| FREN 101 |
| Elementary French I |
| Designed to develop a basic ability to read, write, understand, and speak French. Since all linguistic skills cannot be fully developed in 101 alone, stress will be placed on the acquisition of basic structures, which it will be the function of 102 to develop and reinforce. Students who wish to acquire significant proficiency should therefore plan to take both 101 and 102 in sequence. Meets 3 hours a week. Students with three or more years in high school French may not enroll in this course. (HUM) |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 102 |
| Elementary French II |
Continuation of 101, emphasizing oral practice, consolidation of basic grammar skills, compositions and reading comprehension. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 101 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 151 |
| French Film Festival |
| A half-credit course offered in conjunction with the annual spring French Film Festival. Class meetings and film screenings will take place in March and April. Two mandatory workshops will take place prior to and following the festival at a time to be announced. Students are required to attend all film showings. Students taking the course for credit in French will be required to do all written work in French and to attend French language versions of the two supplemental workshops. Course may not be taken on a pass/fail basis. (HUM) |
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0.50 units, Lecture
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| FREN 201 |
| Intermediate French I |
Review of basic grammatical concepts and development of fundamental language skills, with increasing emphasis on written expression and spoken accuracy. Use is made of video-based presentations. Since significant linguistic progress cannot be achieved in 201 alone, students wishing to acquire proficiency should plan to take both 201 and 202 in sequence. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 102 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 202 |
| Intermediate French II |
Further reinforcement of written and spoken skills, with continuing practice in the use of complex grammatical structures and greater emphasis on the mastery of contemporary usage through extensive class discussion, reading, and writing. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 201 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 234 |
| Consuming Spaces : a Cultural History of Parisian Stores and Markets |
| Described as "the City of Light," Paris is also hailed as the capital of luxury boutiques and prestigious fashionable shopping streets. Students will explore the urban, architectural, social and ideological development of commercial practices in the French capital through the reading of articles, literary texts, and films. (GLB2) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 241 |
| Advanced Composition and Style |
Development of a high level of proficiency through the reading and analysis of texts and films in contemporary idiomatic French, with considerable emphasis on attainment of grammatical accuracy. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 202 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 244 |
| France and "Frenchness" in Pop Culture |
This course is an exploration of France's culture through contemporary trends and their representation in mass media. In this class, we will reflect on a variety of topics (the #metoo movement, the climate crisis, the 2022 presidential election, debates around racism, secularism, and color blindness in France, etc.) by examining a wide array of popular media (documentary, comic books, music, tv shows, podcasts, cyberculture, and advertisements). Students will investigate the concept of "Frenchness" and explore how France's national identity is constantly shaped, challenged, and redefined in mass culture. The course will be conducted in French and requires successful completion of FREN 241. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 241 or equivalent, or permission of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 247 |
| Race and Empire |
What does it mean to study an imperial language in a time of unfinished decolonization? What role have literature, cinema, and the arts played in anti-imperial struggles and liberation movements across the French-speaking world? How is the emergence of French as a global language related to France's status as a (neo-)colonial power? This course focuses on decolonial approaches to the French-language literatures and cultures of Africa and the Caribbean as well as their diasporas. It provides an introduction to the long, ongoing histories of French slavery, colonization, and their afterlives. Through literary texts, film, works of art, and historical documents, students will grapple with unresolved questions related to historical memory, colonial violence, and reparations. Course conducted in French. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 241 or equivalent, or permission of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 248 |
| Revolts and Revolutions |
This course explores social, cultural, intellectual, and political uprisings in the francophone world. How are these moments and movements remembered or commemorated? What role does art, literature, and culture play in portraying these struggles and their legacies? This course will explore such questions by putting literature and film in conversation with the socio-political contexts that they represent and out of which they emerge. Possible historical periods and topics include: slave rebellions, the Haitian Revolution, the French revolutions of 1789 and the long nineteenth century (1830, 1848, 1871), student and worker revolts of May 1968, the Algerian Revolution, and the so-called "Arab Spring." Course conducted in French. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 241 or equivalent, or permission of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 251 |
| Language and Identity |
This course explores language's dynamic and multifaceted connections to social practices and power relations through literary texts, linguistic research, press articles, and other forms of cultural production in French. In what ways does language facilitate self-expression and interpersonal communication or, conversely, limit and restrict meaning? How have different individuals and groups responded to such constraints? Possible topics will include current and historical developments in French, tensions between national and regional languages (both in and outside of Europe), expressions of gender inclusivity, and language's relationship to power structures and institutions. Course conducted in French. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 241 or equivalent, or permission of instructor |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 252 |
| Creative Writing in French |
This course will help students develop their creative writing skills in French. Through close analysis of francophone texts from a variety of time periods, geographical regions, and genres, students will hone critical reading skills with an eye towards applying techniques and styles to their own imaginative writing. How does one construct a short story, a poem, or an autobiographical text? What are different narrative choices that you, as a writer, can make to build dramatic tension, develop characters, and construct dialogues? Students will have the opportunity to workshop their writing in class, provide constructive feedback to peers, and build a portfolio of creative materials in French. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 241 or equivalent, or permission of instructor |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 255 |
| Crime Stories: A Study of Francophone Detective Novels and their Cinematographic Adaptations |
| Students will explore the evolution of the francophone detective novel through the works of major authors such as Gaston Leroux, Georges Simenon, Didier Daeninckx and Jean-Patrick Manchette. Emphasis will be placed upon narratological, social and political analysis. The study of film adaptations will complement the readings. The class will be conducted in English. (GLB2) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 281 |
| Conversational French: Current Events |
This course is designed for students who want to acquire greater proficiency in their oral expression and are interested in current events. We will examine current political, social, historical and educational issues as they appear in French newspapers and magazines such as L’Express, Le Monde, Le Nouvel Observateur and other online resources. Students will participate in class discussions, prepare oral reports and conduct presentations on the issues under study. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 241 or equivalent, or permission of instructor |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 307 |
| Gender-Neutral, Feminist, and Non-Binary French |
How can one accommodate non-binary identities in a grammatically bi-gendered language like French? This straightforward yet complex question will guide this interdisciplinary course about literature, power, linguistics, and politics in contemporary France. We will contextualize recent virulent debates about linguistic inclusivity in France by putting them in conversation with the works of experimental feminist authors such as Anne Garréta and Monique Wittig. We will then look at works by queer and transgender authors who practice gender-neutral or non-binary writing techniques such as Adel Tincelin and Alpheratz. In addition to acquiring historical and literary knowledge, students will develop and practice their own techniques for practicing gender-neutral, feminist, and non-binary French. Course conducted entirely in French, though a few readings will be in English. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 247, 251 or 252 or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 308 |
| French Slavery & its Afterlives: Literatures & Cultures of Slavery, Resistance & Abolition |
France is the only European nation-state to have abolished slavery twice: first, in 1794, following the revolutions in Haiti/Saint-Domingue and France; then, in 1848, almost half a century after the Napoleonic restoration of slavery in 1802. This seminar grapples with the legacy of slavery and its afterlives in the world French empire made by examining the literatures and cultures of French slavery and abolition, from the seventeenth century to the present. The course offers an introduction to contemporary debates around memory, reparations, and reckoning. Students will consult a range of historical and literary texts from the Caribbean, West Africa, and Indian Ocean, including works by abolitionists (Victor Scholcher, Olympe de Gouges), resistance leaders (Toussaint Louverture, Louis Delgrès), and contemporary writers (Aimé Césaire, Édouard Glissant, Maryse Condé, Léonora Miano). (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 247, 251 or 252 or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 320 |
| French Cinema |
| This course is designed to familiarize students with the development and art of the French cinema as seen through its important phases and movements, and in its relationship to modern France. Relevant literary and critical texts will accompany each film. Lectures and coursework will be in English. (Listed as both LACS 320-01 and FREN 320-01.) (GLB2) |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FREN 355 |
| 18th-Century Enlightenment |
The Enlightenment can be defined as a movement of political, social, and philosophical contestation advocating the reign of reason and progress. This course will examine the manifestations of this questioning through the study of the dominant genres of the periods: plays, philosophical tales, dialogues, novels. We will also study a selection of films whose subject is the history and cultural life of 18th-century France and examine the relevance of 18th-century issues to the contemporary world. Sample reading list, L'île des esclaves, Marivaux, Le Neveu de Rameau, Diderot Candide, Voltaire, Le Mariage de Figaro, Beaumarchais, Les Infortunes de la vertu, Sade. Films: Que la fête commence, Bertrand Tavernier, Ridicule, Patrice Leconte, L'Anglaise et le duc, Éric Roemer. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 251 or 252, or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 355 |
| Literary Games in Postmodern and Contemporary Fiction |
What makes literature "new"? This course examines the ways in which French and Francophone writers of the last century have transformed the field of fiction through playful and experimental techniques. We will study the literary games they played in their efforts to break with tradition and expand the boundaries of language, genre, and form. Through a range of texts and audiovisual materials, we will trace this idea of play across the 20th and 21st centuries, with examples taken from the nouveau roman, the OuLiPo, écriture féminine, autofiction, documentary fiction, photo-texts, and digital literature. In the spirit of the materials studied, course assignments will include traditional essays as well as more experimental writing projects. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 247, 251 or 252 or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 355 |
| Sex and Gender in Contemporary Franco-Maghrebi Cultures |
This course provides an introduction to some of the major issues impacting the countries of formerly-colonized Francophone North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), commonly known as the Maghreb, and their diasporas in France. By putting excerpts of novels, memoirs, films, and other media in conversation with the popular press, this course will encourage students to reflect upon contemporary social issues between France and North Africa from the 1960s to the present. As we learn about race, religion, colonization, and immigration, a particular emphasis will be placed upon how issues of sex and gender impact cultural and literary representations. Topics may include the headscarf debates, family structure, and sexuality. Possible authors and filmmakers may include Leïla Sebbar, Abdellah Taïa, Nina Bouraoui, Farid Boudjellal, and Abdellatif Kechiche. Course conducted in French. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 251 or 252, or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 355 |
| Intersectional French Feminisms |
This course looks at French feminisms from the 1970s to the present through an intersectional lens. This interdisciplinary course will use sociological, literary, and audiovisual material to cover issues such as reproductive rights, immigration and colonization, lesbian and queer sexualities, working-class experience, and transgender identities. This class will look critically at the canon by reading it in dialogue with lesser-known texts. Possible authors and works may include essays (Helene Cixous, Monique Wittig), sociological interviews (Salima Amari), short stories (Mireille Best), comics, novels, films (Amandine Gay), archival materials, and scholarly articles. Course conducted in French. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 251 or 252, or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 355 |
| Borders, Boundaries, and Walls: Rethinking (Im)Mobility in French and Francophone Literature |
Who moves freely across borders? Who can return to one's native land after leaving home? How does one's race, gender, and social class shape access to space? These are the questions that we will explore as we consider three very different, yet intertwined forms of mobilities: tourism, immigration, and exile. If the recent covid-19 crisis has shed new light on the impact and consequences of globalized mobilities, it has also taught us that immobility can be a luxury and a privilege, therefore giving a new meaning to the walls that surround us. This seminar thus aims at developing critical awareness of what mobility and immobility means in our globalized contemporary world. Possible reading list includes works by Bachi, Chevillard, Darrieussecq, Elalamy, Laferrière, Leduc, Mabanckou, NDiaye, Sartre, and Taïa. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 247, 251 or 252 or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 356 |
| Francophone Ghost Stories: African and Afro-Caribbean Narratives from Beyond the Grave |
Ghosts are part of modern life. The ghost, sociologist Avery Gordon reminds us, is simply a form by which something lost, or barely visible, makes itself known to us. This seminar focuses on ghostly and otherworldly narrators who tell their story from beyond the grave. During the semester, we will encounter narrators who have drowned, exploded, or been devoured by sharks: narrators whose spectral voices provide ghostly supplements to histories of slavery, colonization, gender violence, clandestine migration, and terrorism. In addition to literature and film, we will read key theoretical texts on the uncanny, haunting, African cosmogonies, and narratology. "Ghost Stories" explores how phantom narrators unsettle our understanding of narration and how literature helps us to reckon with what modern history has rendered ghostly. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 247, 251 or 252 or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 357 |
| Toxic Tales: Poison, Crime, and Sickness in 19th and 20th- century Francophone Literature |
This course investigates the many ways that poison intersects with human action and social practices in literary and cinematic texts. Specific areas of inquiry include criminal cases, developments in arsenic- detection, industrial pollution and 'écocide', accidental poisonings through paints and pigments, urban public health disasters, poison as cure, poison and witchcraft in slave narratives as well as poison pens, censorship, and toxic literature. During each of these units, we will analyze cultural power dynamics in relation to class, gender, and ethnicity. Students will read short stories, court documents, critical articles, listen to podcasts, and view films in preparation for class discussions. Authors may include but are not limited to: Alexandre Dumas, Barbey d'Aurevilly, Maryse Condé, Mauriac, Rachilde, and Agnès Walch. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 247, 251 or 252 or permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 359 |
| Crime Stories |
Conducted in French, this course will explore the detective novel and the roman noir genres exemplified in major francophone novels and their cinematographic adaptations. Texts studied include Georges Simenon’s L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre, Didier Daeninckx's Play-Back and Jean-Patrick Manchette’s La Position du tireur couché. Emphasis will be placed upon narratological, social and political analysis. (HUM)
Prerequisite: C- or better in French 241 or equivalent, or permission of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 399 |
| Independent Study |
| Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office and the approval of the instructor and chairperson are required for enrollment. (HUM) |
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1.00 units min / 2.00 units max, Independent Study
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| FREN 401 |
| Senior Seminar: Special Topics |
This seminar is required of all seniors majoring or minoring in French. Over the term, students will work collaboratively on the various papers they are writing by way of integrating exercises in their major or minor, and the whole class will undertake a number of readings in common in order to provide informed criticism of one another’s papers. Depending on enrollment, the class may also spend part of the semester considering a special topic, author, or genre in French studies. (WEB)
Prerequisite: C- or better in at least one 300-level course in French literature or the equivalent, and permission of instructor. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FREN 466 |
| Teaching Assistantship |
| Submission of the special registration form, available online, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment. Guidelines are available in the College Bulletin.
(0.5 - 1 course credit) |
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0.50 units min / 1.00 units max, Independent Study
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