French and Francophone StudiesFrench 110
Elementary French
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
French 110 is a first-semester elementary language course for students who have never studied French before or who have had very little exposure to the language. Most students with previous French should be in French 121 (elementary French for "false beginners"). All students who have already studied French elsewhere are required to take the placement test to determine which elementary course is appropriate for them. Students with a score of less than 380 on the SAT II or below 18 on the computer placement test should enroll in French 110.
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 activities 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 audio and video material, and will include regular writing practice. The course will also invite you to explore the Francophone world on the Internet.
French 112
Elementary French: Accelerated
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
French 112 is an intensive elementary language course covering the equivalent of French 110 and 120 in one semester. Students must have departmental permit to register. The course is normally open only to students who have no previous knowledge of French, and who have already fulfilled the language requirement in another language.
French 120
Elementary French
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
French 120 is the second-semester continuation of the elementary sequence and is open to students who have completed French 110 at Penn (see the description of 110). Students who place into the second-semester level should normally enroll in French 121. In those semesters when French 121 is not offered, students with an SATII score between 380 - 440 or a placement score between 18 - 29 are allowed to enroll in French 120.
French 121
Elementary French
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
French 121 is an intensive one-semester language course for students who have had some French before but who can benefit from a complete review of elementary French. Students with an SATII score between 380 - 440 or a placement score between 18 - 29 should enroll in French 121. This course will provide a re-introduction of the basic structures of French with intensive work on speaking and listening designed to prepare students to take Intermediate French. Due to the nature of the course, the first half will progress rapidly with much more difficult material being presented after the midterm period.
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 activities 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 frequent practice with audio and video material, and will include daily written assignments. The course will also invite you to explore the Francophone world on the Internet.
French 130
Intermediate French
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
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. 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.
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, and taped conversations between native speakers you will deepen your knowledge of the French-speaking world. The course explores the customs and values prevailing in France, Senegal, Cameroun, Martinique, and other cultures, with a focus on living standards, family traditions, cuisine, and leisure activities. Daily homework will require listening practice with audio and video material, in addition to regular written exercises in the workbook and frequent composition practice. The course will also invite you to explore the Francophone world on the Internet.
French 140
Intermediate French
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
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. Students having completed French 130, or with an SATII score of 550 - 640 or a placement score above 35 should enroll in this course. See the course description for French 130.
Through the study of authentic materials such as articles, poems, songs, films, video-clips, and taped conversations between native speakers, you will deepen your knowledge of France as well as North Africa and other French-speaking areas. The content areas you will explore include the world of work and contemporary social issues, such as the environment, poverty, homelessness, crime, and racism.
French 180
Advanced French in Residence
Staff
TBA
Open only to residents in La Maison Francaise
French 202
Advanced French
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
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 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.
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 youth-related issues (such as upbringing and education, television, unemployment, racism, etc…). The class touches upon issues of identity in France as well as in the Francophone world, in the context of immigration and colonization.
French 211
French for Professions I
Prof. Ciesco
(See Timetables for time(s))
This content-based language course, taught in French, introduces economic, business, and professional terminology through the study of the following topics: the French economy and monetary policy (transition to the Euro); financial institutions (banking and postal services, stock market and insurance); specificity of the French fiscal system; business practices (business letters and resumes); advertising and the internal structure and legal forms of French companies. France’s atypical system of industrial relations as well as cultural differences and their impact on the business world will also be explored.
On completion of the course, students will have the opportunity to take the Certificat Pratique de Français Commercial et Economique, administered by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Prerequisite: Intermediate-high advanced level French.
French 212
Advanced French Grammar and Composition
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
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. There will also be a reading component (magazine and newspaper articles as well as selections from Camus’s L’Etranger).
French 214
Advanced French Composition and Conversation
Prof. Philippon-Daniel
(See Timetables for time(s))
This is a course 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 mode of expression. Activities include the study, analysis and emulation of model texts, the discussion and debates about current events and social issues as covered by the French news media (television, print, Internet sources). Students will do oral presentations based on research, take part in class discussions and compile a writing portfolio (journal, essays, blog).
French 217
French Phonetics
Prof. Edelstein
(See Timetables for time(s))
Designed to provide students with a solid foundation in French phonetics and phonology. Part of the course will be devoted to learning how to produce discourse with native-like French pronunciation, rhythm and intonation. The second half of the course will be devoted to improving aural comprehension by examining stylistic and dialectical differences in spoken French.
French 221
Perspectives in French Literature
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
This course is designed to provide students with a knowledge of major aspects of the French literary tradition from the Middle Ages to the present and, at the same time, to unify a broad variety of works under the rubric of textual eroticism and romance. Texts will include prose narratives (Tristan et Iseut, Manon Lescaurt, L’Amant), plays (Phedre, On ne badine pas avec l’amour), and poetry (by Ronsard, Hugo, Baudelaire, Apollinaire). All readings and class discussion in French.
French 226
French Civilization from Beginning to 1789
Staff
(See Timetables for time(s))
An introduction to the social, political and historical institutions of France from the dawn of civilization until the Revolution of 1789. The course will be illustrated with visual material of architecture and painting and readings will include literary and non-literary texts. Of interest not only to French majors (for whom it is a requirement) but also to majors in history, international relations, and political science. All readings and class discussion in French. (General Requirement - may be counted as a Distributional course in History and Tradition).
French 230
Masterpieces of French Cinema
Prof. Met
Registration required for Lecture and Recitation
(See Timetables for time(s))
The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the history and scope of French cinema all the way to the present time through the analysis of key works of the French film canon. Particular attention will be paid to successive period styles (“le réalisme poétique”, “la qualité française”, “la nouvelle vague”, “le film de banlieue”, etc.) as well as various genres (war, drama, comedy, crime, etc.) and a variety of critical lenses will be used (psychoanalysis, socio-historical and cultural context, politics, aesthetics, gender…) in an effort to better understand the specificities and complexities of these films.
French 231
Francophone Cinema
Prof. Moudileno
(See Timetables for time(s))
This course will deal with colonial and postcolonial films from the 1930’s to the beginning of the twenty-first century. We will first examine images of the colonial world in Western cinematography (Gréville, Duvivier, Annaud, Claire Denis). We will then study representations of Africa by early and contemporary African filmmakers such as Sembene Ousmane, Djibril Diop Mambety and Bassek ba Khobbio. Finally, we will turn to recent productions by immigrant artists working in France.
Introducing a variety of genres, the course will be organized chronologically and thematically around a cluster of issues, including: exoticism, tradition and modernity, the representation of colonial and postcolonial violence, historiography, gender and sexuality, urban dynamics, migration and nostalgia.
In French.
French 250
The Enlightenment
Benjamin Franklin Seminar
Prof. DeJean
(See Timetables for time(s))
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 6 th 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 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.
French 340
Renaissance Literature
Prof. Donaldson-Evans
(See Timetables for time(s))
This course introduces a diverse and fascinating era that marks the beginning of the early modern period. We will look at the political, historical and social context of France during the whole sixteenth century, examine the Italian Renaissance and its transformation in France, and investigate how contemporary writers and poets translated the discoveries of Humanism into their works. Authors to be studied will include the poets Clément Marot, Maurice Scève, Louise Labé, Pernette Du Guillet, Ronsard and Du Bellay. In addition we will analyze a number of stories from Marguerite de Navarre's rewriting of the Decameron (L'Heptaméron), as well as Rabelais's work and some essays of Montaigne. At the same time we will examine some examples of the art and architecture of the time, and view the film Le Retour de Martin Guerre, a fairly accurate portrayal of life in the sixteenth century and starring the archetypal French actor, Gérard Depardieu.
French 360
The Enlightenment
Prof. DeJean
(See Timetables for time(s))
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 6 th 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 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.
French 370
Fin-de-siècle Fictions
Prof. Goulet
(See Timetables for time(s))
Futurist fantasy or decadence, deviance, and death? The literary imagination of the French fin-de-siècle grappled with both positive and negative implications of its millenial culture. On the one hand, technological advances between 1870 and 1900 promised France entry into a new century of wonders, with the Eiffel Tower and Métro system prominently displayed at Universal Exhibitions and Olympic Games. Scientific fictions imagined the technological conquest of worlds near and far. On the other hand, a crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian war contributed to a national sense of social decline and moral decay. Decadent and naturalist movements in literature responded with obsessive themes of pathology, morbidity, and perversion. In this seminar, we will read novels and stories by Villiers, Verne, Huysmans, Rachilde, Maupassant, and Zola in the context of fin-de-siècle theories about crime and gender, hypnosis and hysteria, science and the occult.
French 380
Literature of the 20 th Century
Prof. Prince
(See Timetables for time(s))
A study of the French novel in the first half of the 20th century, from Gide and Proust to surrealist fiction (Nadja), existential and existentialist narratives (Malraux, Sartre, Camus), and the foreshadowing of the New Novel (Queneau).
French 390
Postcolonial France
Prof. Moudileno
(See Timetables for time(s))
As one of the major colonial powers of modern times, France has a long history of political, economic and socio-cultural domination over vast regions of the world. One of the consequences of the French imperial experience has been what scholars call “the colonial fracture,” that is, the profound transformation not only of colonized regions, but also of French society and culture. In this context, how does the Republic,with its set of ideals and corresponding legal structures, deal with this “fracture” ? How does civil society represent or deal with the reality of a postcolonial France?
This course is designed to provide an introduction to, or better understanding of, some of the most passionate debates on assimilation, difference and multiculturalism which have emerged in France in recent years.
Readings and class discussion in English.