Courses of Instruction

FRENCH (FRE-Arts and Science; Department of French and Italian)

Note: Students who intend to continue studying the same foreign language as in high school are required to take the placement exam for that language before enrolling. See Placement Guides in the Academic Planning chapter. Once placed, a student may not skip a course in the sequence leading to FRE 202.

101/102 Introduction to the French Language and Culture (4, 4)

Ephasis on multiple skill acquisition, speaking, and writing, and how cultural difference affects experience of the world. Prerequisite: see Placement Guides in the Academic Planning chapter.

MPF 131 Masterpieces of French Culture in Translation (3)

Accessible introduction to French culture through the study of selected examples of significant works in literature and the arts (understood in a broad sense). Works are examined in their social, historical, and ideological contexts and cover the period from the Middle Ages to the mid-20th century. All readings in English translation. IIB, H.

Advanced Courses

201 Intermediate French (3)

Integrates intermediate level language skill development and study of cultural difference. Provides student to student interaction and addresses a broad range of cultural issues.

MPF 202 Critical Analysis of French Culture (3)

Second semester, intermediate French course addresses literary and cultural issues through the study of short stories, poetry, film, journalism, and advertising. Works represent several French-speaking countries. Because texts, discussion, and compositions are in French, students continue to develop speaking listening, reading, and writing skills. IIIB. CAS-A.

265 European Jewish Cinema (3)

Survey of European films by Jewish filmmakers, or films dealing with Jewish themes, from 1920’s to the present. Films with English subtitles. Readings and discussions in English.

Note: Prerequisite to courses taught in French at 300 level is FRE 202, equivalent with permission of instructor, or four years of high school French. (See Placement Guides in this Bulletin.)

301 Reading Theater (3)

Introduces various literary and popular forms of French theater, its evolution, its appeal to audiences, its relationship to society and to ideology. Students study the idea of theatricality, on stage as well as offstage, in its various social and political forms. Introductory course for work at 300 level; required of all French majors. Systematic development of writing and speaking skills. Prerequisite: FRE 202. CAS-B-LIT.

302 Reading Narrative (3)

Study of narrative as a cultural production that not only gives aesthetic and intellectual pleasure but has underlying social and philosophical implications. Students study various forms of narrative fiction in literature and across the media (i.e., painting, architecture, film) as well as nonfictional narrative in historical writing, political discourse, and journalism. Systematic development of writing and speaking skills. Prerequisite: FRE 301. CAS-B-LIT.

303 Reading the Poetic (3)

Study of the poetic as a cultural form having many different functions: lyrical meditation on experiences such as love and death; creation of awareness of language and its relations to the senses; and the ways in which the poetic has been seen to disrupt established patterns of thought and feeling. Covers verse and prose poems, their conventions, and their critical vocabulary from various periods. Studies relation between poetry and narrative, theater, film, the visual arts, philosophic discourse, and popular culture. Systematic development of writing and speaking skills. Prerequisite: FRE 301. CAS-B-LIT.

307L/308L Practical French (3, 3)

Taught at European Center to meet practical needs in reading, writing, and speaking for advanced students.

308L Practical French (3, 3)

Taught at European Center to meet practical needs in reading, writing, and speaking for advanced students.

MPT 310 Texts in Context (3)

Examines ways creative texts (significant literary, historical, graphic, or architectural systems) are linked to various cultural contexts. Explores the ways in which cultural productions are interconnected to specific historical contexts in which they are created. Focuses on interrelations between cultural productions and their historical, sociological, scientific, or philosophical ramifications. Explains how French cultural discourse has regulated meaning of French texts and how these texts have changed institutions of cultural discourse. Systematic development of writing and speaking skills. Prerequisite: FRE 301.

315L/316L Supervised Training for Apprentice Teachers (2,2)

Taught at European Center. Supervised training to prepare students linguistically and methodologically to lead practice sessions of beginning and intermediate language students. Credit/no-credit registration only.

MPT 341 Conversation and Current Events in France (3)

Focuses on the development of speaking, writing, and presentation skills based on current social and political events in France. Viewing and discussions of SCOLA (International News Programming by Satellite) programming are an integral part of the course.

MPT 341W Conversation and Current Events in France (3)

Offered only in the Summer Program in Dijon, France. Focuses on the development of speaking, writing, and presentation skills based on current social and political events in France. Viewing and discussions of SCOLA (International News Programming by Satellite) programming are an integral part of the course.

MPT 350 Topics in French Literature in Translation (3)

Discussion of selected works that suggest particular thematic problems. For non-specialist with little or no background in French literary history. CAS-B-LIT.

356 Contemporary Jewish Fiction in European (3)

Fiction and autobiography from the 1970’s to the present by Jewish authors of diverse European backgrounds. Emphasis on national identity and changing relationships to the Holocaust. Readings and discussions in English. Cross-listed with ENG/ GER 356.

361 French Pronunciation (3)

Theoretical and practical study of French pronunciation. Corrective exercises, laboratory work.

MPT 366 French Cinema in Translation (3)

Critical survey of major directors, genres, and movements in French cinema. Particular attention devoted to development of film theory and criticism in France and their relation to film production. Screening of films by Renoir, Bresson, Buñel, Godard, Truffant, Varda, Resnais, Tavernier, and others. Taught in English; reading in English translation. Cross-listed with FST 366. CAS-B-LIT.

Note: Prerequisite for the following courses is two courses from FRE 301, 310, or equivalent with permission of instructor.

404/504 The French Renaissance (3)

Study of major writers of prose and poetry in the French Renaissance, including Rabelais, Montaigne, Ronsard, and DuBellay. Offered infrequently.

MPC 410 Senior Seminar (3)

Required of all French majors in their senior year and open to qualified non-majors, this is a seminar on a selected topic in French literature designed to allow students to reflect upon what they have learned in previous French courses in order to further strengthen their powers of critical thinking and synthesis. Prerequisite: senior standing; also, for majors: three 300-level courses and four 400- level courses (or four 300-level courses and three 400-level courses); for non-majors: three 300-level courses, three 400-level courses, and permission of instructor. Corequisite for majors: FRE 415.

MPT 411/511 French Civilization (3)

Historical evolution of French society, its art, architecture, institutions and philosophical outlook. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

411D/511D Intensive French Study in Dijon, France (6-9)

Students can earn 6-9 credit hours by studying in Dijon, a beautiful small city in Burgundy, France. The intense, 5-week program features small classes, fieldwork, and various excursions. Fulfills up to 1/3 of the French requirements for the major and 1/2 of the requirements for the minor.

MPT 411W/511W French Civilization (3)

Offered only in the Summer French Program in Dijon, France. Historical survey of various aspects of French culture with special emphasis on local Burgundian civilization. Prerequisite: FRE 202 or equivalent.

415/515 Advanced Composition (3)

Required of all French majors in their senior year, this course, which provides instruction in advanced French composition, is designed to complement FRE 410. Take concurrently with FRE 410.

423/523 Classical French Theatre of the 17th and 18th Centuries (3)

Analysis of major trends in comedy and tragedy in the French theatre of 17th and 18th centuries. Offered infrequently.

MPT 431/531 Studies in Contemporary French Thought in Translation (3)

Examination of major recent currents of French thought, such as existentialism, structuralism, and poststructuralism, with emphasis on their relation to the study of literary texts. Course content will vary. Prerequisite: junior or senior standing or permission of instructor. In English. CAS-B-LIT. Offered infrequently.

442/542 French Novel and ‘Conte’ of the 17th and 18th Centuries (3)

Readings in the prose fiction of Madame de LaFayette, Privost, Marivaux, Rousseau, Diderot, and Laclos. CAS-B-LIT. Offered infrequently.

443/543 French Literature and Society (3)

Introduction to the literature and society of Medieval France. Study of literary texts and works of art, and hands-on experience with medieval manuscripts and materials used to make them. Conducted in French.

444/544 Seminar in Medieval French Studies (3)

Focuses on current criticism in the area of medieval French studies. Topics vary. Readings in French and English. Old French readings accompanied by modern French translations. Conducted in French.

451/551 19th Century Prose Fiction to 1850 (3)

Novels of Stendhal, Balzac, and Hugo; short narratives of Nodier, Gautier, and Merimee. Offered infrequently.

MPT 452/552 The Romantic Movement in French Literature (3)

The development of romanticism in poetry and drama of France in the first half of the 19th century. CAS-B-LIT. Offered infrequently.

453/553 French Poetry from Baudelaire to Valery (3)

Aspects of modernism in the works of five major poets of 19th century and early 20th century: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarme, Valery. CAS-B-LIT. Offered infrequently.

454/554 The French Realist and Naturalist Novel: Flaubert to Zola (2)

Study of theme and literary form in major French realist and naturalist writers of the second half of the 19th century. CAS-B-LIT. Offered infrequently.

MPT 460/560 Topics in French Cinema (3)

In-depth and concentrated study of French cinema. Focus on specific topics such as film’s relation to society, its relation to the other arts and artistic movements, and its productive role as an object of philosophical thought. Topics may also include the work of particular directors, historical periods, and comparative social and aesthetic studies. Taught in English translation. Available in French for French majors and French graduate students. Cross-listed with FST 460/560.

462/562 The 20th Century Novel: Contemporary Explorations Beyond Existentialism (3)

Study of the novel’s most recent attempts to redefine itself. Texts include works by Ciline, Leiris, Beckett, Robbe-Grillet, Queneau, Sarraute. CAS-B-LIT. Offered infrequently.

480 Independent Reading for Departmental Honors (3)

600 Seminar in French Literature (1-4)

Intensive study of selected authors and critical perspectives. Recent offerings included:

600A Literature and Loss. Examines the relations between loss and writing, especially in literary texts. How do different works conceptualize, confront, and attempt to palliate the problems of loss? Texts by Sophocles, Ovid, Chateaubriand, Musset, Nerval, and Claude Simon, along with theoretical and historical writings by Abraham and Torok, Philippe Aries, Baudrilland, Guy Debord, Blanchot, Freud, Hegel, Heidegger, Lacan, Emmanuel Levinas.

600B Sociology of Culture. Strategies of domination and logics of “symbolic” power will be debated from both post-Marxist and philosophical perspectives. Readings include texts by Simone Weil, Pierre Bourdieu, and other sociologists from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.

614 Introduction to the Study of French Literature (3)

Introduction to concepts of literary history and assumptions and practices of literary criticism by studying significant examples of literary theory.

617/618 Intensive Course for Graduate Students (3,3)

Provides reading knowledge of French for graduate students in other disciplines. (617) No speaking component in this course. Vocabulary building, through readings, with emphasis on French grammar for recognition purposes. (618) Readings of increasing difficulty with emphasis on idiomatic usage in student’s own discipline.

680 Independent Study (1-6)

Independent work in French literature or language.

689 TA Orientation Seminar (1)

Required of new graduate assistants. Directly coordinated with organization of the beginning French course and deals with practical problems involved in this method of language instruction.

700 Research for Master’s Thesis (1-10; usually 6)

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