Bourse Lafayette/TAPIF Info Session/Lunch with the French Embassy!

October 28, 2026

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

NCH 349

Spring 2027

Above: The main reading room at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Site Richelieu) in Paris

Course Sequencing

Beginning in Fall 2026, the usual course sequence--after students have satisfied the language requirement--is FREN 3031 followed by any 3000-level course at or above 3140 (formerly 3040), then any 4000-level course (most all courses at the 4000 level require at least one course above FREN 3140). Students may also choose to enroll in one or more applied language French courses numbered 3030 to 3099 (including, for example, 3030 - Phonetics; 3034 - Conversation; 3035 - Business French; 3036 - Translation) at any time after they have satisfied the language requirement, even before taking FREN 3031. See here for a breakdown of our updates course numbering sequence.

Students entering UVa with strong French skills, including heritage speakers and those with near-native or native fluency, may ask the course instructor and the DUP of French (dup-french@virginia.edu) for permission to waive pre-requisites for advanced courses if they feel they have attained the necessary level of competency elsewhere.

5000-level courses are intended for students admitted to the graduate program. However, undergraduates who have received an A in a 4000-level course may request permission to enroll from the instructor.

Writing Requirements

The following writing requirements apply to most courses from 3030-3140: 10-15 pages, typically divided among 4 to 5 papers. Peer editing is introduced during class and practiced outside.

3100-3999 level literature, culture, and civilization courses: 10-15 pages, typically divided among 2 to 4 papers. The content is relatively less sophisticated than at the 4000-level. Peer editing outside of class may be offered to students as an option or it may be required.

4000-level literature, culture, and civilization courses: 15-20 pages, typically divided among 2 to 4 papers. The content is relatively more sophisticated than at the 3000-level. Peer editing outside of class may be offered to students as an option or it may be required.

In all courses, the quality of students' written French (that is, the degree to which their use of grammar and vocabulary is correct and appropriate) affects the grades they receive on their papers, since it affects how comprehensible, persuasive, and impressive their writing is. As students move from 3000- to 4000-level courses, they are expected to show greater sophistication in sentence structure, grammar, and use of idioms.

You can declare a major or a minor in French here!

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about enrolling in a French class this semester. We want to hear from you!

Expand content

FREN 2552 French Culture - Food in French Culture

Examines the impact of key figures of what was once called in the American Academy “French Theory”. We will explore, through the lenses of intellectual history and critical theory, authors such as Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), Roland Barthes (1915-1980), Louis Althusser (1918-1990), Jean François Lyotard (1924-1998), Michel Foucault (1926-1984), Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007), Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), Hélène Cixous (1937-), Julia Kristeva (1941-) among others. We will analyze and discuss in depth their writings: how did their works influence several critical movements? how did they address or not their current political situation? what is the legacy of this critical school? Students will be invited to question the production of theory and its impact on our conception of language and real politik.

MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM (Geer)

NAU 242

Expand content

FREN 3030 Phonetics

This course is designed for beginners in French phonetics: you will dive into the world of French sounds, mastering everything from vowels to the famously tricky "r." You will also get hands-on experience with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), helping you perfect your pronunciation. Through engaging exercises and interactive practice, you will gain confidence and speak French more clearly and naturally. Prerequisite: FREN 2020.

MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM (Rey)

NAU 142

Expand content

FREN 3031- 001 Finding Your Voice in French

In this course, students explore and develop their own "voice" in written and spoken French. Through reading and viewing a variety of cultural artifacts in French, and completing a series of individual and collaborative creative projects, students will improve their skills in grammar, communication, self-expression and editing. Prerequisite: FREN 2020, 2320, or the equivalent, or appropriate AP, F-CAPE, or SAT score.

my section: Finding Your Voice in French Contemplatively – This section of 3031 will explore how contemplative practices can help increase our attentiveness to others and to ourselves, leading to greater confidence both in comprehension and in self-expression.

MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM (Hall)

CAB 064

Expand content

FREN 3031- 002 Finding Your Voice in French

Engaging with diverse voices from France and the francophone world through short literary texts, film clips, songs, social media sites, and other contemporary media, we will explore how language is used to express identity, narrate the past, communicate opinions about the world’s great challenges, and persuade others to take action. Building on insights from these sources, you will practice both creative and more formal genres of writing (a persuasive essay, for example) with the support of in-class collaborative workshops. Through an informal blog, you will share your individual interests and discoveries with your classmates and establish a regular habit of communicating your thoughts, opinions, and reflections in French. Integrated in all these activities, a semester-long grammar review will guide you to better understand how form and meaning work together in the process of expressing yourself in French.

This course offers you the opportunity to develop your own voice in written and spoken French while gaining confidence in your command of grammar for effective communication and your ability to revise and edit your own written work. Finding your voice doesn't happen overnight, though—not in the language(s) we have been speaking since we were children, and not in a foreign language. Beyond your progress this semester, the main goals of this course are to guide you on this life-long journey, to help you become aware of your own best practices for learning French, and to consider how acquiring advanced proficiency in French intersects with and contributes to other personal, academic, and professional interests and goals.

TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM (James)

CAB 291

Expand content

FREN 3031- 003 Finding your Voice in French

TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM (Lombart)

NAU 142

Expand content

FREN 3071 French Glob Dev and Hum Action

This course will provide a practical and theoretical introduction to methods of translation. We will translate literary and non-literary texts such as news articles, ads, songs, essays, poems, and short stories from French to English and from English to French. Classes will be in the form of workshops as we take on the role of the translator and collaborate on translation projects using different practices and methods of translation, all while undertaking a comparative review of French (and English!) grammar and analyzing various cultural topics. Course conducted principally in French.

Requisites Students must have taken FREN 2020 or FREN 2320

TR 11:00AM - 12:15PM (James)

CAB 407

Expand content

FREN 3081 Cultivating Your Voice in French Through Theater

Building on skills acquired in FREN 3031 (Finding Your Voice in French), this class helps students reflect on and become more confident in their oral use of French. Students will learn key principles of French phonetics, intonation, and rhythm, and practice applying this knowledge by reading aloud and performing plays in a supportive and comfortable atmosphere. Throughout, students will consider the role of the whole body in communication; explore the relationship between identity/character/mood and oral expression; and develop habits of noticing and assimilating new phrases.

Pre-requisites: FREN 3031 must be completed before this class. In Spring 2027, FREN 3081 is the new number for the former FREN 3061: students may not take both classes.

TR 9:30AM - 10:45AM (Ogden)

NAU 241

Expand content

FREN 3140 Introduction to French Studies

In this course we will read poems in French from a variety of writers and time periods, taking into account their stylistic features, emotional impact, and cultural resonance. Each day will be structured around the study of one key poem.Through in-class readings of related poems, writing workshops and secondary readings, we will explore how poetry brings us closer to words, language, knowledge, sensations, emotion, ourselves, and others.

Requisites FREN 3031, This course fulfills the French Department post-1800 major/minor requirement.

TR 11:00AM - 12:15PM (Boutaghou)

CAB 268

Expand content

FREN 3153 French Colpnialism I

Why are some stories so compelling that they return generation after generation in new retellings? How do different people in different times and places reuse well-known tales for radically different purposes? How do legends become so meaningful that just a word or a name invokes a wealth of cultural references? Focusing on two stories that originated in French culture but have spread globally—the Grail, Robin Hood—this course examines their uses in written works, television, film, and song from the Middle Ages to the present, including versions by some of the best-known writers, filmmakers, and musicians in French.

MW 3:30PM - 4:45PM (Tsien)

NAU 241

Expand content

FREN 3585 Topics in Cultural Studies

Black philosophers from the Caribbean adopted a critical perspective in French. They have questioned for decades aporias and blind spots of our history. Historically many of them are from the Caribbean. We will read together in French texts by : Aimé Césaire (1913-2008), Frantz Fanon (1925-1961), Edouard Glissant (1928-2011), Patrick Chamoiseau (1953-) and see how they paved thinking of race and colonialism. We will analyze their system in light of the debate about race in the US and in France.

TR 3:30PM - 4:45PM (Ice)

NAU 142

Expand content

FREN 3680 Choix Goncourt Book Club 2027

Discover what France is reading now, and make your mark on the literary scene, by discussing a selection of books nominated for France’s most prestigious literary award, the Prix Goncourt. Then cast your vote for the French Embassy’s Choix Goncourt USA!
The French Department invites students to earn one credit as they participate in a weekly book club focused on the newest nominated Goncourt Prize novels. The reading list consists of 4 novels, all of which have been short-listed by the French Embassy for this year’s Choix Goncourt USA. Because UVA has been designated a Center of Excellence by the Embassy (along with Duke, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, NYU and other schools), our students have been invited to participate in this opportunity to engage with contemporary French and Francophone literary creation and to make their voices heard as they cast a vote that will determine who wins this year’s Choix Goncourt USA.
After reading and discussing the books during our weekly meetings (1 hour per week), students will elect one or two representatives to present the group’s top choice, and select the winner with representatives from other participating schools, at a festive awards ceremony to be held at the Villa Albertine in New York in April. The Department of French will fund travel and lodging for the student representative’s trip.
Students will have free access to the books on the program. The French Department will also order a few physical copies for students to share. While facilitated by a faculty member (Prof. Ari Blatt), this experience—not a “course” in the traditional sense—is primarily student run. Students will, among other things, lead most discussions, establish criteria for evaluating the books, and designate a representative to attend the ceremony in New York.

Faculty facilitator: Professor Ari Blatt (ajb6f)
Reading and discussion in French.
One credit. Counts toward the French major and minor.
Prerequisite: FREN 3031 or equivalent placement or proficiency.

R 09:30AM - 10:20AM (Blatt)

GIB 041

Expand content

FREN 4410 The Enlightenment

Developing cultural literacy is an integral part of becoming an educated citizen of the world. The attainment of cultural literacy includes understanding social norms as well as politics and current events in a particular country. In France, cultural literacy is particularly valued in professional life, where the expectation is that you will be able to converse on a wide range of topics outside your field of specialization. This course is designed to provide you with some tools for developing cultural literacy in the French context.

This course will take a deep dive into the politics, culture, and society of present-day France. You should come away from this class with a deeper understanding of social norms and institutional structures, as well as the ability to follow and understand French media coverage of events as they unfold in France. In your future travels in the US or abroad, you should feel comfortable discussing and debating social, political, and cultural issues and current events relating to France.

To achieve those goals, we will study the evolution of French society, politics, and culture from the end of the Second World War until the present. We will study major social problems facing contemporary France: the role of women, education, immigration, race, religion, public health as well as France's status in the European Union. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on readings from the French press, the televised news, and other visual sources.

Active student participation is expected. Students will work together in teams to produce a joint course project that will also allow each individual student the possibility of defining and researching an issue of particular interest to them.

Prerequistes: FREN 3032 plus one additional course above FREN 3040

MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM (Tsien)

NAU 241

Expand content

FREN 4585 Eternal Legends

TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM (Ogden)

CAB 107

Expand content

FREN 4838 French Society & Civilization

Study of various aspects of nineteenth-century French/ Francophone literature. Genre, theme, specific chronological concentration, and approach will vary. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM (Horne)

CAB 268

Expand content