FRE1120 - Elementary French I – Multiple Sessions

Oral comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing are stressed. May not be taken by native speakers. May not be taken concurrently with FRE 1121 and/or 2200.

FRE1121 Elementary French I – Multiple Sessions

Oral comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing are stressed. May not be taken by native speakers. May not be taken concurrently with FRE 1121 and/or 2200.

FRE2211 - Intermediate French – Multiple Sessions

Prerequisite: FRE 1121 or equivalent. Completes language requirement for baccalaureate degree. May not be taken by native speakers. Rapid review of basic French structures and introduction of some of the finer points of French grammar. May not be taken concurrently with FRE 1120 and/or 1121.

FRE2220 - Reading and Conversation – Multiple Sessions

Prerequisite: FRE2200 or equivalent. May not be taken by native speakers. Expansion of French reading skills while introducing the student to oral expression through a discussion of the readings. May not be taken concurrently with FRE 1120 and/or 1121.

FRE3420 - French Grammar and Composition I – Multiple Sessions

Prerequisite: FRE 2200 or its equivalent. An in-depth study of French grammar emphasizing some subtleties of written expression.

FRE3421 - French Grammar and Composition II

Prerequisite FRE 3420 or its equivalent. Further study of the subtleties of written expression in the French language.

FOW3240-01 - Literature and Sexuality – Prof. R. Leushuis

In this course we will study the ways in which modern Western fiction stages the relationship between sexuality and society. We will focus in particular on the notion of sexual identity and the way in which literary works represent the effects of the individual's sexual identity on his or her functioning within society. This will involve themes such as sexuality as oppression; sexual exclusion and victimization; sexuality, gender and sexual difference in Judeo-Christian religions; the political implications of sexual identity; social categorizations of sexuality as either homosexual or heterosexual, etc. We will not attempt to analyze these thematics from a historical or sociological point of view, but we will study the way in which literary works, in particular the modern novel, interpret, stage, question, and criticize them. At the same time, in doing so we will make use of a contemporary theoretical context of European and American critical writings, most notably those of the French thinker Michel Foucault. Preliminary reading list:

• Plato, "Symposium"
• Theodor Fontane, "Effi Briest"
• Thomas Mann, "Death in Venice"
• Virginia Woolf, "Orlando"
• Marguerite Duras, "The Ravishing of Lol Stein"
• Milan Kundera, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
• Manuel Puig, "The Kiss of the Spider Woman"
• Georges Bataille, "Mme Edwarda", "The Dead Man"

Students who want to let this course count toward Major or Minor credit in French by doing the written work in French should first obtain permission from the instructor.

FRE 4930-02 – Post-Colonial Cultures in France – Prof. A.G. Hargreaves

International migration from former colonies has brought a new cultural vibrancy to France. This course focuses on the hybrid cultural practices being forged in France by new generations of writers, film-makers and musicians mixing elements from African, Caribbean, French, American and other sources. Particular attention is given to artists emerging from among France’s largest post-colonial minority, whose origins lie in the Maghreb, i.e. the North African states of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The course is taught in French, their main language of expression. It explores their participation in a variety of cultural spaces and seeks to identify the extent to which these new voices are being marginalized or incorporated into the mainstream of French culture. Among the works studied are novels, autobiographies and films by writers and directors such as Azouz Begag, Mehdi Charef, Faïza Guène and Malik Chibane. The course is taught in French.

FRE 4930-03: Modern and Contemporary French Theatre: Autour de l’Absurde – Prof. J. Tarpley

In the middle of the twentieth century in France, theatrical creation underwent a substantial shift. Historical events and philosophical tendencies of the period are reflected in French theatre by a growing insistence on the absurdity of the human condition. Not simply challenging the centuries-old traditional rules of French theatre, plays from the post-war era subjected audiences to entirely new forms of spectacle. In this class we will explore the precursors, the proponents, and the detractors of the “théâtre de l’absurde” in the social, historical, and intellectual context. In addition to plays by Jarry, Ionesco, Genet, Beckett, and others we will examine some of the key philosophical texts that strongly influenced these creations. This class will be conducted entirely in French, and the format will require active participation by each member of our “troupe.”

FRT 3561 French Women Writers – Prof. A. Boutin

This course will address issues of race, gender and class in a selection of works originally written in French by women writers of different historical periods and geographical areas (metropolitan France, French colonies, and territories like the Caribbean). All works will be read in translation. This course satisfies the multicultural requirement (category y), the Liberal Studies credit in humanities and the Gordon rule. The course counts toward the Minor in French and in some circumstances (notaby if you write all your assignments in French), the course also counts toward the Major. Please ask the course instructor for further information.

Students in this course will be made aware of women writers' place in the historically masculine institution of literature and will be able to identify the strategies (recurrent plots, motifs and narrative techniques) women writers adopt to express their difference.