literature
See course offering for times Richman
See course offering for times Weber
Gen Req III: Arts & Letters
This basic course in literature provides an overview of French literature
and acquaints students with major literary trends through the study
of representative works from each period. Students are expected
to take an active part in class discussion in French. French 222
has as its theme "The Individual and Society". Majors are required
to take either French 221 or 222. Any student who has completed
French 140 or the equivalent may, of course, take both French 221 and
222.
French-227 Modern France
MWF 12-1
W 3-5, R 3-4 Hill
Registration required for recitation also.
Distribution II: History & Tradition
French political, cultural and social history from the Revolution of
1789 to the liberation of Paris in 1944. Readings in secondary and primary
sources, including political documents and speeches or letters as well
as signifigant short stories, etc.; a weekly audio-visual component
concerning each period. Frequent very short papers and three quizzes.
Required for majors, also of particular interest to majors in history,
international relations, Wharton students, etc.
French-228 Le Francais Dans Le Monde I
TR 3-4:30 McMahon
Distribution II: History and Tradition
Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum
This course is the first part of a two-semester sequence, which provides
a survey of the evolution of the French language, its place in the contemporary
world, and its role as a world language in the future. The first
semester focuses on the linguistic situation within France. It
will begin with an overview of the development of French as a national
language and will include an introduction to basic notions of how a
language changes. It will continue with an examination of the
question of linguistic diversity in France today with a focus on the
status of regional languages. Throughout the course, the focus
will be on questions of the relationship between language and political,
social and economic power, between language and ethnic and national
identity.
French 230 Masterpieces of French Cinema
T 1:30-3, R 1:30-4:30 Prince
Distribution III: Arts & Letters
Foreign Language Across the Curriculum
An introduction to key works of the French film canon with an
emphasis on their period style ("realism poetique," "tradition de qualite,"
"nouvelle vague," etc.) And their most singular features.
French-250 French Literature in Translation
MWF 1-2 Hill
Gen Req III: Arts & Letters
From its very beginnings important contributions to the French literary
tradition have been made by women. Thus the four 20th century
writers we will study have certain affinities with "ancestral figures"
that we would not find in other European national literatures.
Colette, Simone de Beauvoir, Marguerite Yourcenar, and Marguerite Duras
are innovative artists, who have both explored new territories and "appropriated"
male genres in part because women in the past had surveyed some of the
terrain. All works will be read and discussed in English.
French-313 French for Professions II
TR 12-1:30 Staff
Foreign Language Across the Curriculum
This content course has four components: 1) Using a video method, based
on interviews with 30 businessmen and women at seven French companies,
students will have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety
of authentic business situations by using the professional language
acquired in French 211; 2) As culture and commerce overlap, students
will explore the following topics and their impact on the French business
world: communication styles (French notion of space and time); individualism
and hierarchical structures; attitudes towards money and business; intellectual
elitism and formality; educational system and training of managers;
women in the workplace -- the new law on sexual harassment; study of
a socio-professional category: the cadres; 3) The French model of socio-market
economy will be analyzed, emphasizing the present debate on state-industry
relationship and social protection (health care debate). Some key industrial
sectors, such as the high-tech industry and French investments in the
U.S., will also be discussed; 4) Finally, the role of France in the
European integration (from Common Market to European Community and European
Union) will be explored. Students will have access to the instructor's
research library. Students taking both courses 211 and 313 are
advised to take the CCIP exam on completion of the second course.
French-322 France and the European Union
MW 3-4:30 Slowinski
Foreign Language Across the Curriculum
The following topics will be addressed:
1) A brief history of European integration: The Franco-German
couple - The hesitations of Great Britain; Debate: neutrality,
sovereignty and identity
2) The Community's institutions: Necessity for reform before enlargement.
Debate: intergovernmental cooperation vs. federation ( a European
constitution?)
3) The European single market: Europe becomes the biggest market
in the world (the beef and banana war with the United States)
4) Economic and monetary union: Introduction of the EURO; Debate:
From an economic community to a political community?
5) Political union and defense - Relations between France, Europe and
NATO; Debate: Eurocentrism vs. Atlanticism
6) Is there a social Europe? Analysis of the cultural and social
European model; Debate: its future vs. American or Japanese
liberalism (the unemployment problem)
7) A people's Europe: Education and training; Debate:
Is there a European civilization?
8) Common programs (agriculture, fishing and environment);
Debate: Impact of the common agricultural policy on France
9) The Community and its neighbors: Debate: a wider vs.
a deeper Community
10) Europe and its relations with the rest of the world (US, Asia and
the developing countries); Debate: Euro vs. dollar and yen
Presence and participation in class are important. Three short
papers during the semester and one final paper of the students' choice
are required.
French 330 Medieval Literature
TR 3-4:30 K. Brownlee
An introductory course to the Literature of the French Middle Ages.
French literature began in the 11th and 12th centuries. This course
examines the extraordinary period during which the French literary tradition
was first established by looking at a number of key generative themes:
Identity, Heroism, Love, Gender. This semester (Spring 01) the
course focuses on the issues of identity and authority with regard to
both the protagonist(s) and the author of a key set of canonical medieval
works. The issue of how gender roles are constructed and reconstructed
provides a global perspective. In the SONG OF ROLAND we analyze
the epic paradigm of heroism, with its glorification of military sacrifice.
In Chretien de Tropyes's romance LANCELOT, we move to a different kind
of hero who is defined by his capacity to love, which thus valorizes
both the elegance of courtly language and the role of the courtly beloved,
Queen Guenievre. In Marie de France's LAIS, we study the first
female-authored collection of courtly love stories, in which contradictions
and tragic endings predominate at the level of plot. In AUCASSIN
ET NICOLETTE we see the first real emergency of a female hero, whose
power is intellectual rather than military. In Christine de Pizan's
DITTIE DE JEHANNE D'ARCH, we come full circle in terms of the Roland,
as this female-authored text celebrates the military prowess and sacrifice
of the female-gendered hero Joan of Arc in the Hundred-Years War between
France and England.
All readings and discussions in French.
French 340 Studies in the French Sixteenth Century
TR 10:30-12 Sterritt
Comic Prose and Cultural Ideologies:
The course will involve close readings of selected comic and satiric
literary works. We will examine the relationships between these
works and the ideologies (e.g., humanism, evangelism, feminism)
on which they provide commentary. We will also consider a variety
of modern critical approaches (e.g., historical, linguistic, stylilstic,
cultural, feminist) to the 16th century texts. Readings will include
works by Francois Rabelais and Marguerite de Navarre and brief selections
(in translation) from Boccaccio's Decameron.
French 370 Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century
TR 12-1:30 Samuels
Victor Hugo called Paris the "focal point of civilization" and Walter
Benjamin labeled it the "capital of the nineteenth." This course
investigates the significance of the French metropolis' rise to prominence
- even pre-eminence - in the period between the French Revolution and
WWI. Examining nineteenth-century literary and visual representations
of Paris alongside histories of the city, we will explore how culture
intersects with the urban environment. Topics to be considered
include: space and identity; tourism; Haussmanization; class;
sex and the city; literary and political revolution; topographies of
nostalgia; monuments and memory; and sites of modernism. In addition
to weekly reading assignments, students will be asked to research the
history and mythology of significant nineteenth-century Parisian spaces.
Authors to be considered include Mercier, Balzac, Hugo, Baudelaire,
and Zola. Also some attention to the art of Manet, Monet, Renoir,
Caillebotte and Pissarro. Students of art history and architecture,
as well as of literature, are encouraged to enroll. All readings
and discussions will be in French.
French-380 French Detective Literature & Film
T, 1:30-3, R 1:30-4 Met
Cross listed with Film 346
France is the only country outside the US to have built up a large
and consistent body of thrillers or polars which more often than not
combine critical status with popular appeal. This course will
provide students with an overview of the evolution and scope of the
French detective film, emphasizing key historical phases and subgenres:
the silent crime serials of Feuillade in the 1910s; the 50s psychological
thriller (Clouzot's Les Diaboliques) or film noir/gangster movie (Becker's
Touchez pas au grisbi); the stylized man's world of Melville and the
political comments of Corneau's films in the 60s and 70s; the films
d'auteurs (Pialat, Tavernier, Godard) and the postmodern "cinéma
du look" (Nikita) in the 80s-90s. In addition to the study of
the socio-political or psychoanalytical implications of the policier,
problems in filmic adaptation will also be examined based on specific
examples.
French 390 Survey Francophone Lit
TR 10:30-12 Moudileno
The course will introduce student to majors contemporary (1980;S-90's)
Francophone novelists from Haiti and the Antilles (Gaudeloupe and Martinique).
Particular attention will be given to: History and the collective
memory; past and contemporary representations of the Caribbean island;
migration and exile; the process of creolization; the complexities of
race, class and gender issues.
Authors will include: Dany Lafferierre, Lionel Trouillot; Edwige
Danticat (Haiti); Raphael Confiant, Patrick Chamoiseau (Martinique);
Maryse Conde, Gisele Pineau (Guadeloupe)
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