French

• Chair: John Iverson, Foreign Languages and Literatures

French

• Sarah Hurlburt
• John Iverson
• Nicole Simek (on Sabbatical, Spring 2013)
• Zahi Zalloua

Courses in French develop critical, linguistic, and cultural competence through the study of a broad range of topics in French and Francophone language, literature, and cinema. In addition to developing language proficiency through constant practice speaking, reading, writing, and listening, students in French will acquire cultural, literary, and historical knowledge of France and the Francophone world, and learn to organize and articulate a critical, literary analysis within and across specific periods and genres.

Courses in world literature, taught by French faculty in English, address special topics in French literature, history, culture, and film for both students of French and students with no knowledge of French language.

Placement in language courses: Students with previous foreign language experience in French must take a placement test in order to enroll. The test may be accessed through the website of the Registrar.

The Foreign Languages and Literatures/French major: Thirty-four credits in French language and literature at the 300 and 400 level (or equivalent.) These 34 credits must include French 315 (or equivalent.) These 34 credits may include up to 11 credits transferred from approved study abroad programs or other colleges or universities; and up to eight credits from courses approved by the French faculty that are taught in English and deal with French or Francophone material.

Senior Assessment: All French majors are required to pass written and oral examinations the second semester of their senior year based on the departmental reading list. Declared majors have access to the French major CLEo site, which contains the reading list and sample questions from previous exams.

The Foreign Languages and Literatures/French minor: A minimum of 18 credits at the 300 and 400 level, or equivalent. These 18 credits must include French 315 (or equivalent) and at least one 400-level (or equivalent) literature course taught in French. At least 12 of the 18 credits for the minor must be completed on campus at Whitman.

AP, IB, P-D-F, and independent study credits may NOT be used to fulfill major or minor credit or course requirements in French. Courses taken P-D-F prior to the declaration of the major or minor may be applied to the major or minor.

100 French I
4, x Simek

A one-semester course for students who have had little or no formal contact with the language. Students will learn vocabulary and structures to discuss such topics as food culture, friends, familial relationships, work, and leisure activities in predictable contexts and in the present tense through the study of culturally specific examples from the French and francophone world. Students learn the structures and cultural functions of grammatical gender and formal and informal registers. Conducted in French; meets four times a week plus a half-hour conversation session with the French Native Speaker. Students who have previous experience in French are required to take a placement examination for entrance (available from the Registrar’s site). Open to juniors and seniors by consent only.

150 French II
4, 4 Staff

A one-semester course for students who have already studied French at an introductory level. French II situates the student in time, emphasizing past and future narrative structures in predictable contexts through the study of culturally specific examples from the French and francophone world. Themes may include urban culture and media, health and the environment, travel and technology, and personal and national celebrations. Weekly readings and compositions, grammatical exercises, exercises in spontaneous and recorded oral production, and active participation required. Conducted in French; meets four times a week plus a half-hour conversation session with the French Native Speaker. Prerequisite: French 100 or placement exam (available from the Registrar’s site).

200 French III
4, 4 Iverson

A one-semester course for students at the mid- to high-intermediate level. French III reviews the structures of French I and II but in less predictable or unpredictable contexts and with greater emphasis on the successful articulation of multiple points of view. Students develop their written and oral skills in French through the critical discussion and analysis of culturally specific examples from the media, film, and literatures of the French and francophone world. Themes may include gender and society, visions of progress, media cultures, and political and environmental attitudes. Weekly readings and compositions, grammatical exercises, exercises in spontaneous and recorded oral production, and active participation required. Conducted in French; meets four times a week plus a half-hour conversation session with the French Native Speaker. French 200 or its equivalent is required for students wishing to study abroad in a French-speaking country. Prerequisite: French 150 or placement exam (available from the Registrar’s site).

250 French Theater Club
1, 1 Hurlburt

Students will develop oral communication skills in French through exercises in theatrical improvisation. Exercises will blend traditional theater sports and scene work from existing texts. Course meets for one hour each week, and may include up to one hour per week of homework. Course exempted from the 18-credit enrollment limitation. Activity credit limitation applies. May be repeated. Graded credit/no credit. Prerequisite: French 150 or equivalent. Distribution area: none.

305 Advanced Composition and Stylistics
4, 4 Hurlburt

Students will develop their creative expression and written argumentation skills through the study and practice of various popular and literary genres, such as portraiture, essays, and narrative fiction. Coursework focuses on developing written composition and stylistic strategies, but also requires active discussion of the readings, oral projects, and in-class oral activities (such as theatrical exercises). Conducted in French. Prerequisites: French 200, or placement exam, or consent of instructor.

306 Oral Communication and Argumentation
4, x Iverson

Students will expand and perfect their ability to function accurately and appropriately in all registers of spoken French. Coursework emphasizes debate and conversation, scripted and improvised performances, and analysis of electronic media, but also requires advanced grammar exercises and short written compositions. Attention will be given to cultural analysis of communicative strategies. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: French 200, or placement exam, or consent of instructor.

315 Introduction to French Literature
4, 4 Fall: Zalloua; Spring: Hurlburt

This course provides a critical introduction to reading French poetry, theater, prose, and film. Students acquire the tools and vocabulary necessary to read closely and analyze texts in French through the study of selected works by major French and Francophone authors. Frequent short papers, oral presentations, and active participation are required. Conducted in French. French 315 is required for both the French minor and the French major. Minimum prerequisite: French 200, or placement exam, or consent of instructor. Recommended prerequisite: French 305 or French 306.

316 Contemporary France and the Francophone World
x, 4 Iverson

An introduction to the society and culture of France and the Francophone world from the early 20th century to the present. Topics discussed include French youth, the condition of women, immigration and racism, the economy and work, Paris, the provinces and the DOM-TOM, Francophone countries, education and politics. Assignments may include readings from the French press and modern French fiction, French film screenings, and radio broadcasts. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: French 200, or placement exam, or consent of instructor. Recommended prerequisite: French 305 or French 306.

401 French Feminism
4; not offered 2012-13

This course will explore the movement of French Feminism as articulated by its leading representatives, Kristeva, Irigaray, and Cixous. Taking a genealogical approach to the investigation of “feminism,” we will situate these theorists’ writing within psychoanalytic and postcolonial traditions, and compare their interpretations of feminism with those of their Anglophone contemporaries (Butler and Spivak). Particular attention will be given to the representations of gender and sexual difference in literary works and the ways such works frame the reader’s access to the “feminine.” Writers and filmmakers studied may include Labé, Graffigny, Breton, Beauvoir, Duras, Djebar, and Truffaut.

427 Subjectivity and Otherness in Medieval and Renaissance Literature
x, 4 Zalloua

This course examines the relationship between subjectivity and otherness in French medieval and renaissance works. From the early medieval epic La Chanson de Roland to Michel de Montaigne’s late renaissance essay “Des Cannibales,” representations of the cultural and religious Other have played a crucial role in the fashioning of French identity. We will explore the ethics and politics of representations that such encounters generated. Alongside the paradigm of the cross-cultural encounter, we also will investigate the gendered construction of otherness that takes place in lyric poetry, focusing in particular on desire and misogyny in relation to the medieval idea of courtly love, or fin’amor, and its reconfiguration in renaissance Petrarchan poetry. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

429 Self and Society in Seventeenth-Century France
x, 4 Iverson

Reacting to the rapid transformation of political and social structures, 17^th-century French writers pursued a sustained inquiry into the proper role of the individual in society. Primary readings will include works by Corneille, Molière, Racine, and Lafayette. The course also will examine the legacy of the “Grand Siècle” as an element of modern French culture. Required papers, presentations, class participation, and a final project. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

430 France and New France: Eighteenth-Century Literature
4; not offered 2012-13

Exploration, commerce, and colonialism brought the French into contact with many different cultures during the 17th and 18th centuries. These encounters raised fundamental questions about human nature, societal order, and the existence of universal truths, questions that shaped the philosophy and literature of the French Enlightenment. In this course, we will first consider the broad impact of cross-cultural comparisons. The second half of the course will then focus on the specific example of the French experience in North America. Required papers, presentations, class participation, and a final project. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

431 Literary Paris, 1600-1800
4; not offered 2012-13

Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, Paris emerged as the leading European cultural capital, characterized by an extremely active literary milieu. This course will focus on the city of Paris as a literary subject and as a site of literary production. Readings will include poetry, theatrical works, novels, and political and literary essays, as well as recent theoretical studies dealing with the sociology of literature. Required papers, presentations, class participation, and a final project. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

447 Reading the Rules of the Game: Narrative in Text and Film
4; not offered 2012-13

This course will explore the nature and possibilities of traditional narrative in film, theater, and prose through close readings of texts by theatrical authors such as Marivaux and Musset, prose authors such as Balzac, Flaubert and Maupassant, and film directors such as Renoir, Chabrol, Kechiche and Rivette, as well as selected critical works on adaptation and authorship. Class will be conducted in French. Texts will be read in French, and movies will be shown in French with English subtitles. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

448 New Novel, New Wave: Revolutions in Prose, Film, and Drama
4; not offered 2012-13

This course will explore the evolution and revolution of narrative structures in France in the 1950s and 1960s. Authors and directors called into question the traditional focus on plot and characterization, launching a new era of exploration into the subjective possibilities of textual and cinematic narrative. We will study authors and directors from the movements of the “Nouveau roman” and the “Nouvelle vague,” such as Robbe-Grillet, Sarraute, Duras, Truffaut, Godard, Varda, and Resnais, as well as plays by authors such as Ionesco, Beckett, or Sarraute. Class will be conducted in French. Texts will be read in French, and movies will be shown in French with English subtitles. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

449 Modernism and the Age of Suspicion
4, x Simek

We will explore the aesthetic, philosophical, and political developments of the 20th century in France through works by writers such as Valéry, Proust, Breton, Sartre, Beckett, Camus, Sarraute, and Duras. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

450 Ethics, Politics, Aesthetics and the Afro-Caribbean Text
4; not offered 2012-13

The French language and culture were imposed on populations across the globe over the course of France’s imperial expansion. This course studies literary movements, genres, and critical approaches that emerged from this contact between cultures in West Africa and the Caribbean. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: at least two 300-level French classes or consent of instructor.

491, 492 Independent Study
1-3, 1-3 Staff

Directed readings of topics or works selected to complement, but not substitute for, the regular period offerings of the French program. The proposal for independent study must be approved by the tenure-track staff. The number of students accepted for the course will depend on the availability of the staff. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

498 Honors Thesis
4, 4 Staff

Designed to further independent research projects leading to the preparation of an undergraduate thesis or a project report. Required of and limited to senior honors candidates in French. Prerequisite: admission to honors candidacy.

The program in French also includes courses in world literature that are taught in English and may be taken for French major credit. These classes are listed in the World Literature section of the catalog.