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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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.
Prerequisite: FREN 202 highly recommended. No business background necessary.
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 French Composition and Conversation
Prof. Philippon-Daniel
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This course is intended to improve speaking and writing skills by offering extensive practice in a variety of styles and forms. It will also help students better understand contemporary French culture, thought and modes of expression. The content is organized around current events and the themes of identity and art. Activities include the study, analysis and emulation of model texts as well as discussion and debates about events and social issues as covered by the French news media (television, print, internet sources). Students will practice oral skills in a variety of ways, including video blogs and group presentations on selected current events. Written practice will comprise reflective journals, essays and collaborative work on webquests.
The goal of the course is to help students 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.
(Recommended for students who are planning to study abroad in France)
French 217
French Phonetics
Prof. Edelstein
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French 222-401
Perspectives in French Literature: The Individual and Society
Staff
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One of the basic types of conflict around which narratives often revolve is that of “man against society,” which pits individuals against the agendas, desires, beliefs, and expectations of those around them. As such, French cultural production often centers on conflicts between the individual and society, and by examining these conflicts, we can raise a number of questions about the values and priorities of the French-speaking world. What happens when an exceptional individual’s personal goals conflict with those of his or her society? How do individuals conform to or resist expectations for masculine or feminine behavior? How do poets define themselves and their poetry against the society in which they live? How do misfits or outcasts call our attention to social injustices? How are immigrants and their sons and daughters perceived in France, and how do they react to this perception?
This course will answer these questions while introducing students to a range of genres and authors, both male and female, starting with the late eleventh-century Chanson de Roland and ending with an open letter to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy from Nadir Dendoune, a son of Algerian immigrants. We will also watch and discuss Jacques Tati’s film Playtime.We will situate works in their historical context while considering how they convey their message through literary or cinematographic techniques. Students will acquire the critical tools to analyze, discuss, and write about texts and films while perfecting their oral and written expression in French.
French 222-402
The Individual & Society
Prof. Richman
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This course proposes a historical survey of the interface between individual and social identities from the Middle Ages to the present. Aimed as an introduction to classics that have marked Western civilization, it enlists a variety of texts and films in order to critique as well as to illuminate the constants of French culture.
French 227
Modern France: 1789-1945
Staff
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French 229
Le Francais Dans Le Monde
Prof. Friesner
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Le Français dans le monde provides a survey of the sociolinguistics of the French language in the contemporary world, to elucidate how societal changes influence the manner and the contexts in which the French language is spoken. Case studies focus on varies parts of the Francophone world, including an examination of the use of French in North America. The course considers questions such as the following: What effect does contact with other languages have on the way French is spoken? Which variety (or varieties) of French represents “good” or standard language? How do political forces and movements affect the course of French? What is the present and future role of the French language in the modern world? How are language attitudes similar and different among French-speaking and English-speaking regions of the world? In what ways does the language we speak and the way we speak it shape our identity? Readings and class discussion are in French.
French 313
French for Professions II
Prof. Ciesco
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French 325
Advanced French Translation
Prof. Philippon-Daniel
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This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of translation and is designed to help foster a critical understanding of differences between French and English syntactical and lexical patterns. It will introduce students to theoretical concepts and problems of translation, with the ultimate goal being to improve their ability to communicate in more authentic-sounding French. Students will have the opportunity to practice translation individually and to work with their peers on a variety of projects (advertising, journalistic and literary texts, movie and broadcast news subtitling) and to engage in critique and discussion of others’ translations. This course will help students refine their language skills and navigate more proficiently between these cultures and language systems.
(Designed for students who already have a solid foundation in French and English grammar)
French 330
Medieval Literature
Prof. Brownlee
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This course examines the extraordinary period (11th-13th 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. The seminar will meet on the 6th floor of Van Pelt Library so that we can have access during our meetings to the original editions of many Enlightenment classics. We will thus be able to 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 18th 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 seminar will be taught in English. Students who wish to receive French credit will do the reading in French.
French 370
Crime and Punishment in 19th-century French Literature and Culture
Prof. Goulet
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Throughout the nineteenth century in France, lurid illustrations and descriptions of crime peppered the pages of popular press journals like La Gazette des Tribunaux, Le Crime Illustré, and the satirical Journal des Assassins. Exposed in sordid faits divers and published memoirs of reformed criminals, the urban conditions of crime, justice and poverty became fodder for the public imagination and inspired new literary genres -- romans judiciaires, romans policiers -- practiced by writers "high" and "low." In this course, we will read novels that dramatize crime by the century's most influential authors: Balzac, Hugo, and Zola. We will ask questions such as these: how does literature relate to debates about penal reform and the death penalty? What is divine justice? How does crime connect (or not) to political, collective forms of violence? How did scientific theories affect notions of criminal nature? Students will also be given the opportunity for guided original research on criminality and the popular press of Second Empire and Third Republic France, using online resources and the holdings of Penn's Rare Books and Manuscript library.
French 382
Children of the Night
Prof. Met
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The focus of this course will be the extent to which the figure of the child and representations of childhood in horror/fantastic cinema allow us to perceive — be it “face to face” or “through a glass, darkly”, to borrow from the Bible — phobias, traumas, inhibitions, desires or drives pertaining to the depths of the human psyche as well as the repressed of social constructs.
The subject matter will be generally submitted to a dual approach: 1/ typological (e.g., the monstrous, alien or homicidal child vs. the victimized, ostracized or abused child); 2/ thematic (guilt vs. innocence; the primal scene, loss and mourning; the demonic; the ghostly; identity and difference; nature vs. nurture; origin and genealogy).
However, a variety of critical lenses (psychoanalysis, socio-historical and cultural context, esthetics, politics, gender) will also be used to both closely « read » the films and look at the interdisciplinary underpinnings of a genre or area that could therefore be of potential interest to students with such diverse backgrounds as film, comp lit, psychology, sociology, nursing ed., religion etc.
To a lesser or greater degree, all screenings will feature children (not yet in their teens for the most part) in prominent filmic roles, primarily in a horror genre context, and include Anglo-American canonical examples as well as lesser-known foreign cult classics by the likes of Bava (Italy), Erice and Villaronga (Spain), Jodorowsky (Chile/Mexico), or Nakata (Japan).
French 386
Paris in Film
Prof. Met
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Latter-day examples like Christophe Honoré’s Dans Paris, Cédric Klapisch’s Paris or the international omnibus Paris, je t’aime (with each director paying homage to a distinctive “arrondissement” of the capital), not to mention American blockbusters like The Da Vinci Code and Inception or Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, are there to remind us that there is something special – indeed, a special kind of magic – about Paris in and on film. Despite the extreme polarization between Paris and provincial France in both cultural and socio-economic terms, cultural historians have argued that Paris is a symbol of France (as a centralized nation), more than Rome is of Italy and much more than Madrid is of Spain or Berlin of Germany, for example. The prevalence of the City of Lights on our screens, Gallic and otherwise, should therefore come as no surprise, be it as a mere backdrop or as a character in its own right. But how exactly are the French capital and its variegated people captured on celluloid? Can we find significant differences between French and non-French approaches, or between films shot on location that have the ring of “authenticity” and studio-bound productions using reconstructed sets? Do these representations vary through time and perhaps reflect specific historical periods or zeitgeists? Do they conform to genre-based formulas and perpetuate age-old stereotypes, or do they provide new, original insights while revisiting cinematic conventions? Do some (sub)urban areas and/or segments of the Parisian population (in terms of gender, race or class, for example) receive special attention or treatment? These are some of the many questions that we will seek to address… with a view to offering the next best thing to catching the next non-stop flight to Paris!
French 388
Representing the French
Prof. Moudileno
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This course will focus on recent images of France and French people from two perspectives: First, building on a long tradition of American representations of France, it will examine how North American fiction, film, popular culture, and the media, have constructed Frenchness as a category—from the local with a baguette and a beret to the Parisian existentialist intellectual to the "chic" Frenchie, and to countless snobs, cooks and restaurateurs with heavy accents. Second, it will contrast these clichés of France and its people with representations, sometimes no less cliché themselves, produced by the French themselves. Drawing on the discourses found in recent novels, in the comments of politicians of all creeds, in the French media, as well as in popular culture, we will pose the following questions: where do these American and French portraits meet? To what extent do they conflict with each other? What are some of the recurring traits that might suggest some deeper truths, behind the various myths and official discourses on France? The juxtaposition of these two sets of representations will ultimately allow us to arrive at a better understanding not only of "the French" as a people, but also of the underlying myths, values and contradictions, which continue to determine France's reality and its place in the play of nations.
Reading in English and French. Class discussion in French.