French Courses by Semester
Summer 2023
Handling the immediate context of daily experience in spoken and written French: identifying, describing, and characterizing people, objects, places and events; giving information and instructions; issuing simple commands and requests.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: French Placement Exam score: 0-250.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Speaking and writing in French about past and future events: telling a story (narrating and describing in the past), promising, predicting and proposing simple hypotheses and conjectures.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1001 or French Placement Exam score: 251-350.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Increasing active vocabulary, reinforcing mastery of basic grammar, dealing with more complex structures (verbal phrases, subordinate clauses) and using some patterns of indirect speech (e.g., repeating or relaying messages, giving reports, summarizing).
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1002 or French Placement Exam score: 351-400.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Consolidation and further expansion of the ability to understand as well as produce a more complex level of oral and written discourse emphasizing subjective expression: issuing indirect commands and requests; giving opinions; making proposals; building arguments; defending and criticizing ideas.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1003 or French Placement Exam score: 401-500
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
This is the first course in a two-course sequence designed for students at the advanced-intermediate level. Through an introduction to French history, 2005 promotes conversational skills and helps students develop the ability to write and comprehend somewhat complex texts on a broad range of topics. An extensive grammar review is included.
Course is taught in French.
This course satisfies GPAC requirements.
Prerequisite: FREN 1004 or French Placement Exam score: 501-550
This course expands the range and complexity of oral communication skills via a variety of discussion formats as well as formal oral presentations and debates. 2006 also aims to develop the student's ability to analyze and comprehend more elaborate, expository prose and to write critically on a broad range of contemporary political, social and cultural topics. French 2006 continues the intensive grammar review begun in 2005.
Course is taught in French.
This course satisfies GPAC requirements.
Prerequisite: FREN 2005 or French Placement Exam score: 551-601
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
MTWR 12:30 - 1:30pm
Professor Sarah-Kay Hurst
Refining rhetoric in French, integrating notions from linguistics. Improving written and spoken French through new perspectives into the language itself. Register, borrowings, idiomatic expressions, and stylistic variation between French and English. Includes a significant engagement in writing as a form of critical inquiry and scholarly expression to satisfy the WID requirement.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent.
Spring 2023
Handling the immediate context of daily experience in spoken and written French: identifying, describing, and characterizing people, objects, places and events; giving information and instructions; issuing simple commands and requests.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: French Placement Exam score: 0-250.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Speaking and writing in French about past and future events: telling a story (narrating and describing in the past), promising, predicting and proposing simple hypotheses and conjectures.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1001 or French Placement Exam score: 251-350.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Increasing active vocabulary, reinforcing mastery of basic grammar, dealing with more complex structures (verbal phrases, subordinate clauses) and using some patterns of indirect speech (e.g., repeating or relaying messages, giving reports, summarizing).
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1002 or French Placement Exam score: 351-400.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Consolidation and further expansion of the ability to understand as well as produce a more complex level of oral and written discourse emphasizing subjective expression: issuing indirect commands and requests; giving opinions; making proposals; building arguments; defending and criticizing ideas.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1003 or French Placement Exam score: 401-500
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
This is the first course in a two-course sequence designed for students at the advanced-intermediate level. Through an introduction to French history, 2005 promotes conversational skills and helps students develop the ability to write and comprehend somewhat complex texts on a broad range of topics. An extensive grammar review is included.
Course is taught in French.
This course satisfies GPAC requirements.
Prerequisite: FREN 1004 or French Placement Exam score: 501-550
This course expands the range and complexity of oral communication skills via a variety of discussion formats as well as formal oral presentations and debates. 2006 also aims to develop the student's ability to analyze and comprehend more elaborate, expository prose and to write critically on a broad range of contemporary political, social and cultural topics. French 2006 continues the intensive grammar review begun in 2005.
Course is taught in French.
This course satisfies GPAC requirements.
Prerequisite: FREN 2005 or French Placement Exam score: 551-601
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
TR 12:45-2
Prof. Masha Belenky
What do we talk about when we talk about food? What can we learn about a place or a time period by looking at representations of and discourses about food? This course introduces food as a meaningful lens through which to think about culture and society. Taking France as an example, we will explore the history and development of food culture as a way to approach questions such as national identity, cultural specificity, immigration, gender, and power. In addition to learning about the history of French cuisine and gastronomy from the 19th century to today, we will also explore the powerful symbolic role of food in literature and film. More broadly, we will learn how to think and write critically and analytically about material culture (such as food) and what it can teach us about ourselves and society as a whole.
This course is taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
G-PAC Requirements: Critical Thinking; Humanities; Oral Communication.
TR 11:10-12:25
Prof. Jocelyne Brant
Refining rhetoric in French, integrating notions from linguistics. Improving written and spoken French through new perspectives into the language itself. Register, borrowings, idiomatic expressions, and stylistic variation between French and English. Includes a significant engagement in writing as a form of critical inquiry and scholarly expression to satisfy the WID requirement.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent.
TR 9:35-10:50
Prof. Kathryn Kleppinger
What has made France the country it is today? To answer this question in all its complexity, we will undertake a historical and thematic approach to understand the major events, debates, and questions that have faced French politicians, writers, and citizens over the past century. We will consult political sources (speeches, declarations, and manifestos), literature (novels and eye-witness accounts), and cultural documents (newspaper articles, songs, films) to understand the varying perspectives and arguments that have shaped French politics, culture, and identity throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. During the first half of the semester we will consider important events in French history throughout the
20th century, from the turn of the century through World War II and the wars of decolonization. Then, during the second half of the semester, we will undertake thematic studies to understand the recent impact of these events. Topics include: immigration and the colonial past, France as a nation and as part of Europe, and contemporary social identities.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent
Prof. Charlee Bezilla
MW 11:10-12:25
This course is an introduction to French literature and the gateway to the French Minor and Major. We will closely read a broad selection of texts from different genres (poetry, prose, theater) and historical periods (from the Renaissance to the 21 st century) and learn how to read and write analytically about literature in its cultural context using different techniques and methodologies of textual analysis. In addition to practicing literary and cultural analysis, our readings and discussions aim to deepen your appreciation of French literature.
This course satisfies the WID requirement.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent
Prof. Charlee Bezilla
MW 12:45-2
Dans ce cours nous étudierons des textes canoniques du 18e siècle jusqu’à nos jours, en considérant leurs contextes historiques, sociaux, et culturels. Ces œuvres partagent une interrogation sur le monde, le voyage et d’autres mondes possibles: comment envisagent-elles le monde ? Comment ces œuvres emploient-elles le topos du voyage — au sens littéral ou métaphorique, temporel ou atemporel — pour envisager un autre monde ? Qu’est-ce que le voyage rend possible (i.e. structures sociales, écouvertes intellectuelles ou philosophiques, réflexions individuelles) ? Quels types d’utopie proposent-elles, et quelles sont leurs effets sur les habitants de ces mondes alternatifs ? Les sources littéraires peuvent contribuer des perspectives nuancées à un sujet qui reste pertinent aujourd’hui. Ce cours vise à développer vos capacités en plusieurs domaines: historique, littéraire, et sociologique. Vous apprendrez à identifier des thèmes communs à la littérature française au cours des 18e, 19e, 20e et 21e siècles et aussi à lire plus profondément pour apprécier les aspects artistiques des œuvres.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent
Prof. Kathryn Kleppinger
TR 12:45-2
What actions constitute a crime, and who decides? And how can we make sense of the popular genre of crime writing (fiction and non-fiction alike)? From the obsession with poverty in the 19th century to political corruption in the 20th, we will take a historical approach to understanding how crime novels and films have exposed some of French society’s deepest, darkest secrets. At the end of the semester, we will have analyzed the social and political stakes of a wide range of French crime writing (novels and films) from the 19 th -21 st centuries. Students will develop close reading skills, practice clear oral communication in French, and master coherent written analyses of the material under study.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent
Prof. Charlee Bezilla
MW 3:45-5
What did it mean to be human in Enlightenment-era and Revolutionary France? In this course, we will explore how those living in the eighteenth century debated answers to this question in the domains of literature, philosophy, politics, art, and natural history. During this time of rapidly expanding global exploration, colonization, commerce, and conflict, Europeans encountered diverse cultures, animals, historical objects, and scientific discoveries that prompted them to call into question what exactly it meant to be human. By studying contested theories about the soul, language, reproduction, climate, and the transformation of species through a range of texts, documents, and visual objects, we will seek to understand how the category of the human was constructed throughout the eighteenth century in France, and how it determined who was included—or not—in the new nation born of the Revolution.
*This course satisfies the minor requirement for a course in literature and culture before 1800*
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent
Prof. Masha Belenky
W 1:10-1
Fall 2023
Handling the immediate context of daily experience in spoken and written French: identifying, describing, and characterizing people, objects, places and events; giving information and instructions; issuing simple commands and requests.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: French Placement Exam score: 0-250.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Speaking and writing in French about past and future events: telling a story (narrating and describing in the past), promising, predicting and proposing simple hypotheses and conjectures.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1001 or French Placement Exam score: 251-350.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Increasing active vocabulary, reinforcing mastery of basic grammar, dealing with more complex structures (verbal phrases, subordinate clauses) and using some patterns of indirect speech (e.g., repeating or relaying messages, giving reports, summarizing).
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1002 or French Placement Exam score: 351-400.
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
Consolidation and further expansion of the ability to understand as well as produce a more complex level of oral and written discourse emphasizing subjective expression: issuing indirect commands and requests; giving opinions; making proposals; building arguments; defending and criticizing ideas.
Course is taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 1003 or French Placement Exam score: 401-500
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
This is the first course in a two-course sequence designed for students at the advanced-intermediate level. Through an introduction to French history, 2005 promotes conversational skills and helps students develop the ability to write and comprehend somewhat complex texts on a broad range of topics. An extensive grammar review is included.
Course is taught in French.
This course satisfies GPAC requirements.
Prerequisite: FREN 1004 or French Placement Exam score: 501-550
This course expands the range and complexity of oral communication skills via a variety of discussion formats as well as formal oral presentations and debates. 2006 also aims to develop the student's ability to analyze and comprehend more elaborate, expository prose and to write critically on a broad range of contemporary political, social and cultural topics. French 2006 continues the intensive grammar review begun in 2005.
Course is taught in French.
This course satisfies GPAC requirements.
Prerequisite: FREN 2005 or French Placement Exam score: 551-601
This course may not be audited or taken pass/fail.
MW 2:20-3:35
Prof. Sarah-Kay Hurst
How did English words like ‘le week-end’ end up in French? Why do words like ‘forêt’ and ‘fête’ have an accent? Why do we ‘pay attention’ in English but ‘faire attention’ in French? Why do the words ‘vingt’ and ‘doigt’ have an unpronounced “g” in them? In this course, you will refine your French by integrating notions from linguistics, improving your written and spoken French through new perspectives into the language itself. You will have myriad opportunities to strengthen your writing skills for different personal and professional contexts, and we will explore notions such as figures of speech, borrowings, idiomatic expressions, and stylistic variation between French and English.
This course satisfies the WID requirement.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent.
MW 11:10-12:25
Prof. Masha Belenky
What can we learn from stories? In this course (a gateway to the French Minor and Major) we will study literature and film as a privileged window into French culture, history, and society. We will explore a diverse range of works from different genres (poetry, prose, theater, film) and historical periods (from the Renaissance to the 21st century) and discover the connections between aesthetic forms and ideologies. You will also have a chance to hone your critical reading and analytical writing skills, and practice your written and spoken French.
This course satisfies the WID requirement.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent.
TR 11:10-12:25
Prof. Kathryn Kleppinger
How can art help us make sense of the world in which we live? What ideas can artists express in their writing (or filmmaking), and how do they do so? And how can we study works with an awareness of both the artistic and social questions contained in them? By addressing these fundamental questions about the nature of reading, writing, and artistic expression, this course serves as an introduction to French literature and to the French Minor and Major. By the end of the semester we will have discussed a broad selection of texts from different genres (poetry, prose, song lyrics, and cinema) and historical periods (from the Renaissance to the 21st century), and mastered how to read and to write analytically about cultural production using different techniques and methodologies of textual analysis. You will also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the various forms of engagement French authors and filmmakers have employed in their quest to understand and synthesize human life in moments of crisis.
This course satisfies the WID requirement.
Prerequisite: FREN 2006 or equivalent.
MW 11:10-12:25
Prof. Charlee Bezilla
From the Middle-Ages to the seventeenth century, France underwent profound changes, including the development of several genres and literary movements that are foundational to the modern French literary tradition. The epic, the fable, the narrative genre, the essay, poetry, comedy, and tragedy are the various genres of premodern France that we will study. Through reading a variety of texts and studying other cultural objects from these periods, we will ask: What was France at the time? How did people think of themselves and of other cultures? How to build a nation, and how to live together, were key questions for medieval and early modern writers. The concepts developed in medieval and early modern texts led to a version of France that made possible both the chateau de Versailles and the Code Noir, which defined the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. Throughout the course, we will discuss themes that were important to premodern French authors and cultures, not least of them medievalism, Renaissance, and classicism, as well as gender, race, and religion. What makes these texts classics, and what do they still have to say for our time?
Prerequisite: FREN 3100W or equivalent.
This course satisfies the medieval/early modern requirement for the minor.
MW 12:45-2:00
Prof. Charlee Bezilla
From the Renaissance to today, writers in the French language tradition have wrestled with determining how to write about the self. In this course, we will study examples of autobiographical and autofictional texts written in French from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century, by authors from France as well as French-speaking regions outside of Europe. How do these authors convey the slippery and ever-changing notion of the self and subjective experience? How do they trouble the boundaries between fiction and reality? How do they take up and transform the conventions of different literary genres to write about their own lives (or fictionalized versions of their lives), and to what ends? In addition to studying and researching examples of these genres, this course will also include a creative writing component, in which we will produce our own autobiographical or autofictional texts informed by the models we study throughout the semester.
Prerequisite: FREN 3100W or equivalent.
MW 2:20-3:35
Prof. Masha Belenky
Fake news, viral videos and memes and partisan media are in many ways defining features of our contemporary moment. But many of today’s phenomena are rooted in nineteenth-century France, a time that saw the rise of modern press, a press that wielded an extraordinary power to make or break political fortunes and set cultural trends. From the launch of Emile de Girardin’s groundbreaking newspaper La Presse in 1836 to Emile Zola’s pivotal article “J’Accuse” in L’Aurore in 1898 during the Dreyfus Affair, the press played a key role in shaping society and culture in nineteenth-century France. This course will examine the role of the press both in nineteenth-century cultural imagination and in the “real world.” Topics include: the birth of modern press; political satire and censorship; the role of women journalists in shaping culture; the Dreyfus affair; feminist vs feminine press at the Fin-de-siècle; and the complex interplay between the press and the novel against the background of the tumultuous political events in nineteenth-century France. Over the course of the semester, we will read two novels -- Balzac’s Illusions Perdues (1839) and Maupassant’s Bel-Ami (1885), as well as numerous newspapers. In addition, we will study works by contemporary literary scholars and historians to help us understand 19th-century material. Studying this material will provide a unique lens on 19th-century France as well as our own cultural moment.
Prerequisite: FREN 3100W or equivalent.
12:45-2:00
Prof. Kathryn Kleppinger
What does it take to be French? This question has galvanized French literature, philosophy, and political science for centuries. From the 17th-century Code Noir to recent debates on laïcité, these matters have also played out in French legal contexts. Weighing heavily on all discussions is France’s unique Republican model, which claims to be universalist in its scope and values, and how such visions of identity intersect with France’s colonial past and present. Over the course of the semester we will analyze the social and political stakes of a wide range of French literature, films, and documents that grapple with fundamental questions regarding Frenchness and national identity, all with an eye toward greater inclusivity and bringing out the best in what it means to be French. Students will develop close reading skills, practice clear oral communication in French, and master coherent written analyses of the material under study.
Prerequisite: FREN 3100W or equivalent
