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Department of Modern Languages & Linguistics | Florida State University |
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French | Faculty | Courses | Graduate | Undergraduate | Scholarships | Institute | Events | |
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This course introduces major critical theories and their relationship
to the reading of world literatures. The seminar format will enable students
to discuss these theories collectively in class discussion, as well as
individually in an independent project. A general background in theory
and critical thought is an essential component of any graduate student's
preparation for a career in the fields of language and literature today.
Exposure to various methods of analysis not only makes for a more critical
reader but also facilitates the writing of papers, articles, theses, and
dissertations. Readings will introduce you to some of the major twentieth-century
critical theories including Formalism, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism,
Reception and Reader-Response Theories, Deconstruction, theories of Gender,
Cultural studies and New Historicism, and Postcolonial and Postmodern theories.
Available to advanced undergraduates.
The Romance languages (Catalan, French, Italian, Occitan, Portuguese,
Rhaeto-Romance, Romanian, Sardinian, Sicilian & Spanish) make up one
of the most widely spoken language families in the world. But, how
did they come to exist as we know them today? What linguistic developments
fostered the change from Latin to these “new” languages? Can we still
see their common history in the present forms of all members of the Romance
family?
Designed to present structures of the French language and vocabulary to prepare graduate students majoring in other disciplines to read learned journals, books, and monographs written in French useful for the student's research in humanities, natural or social sciences. Available to advanced undergraduates.
This course spans the two world wars. It concentrates on the institutions of the Fifth Republic, the evolution of ideas since May 1968, the development of sciences and technology and the artistic movements since the end of World War II. It also emphasizes the role of France in the European community. Prerequisite FRE 3420
During the first half of the semester, we study the language from a diachronic point of view, i.e., how the language evolves and develops over time. For this part of the course, we will refer to the fourteen chapters of Peter Machonis's book, Histoire de la langue: du latin à l'ancien français. During the second half of the semester, we study the language from a synchronic point of view; i.e., we concentrate on the language at a particular moment of its history, the period of Old French (end 9th century-end 13th century). This is covered in the first 15 chapters of Kibler's book An Introduction to Old French, which also contain translation exercises based upon a lai (a short narrative work) by the twelfth-century writer, Marie de France. Please note: This course will be continued in the Spring 2003 semester as FRW
5756 (Readings in Old French Literature) : Romance and the Book: Gender,
Poetry, and Politics in a Mid-Thirteenth-Century Manuscript Collection,
which students are advised to take in succession. Our own present-day digital
revolution clearly shows that the means of transmission of knowledge has
an enormous effect on the mentality of a culture. The transmission
of the written word, whether in hand-written manuscripts or in the printed
book, had a similar effect on the mentality of earlier ages. "Romance
and the Book" is a seminar directed at students interested in the question
of the transmission of literature in manuscript form in the Middle Ages.
The object of our study will be Chantilly MS 472, a collection of eleven
texts copied and assembled in Flanders around 1270. The manuscript
is currently housed in the library of the beautiful château de Chantilly,
located outside of Paris. Guest lectures will enlarge the scope of
our inquiry. Professor David Johnson of the FSU English Department
will discuss the new image of the French knight Gauvain when he reappears
recast as Walewein in a Middle Dutch collection of texts very similar to
Chantilly MS 472. The two languages of the course will be French
and English. The eleven texts in the manuscript on which we will
concentrate our attention will be available, whenever possible, in Old
French, modern French translation and English translation. Students
and professor will jointly determine whether each student will complete
the class exercises in French or in English. Qualified and well-motivated
undergraduates are welcome to participate in the seminar.
If theater was the most important art form in 17th century France. It
is arguably because the notion of theater was a metaphor for society at
large. So much of 17th century life was predicated on show, on displaying
oneself to the best possible advantage, on wearing the social mask appropriate
to the occasion, and positioning oneself to be the main character in a
drama of one’s own creation. An obvious example of the way this self-conscious
social theatricality displays itself in 17th century drama is the frequent
use of the “play within a play,” wherein characters deliberately turn to
dramatic techniques to resolve dilemmas. The fascination with theater is
also apparent in the carefully “staged” paintings of artists like Poussin,
as well as in architecture. Long before Mickey and Donald got around to
it, French intellectuals had created the first theme park at Versailles.
The role of theater, both on the stage and in relation to society at large,
will be the primary focus of this course.
The readings for this course will be as follows: Montesquieu. Lettres persanes
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, Soraya
Nini and Malik Chibane.
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