French Course Descriptions: 2019/2020

**TENTATIVE COURSE OFFERINGS, SUBJECT TO CHANGE**

101 = course being offered (bold & underline)

◊ = counts toward on-campus requirement for MINOR only
♦ = counts toward on campus requirement for MAJOR and MINOR

◊ = counts toward on-campus requirement for MINOR only
♦ = counts toward on campus requirement for MAJOR and MINOR

FALL 2019

FR 101: First-Year French- Various
Introduction to French stressing the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through a communicative approach. Sequence. Conducted in French.  ↑

FR 111: Intensive Beginning French- Various
Intensive study for experienced language learners (ex: took French during High
School). Introduction to French culture. Prereq for 111: previous study of French or
competence in another Romance language.

FR 150: Cultural Legacies of France- Browning
The purpose of this course is to explore and explode cultural stereotypes while examining
some of the social and cultural phenomena we associate most strongly with France. We will
look at the way France continuously reworks the cultural legacies of Greek and Roman
antiquity as well as the legacies it has bequeathed to the rest of the world. We will focus our
reading and discussion through five main topics: language and identity; love and romance;
food and fashion; wars and revolutions; and cultural imperialism. Readings and discussions
in English.

FR 201: Second-Year French- Various
Development of reading, writing, and speaking skills; study of short literary and cultural texts; considerable attention paid to oral use of the language. Prereq for 201: first-year language competence.  ↑

FR 301: Culture and Language- Poizat-Newcomb
This course explores French society and culture in the 21st century. It investigates current social issues, cultural traits, tradition and change through a variety of documents (articles, cartoons, videos, websites and a movie). A comparative book on French and American culture is read and summarized at home, chapter by chapter, and discussed in class. Grammar topics include a review of the subjunctive mode, personal pronouns, comparative and superlative, the negation, the imperative mode, the passive voice and numbers in French. Readings, writing and discussion in French.  ↑

FR 302: Contemporary Francophone World- Djiffack
This course would explore the richness and variety of Francophone cultures in the Caribbean, North America, Africa and Southeast Asia, with a particular emphasis on North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. We would use literary, journalistic, artistic and audiovisual materials to analyze the cultural legacies of colonialism and the complexities of evolving national identities in the French-speaking world today.  ↑

FR 312: French Survey: Francophone Literature- Djiffack
This course is an introduction to major authors and texts of the French-speaking world outside of France. Conducted in French.  ↑

FR 319: Lit Survey: 19th & 20th Century- Browning
Representative literary works from the 19th and 20th centuries with attention to literary analysis and literary history.

FR 320: Intensive French Grammar Review- Williams
This course promotes linguistic competency in French through intensive review and refinement of French grammar while introducing basic vocabulary and linguistic concepts.  ↑

FR 331 French Theater- Albert Galtier
From Molière to Olivier Py, French theater has always been a reflection of French society, a stage for political statement, social controversy or a laboratory of forms of discourse, experimentation of esthetic styles and the interaction between different levels of the French language. This class will present some masterpieces of the French theater repertory including plays by Molière, Musset, Beckett and Koltès. “French Theater” has three objectives. The first is to discover and master the vocabulary and concepts linked to French theater. The second is to understand the different genres: comedy, tragic-comedy, drama, tragedy, absurd theater, musical theater, etc. The third is to explore, through different plays, readings and directors’ interpretations, the tension between French identity and its universal implications. To emphasize the current importance of ongoing creation, the class will review some aspect of the Festival d’Avignon, one of the largest world events about contemporary French theater. This class is for intermediate students and, through the study of dialogues, helps to improve communication skills in French.

FR 410/510 French for Reading Knowledge- Dickey
French for Reading Knowledge (FR 410/510) is designed to enable students with little or no background in French to read and translate modern French prose with a dictionary; the course is primarily for graduate students and motivated advanced undergraduates seeking reading knowledge of French for research purposes (it should be noted, however, that French for Reading Knowledge MAY NOT be used to satisfy the UofO undergraduate language requirement, nor does it count toward the undergraduate major or minor). The work load is structured so as to be both rigorous and flexible: rigorous, by presenting the basic structures of modern French grammar in a systematic and coherent manner; yet flexible, by making reading and translation assignments as discipline-specific as possible for each student’s needs.

FR 425: French / English Translation- Poizat-Newcomb
Think you’d like being a translator? FR 425 focuses on the acquisition of practical translation skills, from English to French and from French to English. We study registers, linguistic and cultural differences, the types of translation used for fiction literature, but also for commercials, comic books, poetry, recipes, and instruction manuals. The class is lively and relies on group work. We also practice interpretation (simultaneous oral translation) and learn the basics of translation theory. Weekly quizzes on false cognates. Readings in French and English, discussions in French.

FR 460/560: Island Stories- Moore
This course explores the uniqueness and diversity of islands as sites of phantasm, discovery, exploitation, shipwrecks, survival, revolutions, internment and more. We will confront myths and realities, utopias and dystopias, past and present of specific islands including the Reunion, Madagascar, Tahiti, Haiti, Martinique, and Mauritius. The course is organized chronologically and begins in the eighteenth century with a play by Marivaux staging an imaginary island where slaves and masters exchange roles; an exotic pastoral by Bernardin de Saint Pierre set in the Bourbon island (today’s Reunion); and Creole poet Parny’s anti-slavery prose poems sung by Madagascar islanders. We will then study an extraordinary and little-known historical event, the 1761 shipwreck of a slave ship on a tiny, forlorn island in the Indian ocean, Tromelin, and the harrowing survival for fifteen years of these “forgotten” Africans (we will compare Irene Frain’s historical novel with Savoia’s graphic novel, Les Esclaves oubliés de Tromelin). With the play Elle court, elle court, la liberté by Guadeloupean author Maryse Condé, we will examine the Haitian Revolution and its global reverberation.
In the last part of the course, we will read two contemporary francophone authors who have respectively tackled two of the most pressing issues of our times: climate change and incarceration.  Told from the dual perspective of a bird of prey and a hummingbird, Patrick Chamoiseau’s novel describes the environmental disasters devastating the fragile ecosystem of an unnamed Caribbean island (Les Neuf consciences du Malfini). Nathasha Appanah’s Le Dernier frère restores the forgotten history of Mauritius during WWII as the site of an internment camp for Jewish people.
Far from being peripheral, islands are so geographically peculiar that they have long turned into emblematic spaces that condense humanity’s experiences and experiments, as literature makes clear. This new course is an invitation to rethink our fascination for and relationship with islands to realize that there are litmus tests for how we treat nature and each other. Students will research an island of their choice for their exposé and final project.
MA period 2 and 4

WINTER 2020

FR 102: First-Year French- Various
Introduction to French stressing the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through a communicative approach. Sequence. Conducted in French.  ↑

FR 112: Intensive Beginning French- Various
Intensive study for experienced language learners (ex: took French during High
School). Introduction to French culture. Prereq for 112: successful completion of FR 111

FR 301: Culture and Language
This course explores French society and culture in the 21st century. It investigates current social issues, cultural traits, tradition and change through a variety of documents (articles, cartoons, videos, websites and a movie). A comparative book on French and American culture is read and summarized at home, chapter by chapter, and discussed in class. Grammar topics include a review of the subjunctive mode, personal pronouns, comparative and superlative, the negation, the imperative mode, the passive voice and numbers in French. Readings, writing and discussion in French.  ↑

FR 302: Contemporary Francophone World- Poizat-Newcomb
This course would explore the richness and variety of Francophone cultures in the Caribbean, North America, Africa and Southeast Asia, with a particular emphasis on North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. We would use literary, journalistic, artistic and audiovisual materials to analyze the cultural legacies of colonialism and the complexities of evolving national identities in the French-speaking world today.  ↑

FR 307: Oral Skills- Williams
In this course, students who have completed at least two years of French work on building
vocabulary, practicing verbal forms in conversational context, perfecting grammatical
structures and pronunciation, and developing complex ideas in discussion, debate, and
presentation formats. Prerequisite: two years of French (or placement into third-year
French). 2.0 credits.

FR 312: French Survey: Francophone Literature- Djiffack
This course is an introduction to major authors and texts of the French-speaking world outside of France. Conducted in French.

FR 318: French Survey: Baroque and Enlightenment- Albert-Galtier
Introduction to major themes and ideas in French literature from the 17th and 18th centuries
through the reading of representative texts.

FR 362: French Film- Browning
Course description TBA

FR 460/560: Law & Empire of the Seas- Moore
This new course that takes the sea as a realm of its own vs. a realm ruled by men. The sea has always held empire over human lives and imagination. Current debates and scenarios on rising sea levels, recurrent tsunamis, and shipwrecks in the Mediterranean remind us daily that the deep blue is mightier than humankind. Instead of focusing on human agency exerting control over the seas then and now, the course will address the extraordinary force of the seas as it has attracted and terrified sailors, merchants, poets, and writers from the beginning of times. At the moment where environmental law is seeking to establish the ocean as a legal personality, the objective of the course is to provide a humanistic background and approach to debate the relationship of the sea with humankind. As such, our readings will be inscribed within what John Gillis as termed the Blue Humanities.
The course is organized chronologically to grasp the genealogy of the empire of the seas and trace its uninterrupted power or law as expressed by French authors, travel writers, musicians, and visual artists. The course begins with the antinomy between navigation and agriculture as discussed in classical antiquity, and the creation of the sea in Genesis. In the eighteenth-century, we will discuss the colonial history of the sea by examining a best-selling encyclopedia of colonial commerce (History of Two Indies) and a famous opera ballet (Les Indes Galantes). As we read excerpts of Enlightenment travel narratives, we will ponder the fate of women as either clandestine passengers or captives. We will then trace the lure of the sea and the representation of its sublime darkness in poems by Chateaubriand, Chénier, and Victor Hugo, as well as in Hugo’s ink drawings and Géricault’s famous large painting, The Raft of the Medusa (which artists Beyoncé and Jay Z “integrated” in their latest music video shot in the Louvre). In the nineteenth-century, we will explore two representative maritime novels (by Alexandre Dumas and Jules Vernes) and a cluster of poems about the sea by Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud and Mallarmé. The course will end with a study of hugely successful graphic novels (by Hergé and Hugo Pratt) where the sea is as much a character as the seafaring heroes Captain Haddock and Corto Maltese.
Additional resources will include a session in the Knight Library rare book collection with early modern atlases; a visit to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum in search of art on or about the sea; class visit and talk by guest speaker Professor Margaret Cohen (Stanford U, author of The Novel and the Sea); attendance at a session of the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in February.
Course conducted in English. Students with French proficiency wishing to receive credits should contact the instructor.
MA Period 2 and 3

FR 480/580: Art is in the Street- Browning
Pendant mai 68 les étudiants de Beaux-Arts ont placardé Paris avec des affiches déclarant: « La beauté est dans la rue. » Avec une légère différence, ce cours s’interroge sur les rapports entre l’art et la rue du 19e au 21e siècle. Commençant avec Balzac, Baudelaire et Rimbaud, on en construit une généalogie en passant par la Commune de Paris, l’anarchie, le surréalisme et le situationnisme pour arriver aux diverses formes d’art et d’activisme aujourd’hui telles que le graffiti, le street art, les happenings et le brandalisme. Notre but est d’entrer dans les débats sur la place et le rôle de l’art et d’en comprendre leurs enjeux historiques. MA 3, 4.

SPRING 2019

FR 103: First-Year French- Various
Introduction to French stressing the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through a communicative approach. Sequence. Conducted in French.  ↑

FR 301: Culture and Language- Poizat-Newcomb
This course explores French society and culture in the 21st century. It investigates current social issues, cultural traits, tradition and change through a variety of documents (articles, cartoons, videos, websites and a movie). A comparative book on French and American culture is read and summarized at home, chapter by chapter, and discussed in class. Grammar topics include a review of the subjunctive mode, personal pronouns, comparative and superlative, the negation, the imperative mode, the passive voice and numbers in French. Readings, writing and discussion in French.  ↑

FR 302: Contemporary Francophone World- Djiffack
This course would explore the richness and variety of Francophone cultures in the Caribbean, North America, Africa and Southeast Asia, with a particular emphasis on North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. We would use literary, journalistic, artistic and audiovisual materials to analyze the cultural legacies of colonialism and the complexities of evolving national identities in the French-speaking world today.  ↑

FR 317: French Survey: Medieval and Renaissance- Poizat-Newcomb
Introduction to major themes and ideas in French literature from the medieval and
Renaissance periods through the reading of representative texts.

FR 318: French Survey: Baroque and Enlightenment- Albert-Galtier
Introduction to major themes and ideas in French literature from the 17th and 18th centuries
through the reading of representative texts.

FR 320: Intensive French Grammar Review- Williams
This course promotes linguistic competency in French through intensive review and
refinement of French grammar while introducing basic vocabulary and linguistic concepts.

FR 330: French Poetry- Moore
L’objectif du cours est d’étudier la poésie française à travers le temps dans toute sa
richesse, sa beauté et sa diversité. A travers de nombreuses analyses textuelles, nous
mettrons en lumière les aspects essentiels, formels et thématiques, de la poétique
française. Lectures, exercices, exposés et devoirs écrits vous permettront d’améliorer votre
français écrit et oral et de vous familiariser avec la tradition poétique française et ses plus
grands auteurs. Lectures, discussions et travaux écrits seront tous effectués en français.

FR 361: French Film- Browning
Course description TBA

FR 399: Français pour le monde professionnel/French for Professional Use- Williams
This class will explore concepts of cultural expectations and intercultural communication in France and other francophone countries and regions. The course is designed for students from all disciplines, with built in projects and research particular to individual student goals. Students will tailor their research around their areas of study, professional aspirations, and targeted locales.  The course will offer preparation for professional experiences in a francophone culture through the development of job search materials, the clear articulation of academic, social and professional skills in French, and the connection to alumni and other professionals. The course will cover the basics of writing culturally appropriate CVs and letters of application in French and preparing for interviews in French. Students will also practice giving professional presentations and writing professional documents.

FR 407: Title TBA- Poizat-Newcomb
Course description TBA

FR 490/590: Mongo Beti-Djiffack
Topic: « Mongo Beti : retour d’exil »
Après quarante ans d’exil quasi ininterrompu en France, Mongo Beti retourne au Cameroun, son pays natal, à la faveur de la chute du communisme. C’était en février 1991. À la suite de ce retour, l’inspiration de l’ancien exilé se fait débordante, et, durant la dernière décennie de sa vie, il publie coup sur coup La France contre l’Afrique, L’Histoire du fou, Trop de soleil tue l’amour et Branle-bas en noir et blanc. La trilogie publiée à titre posthume sous le titre de  Mongo Beti : le Rebelle I, II et III constitue une somme de pensée profonde développée par l’ancien exilé pendant sa dernière décennie de vie au Cameroun. Cette analyse percutante de drame de l’Afrique francophone contemporaine, drame exemplifié par le Cameroun, dévoile un auteur engagé sur tous les fronts : la vie syndicale et politique, l’activité économique et culturelle, les questions de droits de l’homme et de développement.

Dans le présent séminaire, nous analyserons le regard que pose Mongo Beti sur sa société d’origine après son retour d’exil. Dans ces écrits post-exil, l’écrivain rebelle propose une (re)lecture de son milieu d’origine sous les prisme de la culture française dont il est fortement imprégné. Nous étudierons le parallèle permanent que trace l’auteur entre la France et l’Afrique tant du point de vue de la société, de la politique, de la culture que sur des aspects économiques et même écologiques. C’est dire que seront examinées la problématique de la diversité humaine et la complexité des relations entre l’ancienne puissance colonisatrice et le monde postcolonial.

Livres prescrits :
Mongo Beti : La France contre l’Afrique
Mongo Beti : L’Histoire du Fou
Mongo Beti : Trop de Soleit tue l’amour
Mongo Beti : Branle-bas en noir et blanc
Mongo Beti : Mongo Beti :  le Rebelle I
Mongo Beti : Mongo Beti :  le rebelle II
Mongo Beti:  Mongo Beti: le Rebelle III