• FRE5755 - Old French
• FRT5555-01 - Immigration and National Identity in France
• FRW6938-01 - Jewish Experience in France
• FRW6938-02 - Postcolonialism and Francophone Literatures

FRE5755 TR 2p-315p     Dr. Lori Walters 

Old French

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. The primary objectives of this course are: 1) To acquire a reading knowledge of the language 2) To learn basic concepts concerning its structure and development. 3) To serve as an introduction to the literature of the Middle Ages 4) To serve as an introduction to the Master's Exam in the literature of the medieval period. NOTE: a student who receives a grade of B or lower in FRE 5755 is REQUIRED to write a section on the Old French language on the MA exams. Students who receive a grade of B+ or above in FRE 5755 are considered to have fulfilled the requirement.

FRT5555-01 TR 335p-450p             Professor Alec G Hargreaves 

Immigration and National Identity in France

Immigration is one of the most hotly debated issues in contemporary France. The Islamic headscarf affair, the rise of the extreme-right National Front and the reform of nationality and citizenship laws are just some of the issues which have emerged in the last twenty years. In exploring these developments, this course examines the ways in which immigration and ethnicity have been helping to reshape the contours of French society. Working within an inter-disciplinary and comparative framework, students are invited to consider how far France can be said to display a distinctive profile in the field of ethnic relations compared with other countries such as the United States and Great Britain. After a theoretical and historical introduction, the course focuses on the post-war period, and in particular on the 1980s and 1990s, when minorities originating in Third World, especially Islamic, countries, have been at the center of key debates in French politics, society and culture. Among the topics covered are minority ethnic settlement, multiculturalism, nationality and citizenship, racism, extreme-right politics and anti-discrimination policy. The course is taught in English and may be taken by students without a reading knowledge of French. The core reading list (in English) is complemented by a reading list in French which students with a reading knowledge of that language are encouraged to use

FRW6938-01 TR 1230p-145p Ruquist

Jewish Experience in France

In contemporary politics and popular culture on both sides of the Atlantic, old racisms and anxieties appear to have been rekindled, with as yet uncertain outcomes. France, long hailed as the country of universal human rights, has witnessed increased antisemitism over the last ten to fifteen years. The French Jewish community has two expressions describing France, which, translated from the Yiddish, seem to capture their contradictory experience in France: "Happy as God in France," and "France eats Jews." With the admission of Jews to citizenship in 1791 on the one hand, the Dreyfus Affair, Vichy government, and National Front upsurge on the other, France has figured as both a hospitable and treacherous homeland for these minority communities. In this course we will explore the vicissitudes of French Jewish identity in the 18th, 19th and 20th century, and explore France's unique history of democratic inclusion on the one hand and antisemitic incident on the other. Readings may include primary documents from the French revolution's debates about citizenship, theoretical readings on identity, community, race and prejudice, and novels and films about being Jewish in France, such as Georges Perec's W ou le souvenir d'enfance, Patrick Modiano's La place de l'étoile and La ronde de nuit, and the films Mina Tannenbaum, Le Dernier Métro, Au Revoir les enfants and La Vérité si je mens. A critical element of the course will be outlining the contours of anti-Jewish prejudice in France and in the West at large, from racial caricature to conspiracy theory, by examining firsthand excerpts from Celine, Drumont, Barres, and other French writers known for their antisemitism. Students will emerge from this course equipped with a more historical understanding of how racism and prejudice work, an ability to recognize centuries-old stereotypes currently active in modern life, and a clearer sense of how western democracies strive and fail and strive again to incorporate minority communities and protect their basic rights.

FRW6938-02 MW 230p-430p Moura

Postcolonialism and Francophone Literatures

Works of postcolonial criticism largely focus on texts from specific ex-colonies, particularly those from the British Empire. But postcolonialism is not only an English-language phenomenon and several recent works have developed comparison 'across empires'. This course, taught in French, will assess the applicability of predominantly Anglophone postcolonial theories to Francophone literatures. The texts studied in the program originate from various parts of the Francophone literary world to allow students a panoramic view of "la francophonie littéraire". They include works by writers such as Tahar Ben Jelloun, Aimé Césaire, Jean-Marie Le Clézio and Victor Segalen. Particular attention will be given to the postcolonial approach of Francophone texts and contexts and the comparative dimensions of postcolonial studies regarding transnational, transcontinental and transhistorical analysis of literature. The contribution that French and Francophone studies can make, and indeed have made, to postcolonial theories will also be assessed. The course is taught by Professor Jean-Marc Moura, Visiting Professor in the Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, from August 23 to October 22.