101. ELEMENTARY FRENCH I. This course is intended for students who have not studied French before or who have had very little exposure to the language. Newly acquired vocabulary and grammatical structures will be practiced through general classroom discussions, small group, and pair work activities. Homework will require the interactive use of audio and video materials(s), as well as regular writing practice. This course will also invite students to explore the Francophone world on the Internet. Fall semester only, three hours
102. ELEMENTARY FRENCH II. Continuation of French 101. Appropriate also for students with one year of high school study with grades of B or better. Continued acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical structures. Students will be introduced to French and francophone culture(s) through authentic materials (simple articles, films, videos, songs, recorded conversations). Students will be expected to hand in written assignments on a weekly basis. Lab is to be completed on-line: it consists of audio, video material(s), and of written practice. Students will continue to explore France and the francophone world on the Internet. Prerequisite: French 101 or equivalent. Spring semester only, three hours
201. INTERMEDIATE FRENCH I. This course is appropriate for students who have completed 101 and 102, or 2 years of high school study with grades of B or better. After a review of elementary French, this course proceeds with an intensive study of grammar and vocabulary aimed at developing all four skills: writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Students will read fairly simple historical and literary texts; they will perform small skits, memorize a few poems, and explore cultural contexts of French and francophone communities. Besides laboratory assignments and creative writing, students will do written exercises that will be checked on a weekly basis. Prerequisite: French 102 or equivalent. Fall semester only, three hours.
202. INTERMEDIATE FRENCH II. Continuation of French 201. Appropriate also for students who have competed 3 years of high school study with grades of B or better. The intermediate sequence is designed to help students attain a level of proficiency that should allow them to function comfortably in a French speaking environment. This course will build on students’ existing skills in French and increase their confidence and ability to read, write, speak and understand French. It will introduce them to more refined lexical items, more complex grammatical structures, and more challenging cultural materials. Language laboratory practice will conclude each unit studied. Written exercises done outside of class will be collected by the instructed and graded on a weekly basis. Students will also write short papers in French. Prerequisite: French 201 or equivalent. Spring semester only, three hours.
305. CONVERSATION. Introduction in speaking and understanding French in a variety of social and professional situations. Required of French majors and those desiring teacher certification in French. This course fulfills the Speaking Intensive (SI) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French 202 or by permission. Fall semester only, three hours.
307. PRINCIPLES OF FRENCH GRAMMAR AND STYLE. This course aims at helping advanced students to develop further their linguistic skills and their ability to write creatively in the target language. Through challenging exercises, examinations, and the writing of articles – the most outstanding ones to be featured in LE CERCLE FRANÇAIS – our (bi)yearly on-line publication, students gain continuous practice in speaking, reading, and writing the target language. Review of material studied at earlier levels is incorporated throughout the semester. Emphasis is placed on the following grammatical topics: 1. Parts of speech and grammatical functions; 2. Adjectives (descriptive, possessive, demonstrative, and indefinite); 3. Pronouns (possessive, demonstrative, indefinite, and relative); 4. Tenses of the indicative (present; passé composé, and imparfait); 5. Present participle; 6. Compound tenses; 7. Pronominal verbs; 8. Agreement of the past participle. This course fulfills the Writing Intensive (WI) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French 202 or a 300-level French course, or by permission. Alternate fall semesters, three hours.
308. PHONETICS AND LINGUISTICS. A systematic study of the sounds and sound patterns of French contrasted with English. Each student’s pronunciation in French will be evaluated with exercises assigned to correct and improve it. A theoretical and practical approach to the French phonetic system, this course includes phonetic transcriptions, an introduction to linguistics, and an overview of the history of the French language. Required of French majors and those desiring teacher certification in French. Prerequisites: French 202 or a 300-level French course, or by permission. Spring semester only, three hours
309. ADVANCED GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION. The goal of this course is to enable advanced students to develop their linguistic skills and their ability to write creatively in French. Through challenging exercises, examinations, and the writing of articles – the most outstanding ones to be featured in LE CERCLE FRANÇAIS, our (bi)yearly on-line publication – students gain continuous practice in speaking, reading, and writing the target language. Review of material studied at earlier levels is incorporated throughout the semester. Emphasis is placed on the following aspects of French grammar: 1. Nouns ; 2. Articles; 3. Compound tenses (other than those studied in 307); Pronominal verbs; 4. Negatives; 5. Adverbs; 6. Conditional and passive voice; 7. Subjunctive; 8. Prepositions and infinitive; 9. Personal pronouns and imperative. This course fulfills the Writing Intensive (WI) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French 202 or a 300-level French course, or by permission. Alternate fall semesters, three hours.
312. CONTEMPORARY FRANCE. Students enrolled in this course will gain access to contemporary France and to its people through readings and discussions (family, education, the arts, cinema and theater, history, and immigration). Attention to daily life and traditions will foster a greater awareness of the differences and similarities existing between France and the United States. This course follows a tripartite organization: Geography, history (from the beginning of the third Republic [1875] to the present), government and institutions. Prerequisite: French grammar (307 or 309), or by permission. Alternate fall semesters, three hours.
315. BUSINESS FRENCH. Through this course, students will learn the linguistic skills and cultural information they need to prepare for the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris examinations, to conduct business in the Francophone world, to embark on a career in French or on a graduate cursus in International Business. They will be exposed to key business French topics, to essential career practices, as well as to cultural concepts particular to French businesses. Areas of concentration are: 1. La correspondance; 2. La micro-informatique, Internet, le courrier électronique; 3. La recherche d’un emploi; 4. La typologie des enterprises; 5. L’organisation des enterprises; 6. La mercatique/le marketing; 7. La banque et les moyens de paiement; 8. Les transports et le commerce international. Prerequisite: French grammar 307 or 309, or by permission. Alternate spring semesters, three hours.
320. GENRES OF FRENCH LITERATURE I. A survey of French literature from the beginning of the eleventh century, to the end of the eighteenth century. A study of French literary history, movements, authors, techniques, and themes, from the Song of Roland to Candide. Music and art of the periods will illustrate how the literature shares the same ideas and esthetics. Prerequisite: French 202 or by permission. Offered periodically- semester course, three hours.
321. GENRES OF FRENCH LITERATURE II. A survey of French literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from Romanticism to Duras and Robbe-Grillet. A study of French literary history, movements, authors, techniques, and themes of the last two centuries. Music and art of these periods will illustrate how the literature shares the same ideas and esthetics. It is not necessary to take French 320 before French 321. This course fulfills the Information Literacy (IL) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French 202 or by permission. Offered periodically- semester course, three hours.
325. MODERN FRENCH THEATRE. A course designed to familiarize students with the major movements and authors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including the avant-garde, surrealism, l’antithéâtre (Theater of the Absurd), and francophone theatre. This course fulfills the Information Literacy (IL) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French 202 or a 300-level French course, or by permission. Offered periodically, semester course, three hours.
330. WOMEN WRITERS IN FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE LITERATURE. This course serves to introduce students to the lives and works of francophone female authors from 1800 to the present. Its articulation is as follows: 1. Prise de conscience: Madame de Staël (France, Switzerland) and Simone de Beauvoir (France), with a side glance at Virginia Woolf (Great Britain); 2. Childhood and formation: Christiane Rochefort (France) and Nathalie Sarraute (France, Russia); 3. Sexual awakenings and passion: Colette (France) and Marguerite Duras (France and Indochina); 4. Matriarchy and exile: Antonine Maillet (Canada). The last third of the course focuses on the study of texts by the three authors whose work is commonly, albeit somewhat paradoxically, known as “French Feminism”: Luce Irigaray (Belgium), Hélène Cixous (Algeria), and Julia Kristeva (Bulgaria). This course fulfills the Information Literacy (IL) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French grammar (307 or 309), or by permission. Alternate spring semesters, three hours.
331. POETRY. The goal of this course is to enable students to express themselves in a more sophisticated and colorful language than had been hitherto feasible and to become acquainted with “explication de textes,” this staple of French classical education. Students will become familiar with the autobiographical and literary background of the following nineteenth and twentieth centuries French and francophone poets: Hugo, Nerval, Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Valéry, Senghor, Césaire. This course fulfills the Information Literacy (IL) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French grammar (307 or 309), or by permission.Alternate spring semesters, three hours.
332. LA NOUVELLE FRANCOPHONE. A first goal of this course is to bridge the gap often experienced by students between the basic language work conducted during the first years of foreign language study and the diversified advanced work required of French majors. A second goal is to have students acquire substantive information on francophone countries, as well as on writers of France and the French-speaking world: Maupassant (France), Flaubert (France), Sartre (France), Camus (Algeria), Sarraute (Russia, France), Gabrielle Roy (Canada), Antonine Maillet (Canada), Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe), and Zobel (Martinique). A third goal is to have students analyze short-story fiction (nouvelle/s) and, through discussions, regular assignments (questions and short essays), and the writing of a short story, demonstrate a greater sophistication and complexity in their manipulation of language skills and in their engagement with authentic texts. This course fulfills the Information Literacy (IL) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French grammar (307 or 309), or by permission. Alternate spring semesters, three hours.
340. ADVANCED CONVERSATION AND CONTEMPORARY CULTURE. Practice in expanding skills and vocabulary acquired in French 305 through the discussion of current issues presented in French newspapers and TV5, International French TV. Includes a study of colloquial French and an explanation of French culture and values today. Students are encouraged to consult French news sources on the Internet and to get daily updates. This course fulfills the Speaking Intensive (SI) requirement for the French major. Prerequisites: French 202 or a 300-level French course, or by permission. Strongly recommended: French 305. Spring semester only, three hours.
362. ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING. A course designed to provide opportunities to teach various grammar aspects in the Spanish/French language, and to examine and implement a variety of technological aspects and resources in the foreign language curriculum in preparation for student teaching. Teacher candidates will regularly reflect on their teaching experiences and will develop a portfolio of materials representing their teaching in the target language. Required of all students desiring teacher certification in a foreign language. Co-requisite: French 364.Spring semester of the sophomore year, two hours.
364. PEDAGOGICAL MATERIALS. Introduction to the materials and resources of foreign language teaching. Analysis and preparation of instructional and evaluative materials in a specific target language. Required of all students desiring teacher certification in a foreign language. Co-requisite: French 362. Spring semester of the sophomore year, two hours.
380 LE CINÉMA PAR LA CONVERSATION. This course begins with analyses, commentaries, and discussions of French films with which spectators in non-francophone countries are most likely to be familiar. Progressively, the emphasis shifts to films of the Occupation (1940-1944) and the Nouvelle Vague (the 1960s), films which have been held significant in aesthetic, social, or moral terms by the majority of critics and historians of French cinema. The materials and strategies used are meant to stimulate interest in the target language, to bridge the gap between “skill” and research courses, and to develop the language proficiency of advanced students, as well as their ability to express themselves creatively in French. This course fulfills the Information Literacy (IL) requirement for the French major. Prerequisite: French grammar (307 or 309), or by permission. Alternate fall semesters, three hours.
460. INDEPENDENT STUDY. Individual study directed by a faculty member, with permission of the department chair. Semester course, one, two, or three hours.