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French Course Descriptions

ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

 

Elementary and Intermediate Courses

 

101 FRENCH I

Emphasizing the active use of the language, this course develops the fundamental skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It includes an introduction to the cultural background of France and the Francophone world. Class sessions are supplemented by weekly small group meetings with a French graduate assistant. For students with no previous work in French. Every fall. (4 credits)

 

102 FRENCH II

This course continues the development of the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with increasing emphasis on the practice of reading and writing. It includes introduction to the cultural background of France and the Francophone world. Class sessions are supplemented by weekly small group meetings with a French graduate assistant. Prerequisite: French 101 with a grade of C– or better, placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits).

 

111 ACCELERATED FRENCH I–II

This course develops fundamental skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It includes introduction to the cultural background of France and the Francophone world. It is designed for students who have had some French prior to enrolling at Macalester or who want to review basic structures. The course prepares students for French III and includes two lab sessions. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

203 FRENCH III

The aim of this course is to bring students to a point where they can use French for communication, both oral and written. At the end of this course students should be able to read appropriate authentic materials, write short papers in French and communicate with a native speaker. It consolidates and builds competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing and includes study of the cultural background of France and the Francophone world. Class sessions are supplemented by weekly small group meetings with a French graduate assistant. Prerequisite: French 102 or 111 with a grade of C– or better, placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

204 TEXT, FILM AND MEDIA

This course presents a study of the contemporary language and culture of France and the Francophone world through authentic materials including the French press, the internet, television, literature and film. At the end of this course students should have attained a more sophisticated level of communication in French, the ability to use their skills in French for a variety of purposes including research in other disciplines, and a full appreciation of the intellectual challenge of learning a foreign language and its cultures. Prerequisite: French 203 with a grade of C– or better, placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

Third Year Courses

 

305 ADVANCED EXPRESSION: COMMUNICATION TOOLS

This course is an intensive training in oral expression and corrective phonetics. Materials include news broadcasts from French TV, films and articles from the French and Francophone press. Grammar patterns that enhance communication will be studied. Class sessions are supplemented by small group meetings with French assistants and small conversation groups with Francophone tutors. Prerequisite: French 204, placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

306 INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY ANALYSIS

This course is designed to develop the necessary skills for interpreting literature and for writing effectively in French. Students learn to do close reading and analysis of a variety of literary works and to compose critical essays. The course also includes a study of selected grammatical patterns and stylistic techniques. Prerequisite: French 204 or placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

Fourth Year Courses

 

407 FRANCOPHONE STUDIES

This course category encompasses the study of cultures and literatures from the French-speaking regions and countries outside of France. It includes such courses as:

 

The French-speaking Caribbean islands: Haïti, Guadeloupe, and Martinique.

This course examines the cultural particularities of the region (music, religion, arts, society, economics, history) and studies the historical differences between the three islands as well as their specific relationship to France. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of the instructor. This course counts towards a minor concentration in Latin American studies. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

Voix du Nord.

This course studies the contemporary political and cultural situation of Belgium and the province of Quebec through their literature. It ties literary texts to their cultural and historical context, especially to the problematics of language and identity as they are expressed through various media. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

408 FRENCH CULTURAL STUDIES

Surveys of cultural issues in France. The themes studied include definitions of nation, culture, tradition and modernity and change in social, cultural, aesthetic and intellectual structures as well as immigration and diversity in France. It includes courses such as Literature and Cinema of Immigration in France offered in Spring 2007. Prerequisite: French 306, or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

409 CINEMA

This category introduces students to French or Francophone cinema, dealing with history, theory, and condition of production of this media. Prerequisite: a 300 level course or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

It includes such courses as:

 

West and Equatorial African Cinema.

Introduction to the history and socio-economic contexts of African cinema (colonial and post-colonial). The focus is on the rich corpus of films by African directors from Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Cameroon and Congo, and on theoretical and critical writings about films and authors. Prerequisite: a 300 level course or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

French cinema.

A survey of French cinema from the thirties to the present. The course examines the style and themes in French cinema from Realism to Nouvelle Vague to Post-Modernism. The course is conducted in English with the possibility of receiving credit for a concentration in French if the reading and writing is done in French. Prerequisite for French credit: a 300 level course or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

North Africa/France: Representations of Both Sides of the Mediterranean Through Cinema.

Survey of the historical and soci-economic contexts of North African Cinema (in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). The course examines representations of the colonial period (with texts, paintings, photographs, and critical material on orientalism and early cinema in the region), the French-Algerian war from various perspectives, and the national/post-colonial film production in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. The course also includes films by and about North Africans in France. Materials for the course includes films as well as theoretical and critical materials about the regional cinema and film directors. Prerequisites: a 300 level course or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

410 ART AND IDEAS IN FRENCH CULTURE (Same as Humanities and Media and Cultural Studies 410)

The course studies the arts of France (art, architecture, music and literature) in their historical and intellectual settings. Topics and historical periods studied vary by semester. Prerequisite: a 300 level course or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

411 CHALLENGES OF MODERNITY AND LITERATURE (Same as Humanities and Media and Cultural Studies 411)

Introduction to the study and the context of French literary and artistic masterpieces from the 12th to the 21st century, with special focus on their ties with contemporary "mentalités" and events. The significance of specific works for audiences of their time will be extended to the study of their influence in subsequent centuries, including the 20th/21st. Particular attention will be paid also to our own representation and use of these past centuries in diverse contemporary media, such as films and advertisements. The thematic emphasis of the class, as well as the historical period, may vary by semester. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of the instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

412 TEXT AND IDENTITY

This category of courses introduces students to texts (including films) that engage students to focus on questions of identity(national, sexual, racial, and class identity) through the study of literature and film. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

It includes such courses as:

Culture and Identity Through French, African, Caribbean, and North American Cinema
Identity, Difference, and Pluralism in Contemporary France
Women Writing in French

 

413 STUDIES IN THEORY

This category of courses includes courses that prepare students to read textual and/or visual materials through various theoretical lenses. Courses include Feminist French Theory, French Intellectuals in/and the World (cross-listed with Humanities, Media and Cultural Studies), or courses dealing with particular literary, cultural, or critical theories. Prerequisite: French 306 when courses are offered in French or permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally. (4 credits)

 

414 STUDIES IN GENRE

Courses on the novel, theatre, poetry, and short stories, are offered in this category. Courses may be surveys of the development of a genre across the centuries or they may focus on a particular period. A course on 17th-century French Theatre was last offered in Spring 2003 and a course on French Theatre across the centuries was offered in Fall 2006. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of the instructor. Offered occasionally. (4 credits)

 

415 LITERARY PERIODS AND MOVEMENTS

This course category encompasses the study of literature in various literary periods and/or movements. Such courses alternate every year and include:

 

Seventeenth Century Classicism: Forerunners, Devotees and Deviants

This course studies the literature of the 17th century in France. It focuses on the literary diversity of the so-called "classical period." Without neglecting the great works and authors of Classicism, it explores also the libertine and baroque currents of the time and the final questioning of the "classics" at the dawn of the 18th century. The reading list includes authors such as Descartes, Cyrano de Bergerac, Corneille, Pascal, Molière, Racine, Perrault, etc. In a traditionally all-male French literary culture, it explores also the unique and asserting movement of the "Précieuses" as well as the birth of the French novel through the artistic creativity of women. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of the instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

Literature and Culture of the Enlightenment

This course traces the literary and philosophical works that move France from the age of Versailles to the Revolution and the Terror at the end of the eighteenth century. Topics include the relationship between the individual and society, the rise of print culture and the novel, the philosophes and the salonnières, tolerance, atheism, libertines, the epistolary novel, and the Revolution. Readings include works by Prévost, Rousseau, Laclos, Diderot, Riccoboni, Graffigny, Voltaire, and Marivaux. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

Nineteenth Century Literature

This course examines the prominent literary genres of the century, most importantly the novel, but also poetry and drama. These are studied in conjunction with the cultural and esthetic movements in which they were produced: romanticism, realism, naturalism, symbolism, and decadence. Novelists studied may include Chateaubriand, Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert, Sand, Maupassant, Zola, and Huysmans. Poets may include Musset, Vigny, Lamartine, Hugo, Desbordes-Valmore, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Mallarmé, and Rimbaud. Playwrights may include Hugo, Musset, Feydeau, and Jarry. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

Twentieth Century Literature

Representative texts and cultural movements from the twentieth century are presented with their cultural background. Topics studied include Surrealism, Existentialism, the nouveau roman, the poetry of Négritude, and the works of major authors (Marcel Proust, André Gide, Jean Anouilh, Colette, Jean-Paul Sartre, Léopold Sedar Senghor, Nathalie Sarraute, Jean Genêt, Albert Camus, among others) and contemporary male and female authors from France and French-speaking cultures (Calixthe Beyala, Leïla Sebbar, Annie Ernaux, Michel Tournier, Nancy Huston). Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of the instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

416 FRENCH INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

This category of courses includes courses offered by faculty outside the French and Francophone studies department that focus on topics relevant to French Studies. Examples include courses on Literature of Decolonization, European Immigration. It can also include courses taught by faculty in the French and Francophone Studies department on topics relevant to French studies but created primarily for other departments and programs. (4 credits)

 

488 SENIOR SEMINAR

The course is intended primarily for advanced students who have studied in a French-speaking country, and is a requirement for all majors. The themes and theoretical approaches of the seminar will vary depending on the faculty teaching the course. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Every fall. (4 credits)

 

604 TUTORIAL

Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

614 INDEPENDENT PROJECT

Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

624 INTERNSHIP

Prerequisites for internships are four courses in French among those designated for the completion of a major concentration. Study abroad is strongly recommended. The internship does not count toward the major. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

634 PRECEPTORSHIP

Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

644 HONORS INDEPENDENT

Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Every semester. (1–4 credits)

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