French and Francophone StudiesFrench 110
Elementary French I
Staff
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French 110 is the first semester of the elementary level sequence designed to develop functional proficiency in the four skills and gain familiarity with French and Francophone culture. The primary emphasis is on the development of the oral-aural skills, speaking and listening. Readings on topics in French culture as well as frequent writing practice are also included in the course.
As in other French courses, class will be conducted entirely in French. You will be guided through a variety of communicative activities in class which will expose you to a rich input of spoken French and lead you from structured practice to free expression. You will be given frequent opportunity to practice your newly acquired vocabulary and grammatical structures in small group and pair work which simulate real-life situations. The course will introduce you to French and Francophone culture through authentic materials including written documents, simple articles, songs, films, videos, and taped conversations between native speakers. Out-of-class homework will require practice with CDs as well as regular writing practice. The course will also invite you to explore the Francophone world on the Internet.
French 120
Elementary French II
Staff
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French 120 is the second semester continuation of the elementary level sequence designed to develop functional proficiency in the four skills and gain familiarity with French and Francophone culture. The primary emphasis is on the development of the oral-aural skills, speaking and listening. Readings on topics in French culture as well as frequent writing practice are also included in the course.
As in other French courses, class will be conducted entirely in French. You will be guided through a variety of communicative activities in class which will expose you to rich input of spoken French and lead you from structured practice to free expression. You will be given frequent opportunity to practice your newly acquired vocabulary and grammatical structures in small group and pair work which simulate real-life situations. The course will introduce you to French and Francophone culture through authentic materials including written documents, simple articles, songs, films, videos, and taped conversations between native speakers. Out-of-class homework will require practice with CDs as well as regular writing practice. The course will also invite you to explore the Francophone world on the Internet.
French 130
Intermediate French I
Staff
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French 130 is the first half of a two-semester intermediate sequence designed to help you attain a level of proficiency that should allow you to function comfortably in a French-speaking environment. You are expected to have already learned the most basic grammatical structures in elementary French and you will review these on your own in the course workbook. This course will build on your existing skills in French, increase your confidence and ability to read, write, speak, and understand French, and introduce you to more refined lexical items, more complex grammatical structures, and more challenging cultural material.
As in other French courses at Penn, class will be conducted entirely in French. In addition to structured oral practice, work in class will include frequent communicative activities such as role-plays, problem-solving tasks, discussions, and debates, often carried out in pairs or small groups. Through the study of authentic materials such as articles, poems, songs, films, videos, you will deepen your knowledge of the French-speaking world. Daily homework will require listening practice with audio and video material, in addition to regular written exercises in the workbook and frequent composition practice.
Students having completed French 120, or with an SATII score of 450 - 540 or a placement score between 30 and 35 should enroll in this course.
French 134
Intermediate French: Accelerated
Staff
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French 140
Intermediate French II
Staff
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French 140 is the second half of a two-semester intermediate sequence designed to help you attain a level of proficiency that should allow you to function comfortably in a French-speaking environment. You are expected to have already learned the most basic grammatical structures in elementary French and will review these on your own in the course workbook. This course will build on your existing skills in French, increase your confidence and ability to read, write, speak, and understand French, and introduce you to more refined lexical items, more complex grammatical structures, and more challenging cultural material.
This course focuses on the culture of French-speaking countries beyond the borders of France. Along with your classmates, you will explore the cities of Dakar, Fort-de-France and Marrakesh, investigating the diversity of the francophone world through film, literature and music. As in other French courses at Penn, class is conducted entirely in French. In addition to structured oral practice, work in class will include frequent communicative activities such as problem-solving tasks, discussions, and debates, often carried out in pairs or small groups. Daily homework will require researching in the library and on the Internet, listening practice with video-clips, in addition to regular written exercises in the workbook.
French 180
Advanced French in Residence
Staff
Open only to residents in La Maison Francaise
French 202
Advanced French
Staff
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French 202 is a one-semester third-year level French course. It is designed to prepare students for subsequent study in upper level courses in French and francophone literature, linguistics, civilization, cinema, etc. It is required for students who have completed 140 and recommended for those with an equivalent level, wishing to continue in more advanced French courses or preparing for study abroad. Exceptions can be made with permission of undergraduate chair.
It is also the appropriate course for those students who have time for only one more French course and wish to solidify their knowledge of the language by continuing to work on all four skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing. Students’ work will be evaluated both in terms of progress in language skills and of ability to handle and engage in the content areas.
This course does not include a systematic review of French grammar (that is done in French 212). Nevertheless, through the diverse writing assessments (e.g. creative writing; essays), the various textual and visual references (e.g. novels; articles; films; clips), the communicative approach, the students will play an active role in their learning process and consequently will be led to consolidate and deepen their grammatical competence.
The class studies two thematic units dealing with a wide variety of magazine articles, literary texts, historical documents, movies, songs, etc. In the first dossier, students get a chance to expand their knowledge of French history, with one major focus on World War II and the German occupation of France. In the second dossier, students study contemporary France focusing on issues such as the modern family, education, pop culture. While touching upon issues of identity in France, the class engages the students into an intercultural dialogue which enables them to be more aware of the differences and similarities between the two countries.
French 211
French for Professions I
Prof. Ciesco
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Prerequisite: FREN 202 highly recommended. No business background necessary.
This content-based language course, taught in French, introduces economic, business, and professional terminology through the study of the following topics: financial institutions (banking, stock market and insurance); business practices (business letters and resumes); trade and advertising; the internal structure and legal forms of French companies.
The course also emphasizes verbal communication through three components:
- In-class activities such as problem-solving tasks, discussions and debates.
- The study of authentic materials such as newspapers and magazines’ articles, video clips, and radio shows.
- A series of students’ presentations.
Finally, in order to use and practice the new economic and business terminology studied in this course, and to also further explore the structure, the management, and the operations of the French companies, students will work in pairs on a research project about a major French company of their choice.
One of the other goals of this course is to also prepare the students to take one of the exams offered by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry: the Diplôme de Français Professionnel, Affaires, C1. This exam will be held on campus in April.
French 212
Advanced French Grammar & Composition
Staff
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Intensive review of grammar integrated into writing practice. A good knowledge of basic French grammar is a prerequisite (French 202 or equivalent is recommended). Conducted entirely in French, the course will study selected grammatical difficulties of the French verbal and nominal systems including colloquial usage. Frequent oral and written assignments with opportunity for rewrites.
Articles from French newspapers and magazines, literary excerpts, and a novel or short stories will be used as supplementary materials in order to prepare students to take content courses in French in disciplines other than French.
French 214
Advanced Composition & Conversation
Prof. Philippon-Daniel
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The intent of this course is to improve your writing and speaking skills by increasing your range of vocabulary, offering extensive practice in a variety of styles and forms, and helping you to better understand contemporary French thought, culture and modes of expression. One way to improve writing is the systematic study, analysis and emulation of model texts, one component of this course. To improve speaking skills, we will discuss current events as they are covered in the French media (television, print and Internet), paying particular attention to French social issues (“questions de société”). We will also address broad thematic questions about human nature, touching on topics like art and identity, analyze one film and study a few contemporary songs. These textual and media materials will provide the basis for conversation and debates in class. Additional work includes assigned research and individual oral presentations.
The goal of the course is to help you to attain the Advanced level of proficiency in speaking and writing (by ACTFL standards). The specific language functions we will work on are narration, description, offering and soliciting advice and opinions, expressing feelings, critique and analysis, argumentation.
French 217
French Phonetics
Prof. Moisset
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French 222
Perspectives in French Literature
Staff
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This basic course in literature acquaints students with major French literary trends through the study of representative works from each period. Students learn to situate and analyze literary texts. They are expected to take an active part in class discussion in French. French 222 has as its theme the Individual and Society.
French 227
Modern France: 1789-1945
Staff
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French cultural and social history from the Revolution of 1789 to the liberation of Paris in 1944. Readings in primary and secondary sources. Movies include Danton, Les Fragments d'Antonin, L'Armee des Ombres.
Required for majors, also of particular interest to majors in History, International Relations. The course is taught is French.
French 250
Marriage and the Novel
Prof. DeJean
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Historians have argued that early novels helped shape public opinion on many controversial issues. And no subject was more often featured in novels than marriage. In the course of the 18 th and the 19 th centuries, at a time when marriage as an institution was being radically redefined, almost all the best known novels explored happy as well as unhappy unions, individuals who decided not to marry as well as those whose lives were destroyed by the institution. They showcased marriage in other words in ways certain to provoke debate. We will both survey the development of the modern novel from the late 17 th to the early 20 th century and study the treatment of marriage in some of the greatest novels of all time.
We will begin with novels from the French and English traditions, the national literatures in which the genre first took shape, in particular Laclos’ Dangerous Liaisons, Austen’s Persuasion, Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. We will then turn to works from other European traditions such as Goethe’s Elective Affinities, Manzoni’s The Betrothed, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.
We will begin the course by discussing the novel often referred to as the first modern novel, The Princess de Clèves, an ideal beginning for this course, since it was written by a woman writer, Lafayette – more than any other genre, the modern novel was the creation of women writers. The Princess de Clèves was also the first novel centered on an exploration of questions central to the debate about marriage for over two centuries – everything from the question of whether one should marry for love or for social position to the question of adultery.
All readings, writing, and discussion will be in English.
French 313
French for the Professions II
Prof. Ciesco
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The course, conducted entirely in French, emphasizes verbal communication in business professional situations through three components. First, a series of student’s presentations, in-class activities (using newspapers’ articles, technical readings, radio shows and films), and debates on the following topics (list not exhaustive) related to France’s economy and society:
The role of the State in France’s economy
The French fiscal system
Labor (impact of the 35-hour workweek, “congés”, women in the workplace, etc…)
Regions of France (production)
Major French industries / companies / brands
France’s major imports / exports
“Green business”
Business of pop culture
Second, as effective communication is based not only on linguistic proficiency but also on cultural proficiency, cultural differences mostly between Americans and French will be explored.
Finally, throughout the semester, students will work in groups on the creation of their own business, association, or other organization and will be invited to present their project to the class at the end of the semester.
On completion of the course, students will also have the opportunity to take the Diplôme de Français Professionnel, Affaires C1 administered by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This exam will be held on campus in April.
Prerequisites: Advanced level of French. French for the Professions I (211) highly advisable. No business background necessary.
French 325
Advanced French Translation
Prof. Philippon-Daniel
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FREN 325 is designed as an initiation into translation from English to French and French to English with the ultimate goal of enhancing your ability to express yourself in authentic-sounding French.
French 330
Medieval Literature: Identity, Heroism, Love, Gender
Prof. Brownlee
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This course examines the extraordinary period (11 th-13 th centuries) during which the French literary tradition was first established by looking at a number of key generative themes: Identity, Heroism, Love, Gender. We focus on the issues of identity and authority with regard to both the protagonist(s) and the author of a key set of canonical medieval works. The issue of how gender roles are constructed and reconstructed provides a global perspective. In the Chanson de Roland we analyze the epic paradigm of heroism, with its glorification of military sacrifice. With the Vie de Saint Alexis, we move to the saintly paradigm, powerfully redefined in the post-martyrdom age. In Chrétien de Troyes's romance Lancelot, we study a different kind of hero who is defined by his capacity to love, which thus valorizes both the elegance of courtly language and the role of the courtly beloved, Queen Guenievre. In Marie de France's Lais, we study the first female-authored collection of courtly love stories, in which contradictions and tragic endings predominate at the level of plot. In Aucassin et Nicolette we see the first real emergence of a female hero, whose power is intellectual rather than military. In Christine de Pizan's Dittié de Jehanne d’Arc (1429), we come full circle in terms of the Roland, as this female-authored text celebrates the military prowess and sacrifice of the female-gendered hero Joan of Arc in the Hundred-Years War between France and England.
All readings and discussions in French.
Distribution III: May be counted as a Distribution course in Arts & Letters.
French 360
The Enlightenment
Prof. DeJean
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Books have many powers. All too rarely, however, do they shape public opinion and change history.
The greatest works of the Enlightenment are perhaps the most striking exception ever to this rule. Our seminar will attempt to understand what the Enlightenment was and how it made its impact. We will read above all the works of the three individuals who, more than anyone else, defined the age of Enlightenment: Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau. We will see, for example, how Voltaire used his works to teach Europeans to believe in such concepts as brotherhood and the fraternity of man. We will retrace Rousseau’s invention of autobiography and his redefinition of education. And we will explore the construction of perhaps the most characteristic of all Enlightenment masterpieces, the Encyclopédie edited by Diderot and d’Alembert.
We will pay particular attention to the risks each of these authors ran in making such controversial works public: they were constantly threatened by censorship from both church and state; Voltaire was exiled; Diderot was sent to prison. We will thus discuss both ways in which these works were shaped by the fear of censorship and techniques devised by their authors to elude censorship.
We will also consider topics such as what the Enlightenment meant for women and the Enlightenment’s global influence in the 18 th century, particularly on the founding fathers of this country. We will thus read works by the greatest women authors of the age, as well as the most read author in the colonies, Montesquieu.
The course will be taught in English, and all readings will be in English. Students who wish to receive French credit for the course will do the reading and writing in French.
French 383
Contemporary French Road Movies
Prof. Gott
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The French road movie has increasingly becoming a popular mode of expression, offering nuanced perspectives on contemporary French identity as well as on France’s position vis-à-vis its own shifting identity, its former colonies, a new “borderless” Europe, and the rest of the World. The goal of the course is to closely examine a genre often associated with “outsider” and even “outlaw” status and to consider how it is employed within the context of the contemporary French identity debates. Through film we will examine postcolonial and post-E.U. expansion identity factors, considering how road films offer compelling transnational counter-narratives to visions of French national identity. Starting with the maligned banlieue and the often contestatory cinema linked to it, the course will follow filmakers as they branch out across France, Europe and the Maghreb. In the process we will become familiar with the conventions of the French road movie , a genre both engaged with and thoroughly distinct from its North American counterpart. We will examine the genre’s penchant for “border crossing” and the nature of borders crossed in French films, both physical and metaphorical (be they gender-related, sexual, religious or cultural). Of particular interest is the use of music (and its link to identity) in the French road film, from rap to flamenco and beyond. Students will complete regular short essay responses (1 page), a presentation and a research paper.