French Studies

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French Graduate Courses

Modern and Classical Languages
Reinhard Andress, Ph.D,
Department Chairperson

Master of Arts in French
Cassandra Hamrick, Ph.D.,
Graduate Program Director

Graduate Courses

FR A-500 Teaching College French (0):
Practice centered teaching training for college level French courses. Discussion and application of course development, of current approaches to teaching, and of evaluation techniques. Systematic incorporation of technology in the learning process. (Offered every semester)

FR A-503 Advanced Oral Proficiency (3):
This course aims at upgrading oral proficiency in spoken French to a level at which advanced/superior level functions (on the ACTFL scale) can be handled successfully and with a high level of accuracy. Use of multi-media equipment serves to develop comprehension and the ability to communicate in extended discourse. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-504 Methods and Technology for Teaching French (3):
A practical approach to teaching methods and technologies, focusing on how different strategies can serve to increase students. skills in French. Principles of language acquisition, a history of foreign language methodologies, current approaches to language learning and evaluation of language performance with respect to the .Proficiency. movement are some of the topics studied. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-506 Studies in Contemporary French Culture (3):
An update on France and France.s place in the greater European Community as seen from a diversity of perspectives. This course will examine current trends in society, politics, economy, education, cultural values, and their impact on the way of life in France today. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-507 Studies in Francophone Culture (3):
An analysis of the culture, history, and cultural content of selected literary texts of a French-speaking country (such as Canada) or a group or French-speaking countries (such as Francophone West Africa). The "politics" of writing and identity are discussed. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-510 Critical Writing, Oral Expression, and Research (3):
Taking as a point of departure a specific theme in French literature or culture, this course aims at expanding expository and critical expression in French. Students will strengthen their ability to analyze texts and will develop strategies for carrying out research in French and Francophone studies. (Offered every Fall semester)

FR A-533 French "Moralists" (3):
This course attempts to define the "moralist" and analyze the work of representative writers from the Renaissance through the 17th century in light of this definition. An introductory overview of thought and attitudes marking the Middle Ages is followed by the study of texts by Montaigne, Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, La Bruyère and Madame de Lafayette. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-534 The Age of Enlightenment (3):
A study of the 18th century French .philosophes. and their notion of society and the ideal citizen, followed by a look at the darker side of the Enlightenment, and in particular the "anti-societies" envisioned by Sade. Included is an examination of the role of Enlightenment ideology in the French Revolution. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-535 Studies in 19th Century French Novel (3):
This course examines the emergence of the novel as a genre in France. Both literary techniques as well as the socio-cultural factors present at the time of the work.s creation will be considered. To be studied are selected works by Chateaubriand, Hugo, Balzac, Sand, Stendhal, Flaubert, and Zola. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-539 Studies in 20th Century French Prose (3):
An examination of the new directions taken by French fiction in light of the development of the notions of the modernism and post-modernism. Representative texts ranging from the narrative innovations of Proust through the Existential writing of Camus and Sartre, to the rise of the .Nouveau Roman. of Duras and Robbe-Grillet, to recent contributions by Perec and Quignard. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-542 Studies in 19th Century French Poetry (3):
A study of poetic expression in France during the .Romantic. period and its aftermath. Representative works are examined from the point of view of theme and poetic technique, but also from the perspective of the greater artistic and historical context of the time. Examples from Lamartine, Hugo, Vigny, Musset, Gautier, Baudelaire. (Offered occasionally)

FR -A 551 Studies in 17th Century French Theater (3):
Following an introductory overview of Medieval and Renaissance theater, this course focuses on the 17th century and its three .greats. of French drama . Corneille, Racine, and Molière. Play analysis and discussion will take into consideration literary trends of the period (préciosité realism, and classicism), as well as modern literary criticism. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-554 Studies in 20th Century French Theater (3):
A study of the major trends in 20th century French theater, from the influence of the Surrealist movement and Existentialism to the Theater of the Absurd of the Post-War period and its Kafkaian undertones. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-560 Contemporary Women Writers in France and Quebec (3):
This course focuses on the contributions of women writers in the 20th-century Francophone fiction in two countries where Feminism has made its mark on intellectual thought: France and Quebec. Selections from the pioneer works of Simone de Beauvoir to the literary experiments of the "80s"(Offered occasionally)

FR A-561 French Cinema (3):
A history of French cinema by themes and authors. Examined are the major current directions, including the influence of Surrealism and the Post-Modern, problems in realism and cinematographic genres, the relation of cinema to French politics. Films are shown and discussed. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-563 Studies in Francophone Literature (3):
An overview of Francophone literature of Africa and the Caribbean, focusing on imperialism, de-colonization, and "negritude" as seen in the works of Césaire, Senghor, Ba, Schwartz-Bart. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-566 Nation, Identity, and Culture (3):
This course promotes an understanding of the dynamics at play in contemporary French culture by examining how the State has shaped society from the Revolution of 1789 to now. Through various texts and films, students explore hte shifting notions of Nation, Identity, and Culture during this period. (Offered Occasionally)

FR A-567 Postcolonialism and Violence (3):
After examing socio-political conditions that produced violence in individual francophone cultures and countries, we will analyze ways in which texts (novels, plays, life narratives and testimonies) and films arouse horror, discomfort, denial, or connection in readers and spectators. (Offers Occasionally)

FR A-570 Love and Honor in Early Modern France (3):
Course will explore the evolution of the concept of honor, as well as the depiction and expression of romantic love in French literature throughout the Early Modern period. Literary representation of the heroic figure, particularly as he or she relates to the identity and nation building, will be analyzed. Examination of the voice of the lover and depiction of the beloved, considering the relationship in terms of gender and power. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-585 Seminar on Molière (3):
This seminar endeavors through a thorough analysis of Molière's plays, to recapture the time, the life and the literary theories of one of the world's best playwrights. Video cassettes make it possible to first view the plays, then analyze them in light of Aristotelian and modern criticism. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-586 The World of Baudelaire (3):
The study of Baudelaire: poet, art critic, man of his time, as a pivotal figure in the transition from Romanticism to the modern era in France. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-587 Exoticism in French Literature (3):
A cultural critique of French novels from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth centuries, including works by Montesquieu, Mme de Duras, Chateaubriand, Balzac, Loti, Levi-Strauss. Discussion of the evolution of the exoticism as a genre and representations of the exotic in other cultures. (Offered occasionally)

FR A-593 Special Topics in French (1-3)
FR A-595 Special Study for Examination (0)
FR A-598 Graduate Reading Course (1-3)
FR A-590 Master.s Degree Study (0)

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