Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Basic French Language Courses (first- and second-year French):

FRE 1120 Beginning French Language and Culture I (4 credits)

Beginning study of French language and culture. For students with little or no experience in the language. Not open to native speakers or the equivalent.

FRE 1121 Beginning French Language and Culture II (4 credits)

Emphasis on speaking and aural comprehension. Practice in reading and writing. For students with little or no experience in the language. Not open to native speakers or the equivalent.

FRE 2220 Intermediate French Language and Culture I (4 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 1121 or equivalent.

Continuation of emphasis on communication skills, with special attention to grammar review. Not open to native speakers or equivalent. NOTE: For non-native speakers of French, this course counts towards the French minor.

FRE 2221 Intermediate French Language and Culture II (4 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 2220 or equivalent.

Core upper-division courses in the French major and minor:

Advanced Language and Composition

FRE 3340 Français de Perfectionnement: French for Bilinguals (4 credits)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Designed for native speakers of French whose knowledge of formal written French is lacking. Development of reading and writing skills, with special focus on the formal standard language for general and professional use.

FRE 3400 Advanced French Language and Culture I (4 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 2221 or permission of instructor.

Composition and conversation based on selected texts. Review of grammar. Not open to native speakers.

FRE 3401 Advanced French Language and Culture II (4 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 2221 or permission of instructor

Composition and conversation based on selected texts. Review of grammar. FRE 3401 may be taken before 3400. FRE 3400 is not open to native speakers (who should substitute FRE 3340).

FRE 3500 French Culture and Society (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 2221 or permission of instructor

Course provides intensive practice in spoken and written French through an examination of selected topics in contemporary French culture.

Literature and Civilization

FRW 3001 Introduction to the Study of French-Language Literature (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 3400 or permission of instructor

Introduction to a variety of approaches to understanding and analyzing French-Language literature: the major genre distinction, multiple types, analysis of prose, poetry, plays.

FRW 3100 French Civilization and Literature: Middle Ages and Renaissance (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 3400 or equivalent; or permission of instructor

Study of major literary, intellectual and cultural developments beginning in the Middle Ages and including Latin traditions,

the sermon, the verse epic, the troubadours, Arthurian cycles, Renaissance poetics, essay, and fiction. Reading and discussion

of representative texts.

FRW 3101 French Civilization and Literature: 17th and 18th Centuries (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 3400 or equivalent; or permission of instructor

Study of major literary, intellectual, and cultural developments including Neoclassicism, Jansenism, comedy, satire,

Enlightenment, and political essay. Reading and discussion of representative texts.

FRW 3122 French Civilization and Literature: 19th and 20th Centuries (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 3400 or equivalent

Study of major literary, intellectual, and cultural developments beginning in 1789 including Realism, Naturalism, Entre-Deux-

Guerres, Existentialism, and the Theater of the Absurd. Reading and discussion of representative texts.

Cultural Studies

FRW 4933 Senior Seminar (3 credits)

Prerequisites: FOL 3880 and two 3000-level LIT courses

This seminar for advanced French major focuses on French cultural history as refracted through one cultural object, such as the medieval cathedral or the Eiffel Tower. Alterations to the object itself, and variations in literary/artistic trends in representing the object, are highlighted as indicative of shifting cultural paradigms. Since subject of study will vary, course may be repeated for credit.

Linguistics

FRE 4850 Structure of Modern French (3 credits)

Prerequisite or corequisite: LIN 3010 or permission of instructor

Modern French from the point of view of descriptive linguistics. Structural analysis of the phonology, semantics, morphology, and syntax, with theoretical and practical applications.

LIN 3010 Introduction to Linguistics in French (3 credits)

The modern scientific study of pronunciation, word structure, syntax, semantics, language history, geographical and social

dialects, first and second language acquisition, and writing systems. Open to nonmajors.

Research Methods

FOL 3880 Research and Bibliographic Methods (3 credits)

Methods and materials of bibliographical research in linguistic and literary studies. Required of all undergraduate and graduate majors in the Department of Languages and Linguistics, preferably during the student’s first semester of study. Should be taken in conjunction with an upper-division departmental course requiring a research paper. Course taught in English; students can write research papers in lingua (French, German, Italian, Spanish).

Recent selection of upper-division French electives:

FRE 3440 Commercial French (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 2221 or permission of instructor

Fundamentals of commercial and administrative French usage and correspondence. Introduction to relevant aspects of French commerce.

FRE 3442 Advanced Commercial French (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 3440 or permission of instructor

A continuation of FRE 3440; advanced study of business French and preparation for the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Paris exam (non-native speakers only), leading to certificate in Commercial French.

FOT 3511 The European Union: Culture, History, Institutions (3 credits)

An elective designed for students majoring in Languages and Linguistics, complementing departmental courses in the culture and institutions of the major language groups. This course bridges the Romance and Germanic language majors, focusing on the European Union and the contemporary period.

FRE 4930 Special Topics in French Language Studies 1-(3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 3400 or equivalent; or permission of instructor.

Intensive study of aspects of the French language. Since content will vary, course may repeated for credit.

FRW 4930 Special Topics in French Literature 1-(3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRE 3400 or equivalent; or permission of instructor.

Intensive study of authors, genres or literary movements. Since content will vary, course may be repeated for credit.

FRT 3140 Literature in Translation: The French Tradition (3 credits)

Reading and discussion in English of selected works from the full range of French literature, including major and minor traditions, genres and individual authors. Course content will vary from such genres as the novel and movements as Realism, to single authors such as Proust.

FRW 4413 Women in the Medieval French Tradition (3 credits)

Prerequisites: FRW 3001 and 3100; Corequisite: FOL 3880; or permission of instructor

In-depth study of literary representations of women in the medieval French tradition from 1100 to 1400. Discussion focuses on medieval texts from widely varying textual traditions, such as the theological, courtly, lyric, and didactic. Primary texts accompanied by secondary readings contextualizing various historical, cultural, and social issues of the period.

FRW 4414 Courtly Love Tradition (3 credits)

Prerequisite: FRW 3001; corequisites: FRW 3100 and/or FOL 3880

Study of the courtly love tradition from its origin in 11th-century Occitan lyric to its later reception in verse romance. To understand the profound influence of courtly love as literary paradigm, students also study social, political, and theological factors affecting its development. Course includes reading and discussion of representative texts.

LIT 4194 Comparative Caribbean Literature (3 credits)

Corequisite: FOL 3880 or permission of instructor.

This course uses a general comparative approach to explore key themes and concepts in Caribbean literature. Students are encouraged to read texts in lingua, although English translations are also be available. The course shows continuities and differences within the heterogeneous Caribbean textual archipelago.

FRE 4957 French Language and Culture Study Abroad (1-4 credits)

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

Credit for enrollment in approved study abroad programs.

FRW 4957 French Literature Study Abroad (1-4 credits)

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

Credit for enrollment in approved study abroad programs.