Fall 2018 Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students who have earned a B+ (or higher) in at least one 4000-level course may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5011 Old French

Introduction to reading Old French, with consideration of its main dialects (Ile-de-France, Picard, Anglo-Norman) and paleographical issues. May be taken in conjunction with FREN 5100/8510 or independently. Weekly reading exercises, a transcription and translation exercise, and a final open-book exam. Prerequisite: good reading knowledge of modern French, Latin or another romance language. Taught in English.

M 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 5100/8510 Medieval Literature in Modern French I

Based on topics and works of both current and enduring interest to scholars, this course will allow participants to gain general knowledge of literature composed in French from 880 until about 1250 as well as to explore the most recent developments in the field. Students are encouraged to contact the professor with suggestions for texts and/or subjects. In the course of discussing secondary readings and of preparing the assignments, we will consider matters of professional development. Reading knowledge of modern French required.

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 5540/8540 Topics in Eigthteenth Century Literature - LE THÉÂTRE EN FRANCE AU XVIIIE SIÈCLE : PRATIQUES, POÉTIQUES, POLÉMIQUES

Dans la France du XVIIIe siècle, le théâtre est au cœur de la vie sociale, artistique et intellectuelle. À Paris surtout, mais aussi en province, où les salles se multiplient. La société de Cour et la classe de loisir en attendent des plaisirs quotidiens. À Paris comme en province, les gens «bien nés» côtoient un public de bourgeois et d’artisans ; et ils ne dédaignent pas de se mêler au petit peuple pour jouir des spectacles de la Foire. L’engouement touche toutes les couches de la société, en dépit des théologiens et des moralistes. L’Église refuse aux comédiens la sépulture religieuse, mais les Jésuites font une place d’honneur au théâtre dans leurs méthodes pédagogiques. Les Philosophes espèrent faire du théâtre un véritable forum civique, sauf Rousseau, qui n’y voit qu’un lieu d’imposture et d’aliénation.

Ce cours proposera donc une lecture en situation de pièces célèbres ou moins célèbres de Marivaux, Voltaire, Diderot, Beaumarchais, Olympe de Gouges, Sylvain Maréchal selon les trois axes indiqués dans le sous-titre : «pratiques, poétiques, polémiques».

Du côté des pratiques, il s’agira de reconstituer le «monde» du théâtre à cette époque : agencement des salles, conditions matérielles des représentations, économie du théâtre, statut des troupes et des comédiens, techniques de jeu des acteurs, attitude du public.

Du côté des poétiques, on étudiera la remise en question des règles édictées au siècle précédent et la longue marche vers une nouvelle poétique théâtrale : celle du «drame».

Du côté des polémiques, enfin, on étudiera comment la querelle du théâtre en vient à diviser les philosophes eux-mêmes (c’est à propos du théâtre à Genève que Rousseau se dresse contre d’Alembert, Voltaire et Diderot), avant de cristalliser, pendant la Révolution, les antagonismes idéologiques.

Notez le format particulier du cours, qui se termine début novembre.

Travaux : un (bref) exposé oral en classe sur un sujet choisi par l’étudiant(e) et un «final paper» d’une quinzaine de pages, en français.

W 3:30 pm – 6:15 pm (Roger)

Expand content

FREN 5560/8560 Topics in Nineteenth Century Literature: Reading With Emma Bovary

In the 1857 obscenity trial against Madame Bovary, prosecutor Ernest Pinard argued that the book would corrupt the hearts and minds of its readers, particularly young marriageable women (jeunes filles) and wives. Dangerous fiction is a dominant theme in the work itself. When Emma Bovary shows symptoms of “vaporous airs,” her husband and mother-in-law decide she must stop reading novels. This course focuses on Emma Bovary’s reading habits, and on what they say about Flaubert’s aesthetic project; the social and medical discourses that Madame Bovary reflects and reinforces; and the education of women. What did Emma Bovary read, how did she read it, and how have critics in the 19th-21st centuries read her reading?

Open to graduate students with reading knowledge of French
Course conducted in French and English (depending on students’ background)
Written work in French (for French MA or PhD students), and English
Most readings in French

M 3:30 – 6:00 pm (Krueger)

Expand content

FREN 5570/8570 Topics in 20th & 21st Century Literature: French Literature Now!

Since the turn of the century, a number of critics have suggested that French literature is in crisis. In his incendiary rant La littérature sans estomac (2002), for example, Pierre Jourde laments the lack of aesthetic standards in the production of contemporary French fiction, claiming instead that the market has been overrun by mediocrity. Similarly, Jean-Philippe Domecq created a stir when he attacked a certain cadre of literary critics who, he claims, do nothing but elevate the vast array of livres de divertissement to the status of “high art.” Acclaimed (and now highly provocative) author Richard Millet, in L’Enfer du roman: Réflexions sur la postlittérature (2010), issues a scathing critique of the contemporary novel, lashing out against its role in the degradation of the French language. And in an article for the New York Times, Alan Riding ponders the curious state of “French” literature in 2006, a year in which not only were the winners of four of the country’s most esteemed literary prizes awarded to “foreign” authors (American Jonathan Littel, to cite one example, won both the Prix Goncourt and the Prix de l’Académie française for Les Bienveillantes), but one of the most popular novels of the year (in France as well as in the US) was actually written in the 1940s by a Russian-born émigré who would later disappear in the camps (Irène Nemirovsky, Suite française). All of which seems to beg the question, as Riding asks: “Is French literature burning?”

Rather than propose a definitive answer to such an expressly problematic question, this survey of some of the most acclaimed and/or widely read prose works of the last 20 years (more or less) invites students to judge for themselves. The last few weeks of the course will focus in on a few of the most remarkable of “extremely contemporary“ books published within the last 3-5 years. The course will also introduce students to a number of essential and readily available resources for scholars and enthusiasts of contemporary French literature, including the major journals, anthologies, radio programs, websites, blogs, and works of criticism that consider that contemporary cultural scene more broadly.

Course taught in French and English. All required reading in French. Students can expect a healthy but not unreasonable dose of weekly reading. Required work also includes an oral presentation, a few book reviews, and a final paper.

R 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Blatt)

Expand content

FREN 7040 Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

An introduction to pedagogical approaches currently practiced in second-language courses at the university level. Students will examine critically the theories behind various methodologies and the relation of those theories to their own teaching experience and goals. Assignments include readings and case studies on the teaching of French, development and critique of pedagogical materials, peer observation and analysis, and a portfolio project for collecting, sharing, and reflecting on teaching methods.

Required for all GTAs teaching French at UVa for the first time. Restricted to Graduate Teaching Assistants in French. 3 credits. Students will register for the graded (letter grade) option in the SIS. Graduate exchange instructors will take the course as auditors.

T 3:30 pm 6:00 pm (James)

Fall 2018 Undergraduate Courses

The following writing requirements apply to courses in which the authorized enrollments do not exceed 20 (French 3031 and 3032) or 25 (literature and civilization courses beyond French 3032): FREN 3031 and 3032: 10-15 pages, typically divided among 4 to 5 papers. Peer editing is introduced during class and may be practiced outside. 3000-level literature 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 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.

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

French Translation Courses

Expand content

FRTR 2552-001 - French Culture – Crafting Islam in France : images, texts and political value

Following a cultural and historical perspective, this course will examine the construction of negative or positive values of Islam in France during the Modern and contemporary period. Indeed, from the period of the conquest in 1830 to the Algerian war of independence, French colonialism imposed ideological domination using political propaganda based on images and texts. Representations of Islam in literary discourse, photographs and films indicate how religious conflicts are sustained by the power of narratives and images. We will read and analyze closely the work of propaganda discourse during the Algerian war of independence and how they crafted the understanding of Islam still active and accurate in today’s France.

TR 02:00PM - 03:15PM Boutaghou

Expand content

FRTR 3584-001- Topics in French Cinema

The French have been pioneers in film, from the early shorts of the Lumière brothers and Méliès, through the early classics of the 1930s, and during the New Wave and beyond. French directors and critics have transformed movie-making beyond the boundaries of France, giving us a way of looking at such American phenomena as “Film Noir.” This course is an introduction to masterpieces of French cinema, including works by Jean Cocteau, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, Jacques Tati, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda and others. Students will study film genres and movements (Poetic Realism, the New Wave) in relation to social, cultural and aesthetic trends. They will also learn to identify and analyze film techniques (camera angle, camera movement, montage, and more). FRTR 3584 counts towards satisfaction of the Humanities area requirement but does not count toward the French major or minor. Lectures and discussion in English.

MW 03:30PM - 04:45PM Lyons

Elementary and Intermediate French Courses (FREN 1010-2320)

Expand content

We offer multiple sections of elementary and intermediate French (FREN 1010-2320). See the full schedule of these course offerings in SIS. Click here for more information. See here for placement information.

Advanced Courses in French

Expand content

FREN 3030 – Phonetics: The Sounds of French

FREN 3030 is an introductory course in French phonetics. It provides basic concepts in articulatory phonetics and phonological theory, and offers students techniques for improving their own pronunciation. The course will cover the physical characteristics of individual French sounds; the relationship between these sounds and their written representation (orthography); the rules governing the pronunciation of "standard French"; the most salient phonological features of selected French varieties; phonetic differences between French and English sounds; and to some extent, ‘la musique du français’, i.e., prosodic phenomena (le rythme, l’accent, l’intonation, la syllabation). Practical exercises in 'ear-training' (the perception of sounds) and 'phonetic transcription' (using IPA) are also essential components of this dynamic course.

Prerequisite: FREN 2020 (or equivalent). Course taught in French; counts for major/minor credit in French and Linguistics

TR 09:30AM - 10:45AM (Saunders)
TR 12:30PM - 01:45PM (Saunders)

Expand content

FREN 3031 –Finding Your Voice in French

Prerequisite: Completion of FREN 2020 or 2320; exemption from FREN 2020 by the UVA (F-Cape) Placement Test; a score of 3 on the AP French Language Exam; or a score of at least 660 on the SAT exam. FREN 3031 is a prerequisite for all undergraduate French courses at a higher level.

This course offers an opportunity for students to 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 have a chance to develop their own potential for self-expression. They will develop greater confidence in their communicative skills, command of grammar, and ability to revise and edit their own work. The course is conducted entirely in French.

MWF    09:00AM - 09:50AM   (Ogden)
TR        11:00AM - 12:15PM   (Boutaghou )
MWF   11:00AM - 11:50AM   (Zunz )
MW      03:30PM - 04:45PM   (Levine)

Expand content

FREN 3032 – Image, Text, Culture

In this course, students will discover and engage critically with a broad sampling of French and Francophone cultural production representing a variety of periods, genres, approaches, and media. Students will learn how to become more sensitive observers of French and Francophone culture, attuned to the nuances of content and form. They will read, watch, write about, and discuss a range of works that may include poetry, painting, prose, music, theater, films, graphic novels, photographs, essays, and historical documents. They will also make significant progress in their oral and written comprehension and communication in French. The course is conducted entirely in French.

Prerequisite: French 3031. FREN 3032 is a prerequisite for all French undergraduate courses on a higher level.

TR   02:00PM - 03:15PM   Tsien
TR   03:30PM - 04:45PM   McGrady
MWF   10:00AM - 10:50AM   Hall
MW   02:00PM - 03:15PM   Lyu

Expand content

FREN 3035-001 - Business French

In this course, students will learn general knowledge about the business world in France and the French-speaking world, and specifically concepts on organizational structures, the primary positions within those businesses and major industries. They will also gain experience in business research, will hone their oral and written French for use in a professional-setting, will have a practice job interview, and will learn the practical aspects of living and working in French.

At the end of the semester, students will have the possibility to take the Diplôme de Français des Affaires (B1) for a fee charged by the Chambre de Commerce et de l’Industrie de Paris.

Prerequisite: FREN 3031 and 3032

MWF 09:00AM - 09:50AM Rajaonarisoa,Lova

Expand content

FREN 3043-001 - The French-Speaking World III: Great Books

Rather than focus on any single theme, movement, motif, or overarching problematic, this seminar will examine a few of the most admired and influential novels in the history of modern and contemporary French literature. Special attention will be paid to the potential uses (and to the ultimate uselessness) of literature. How might reading fiction inform our understanding of the world and our place in it? Texts may include, but are certainly not limited to, Honoré de Balzac’s tale of a young law student’s drive to make it in the big city (Le Père Goriot, 1835); Gustave Flaubert’s portrait of the original desperate housewife (Madame Bovary, 1856); Alain Robbe-Grillet’s scandalously puzzling La Jalousie (1957); Georges Perec's critique of consumer society in the 1960s (Les Choses, 1965); and/or Jean-Philippe Toussaint's critical, and rather funny tale about TV (La télévision, 1997). We will end our semester with an "extremely contemporary" novel, or two, published within the last few years.

Required work to include: active participation in class discussion, regular response papers (1-2 pages), an oral presentation, 2 longer papers (4-5 pages), and a final exam. Course conducted entirely in French.

Prerequisite: FREN 3032

TR 12:30PM - 01:45PM Blatt

Expand content

FREN 3570-001 - Topics in Francophone African - African Literatures and Cultures

This course will explore aspects of African literatures and cultures. It will focus on selected issues of special resonance in contemporary African life; oral literature and its impact on all other art forms; key issues in French colonial policy and its legacy in Africa: language, politics, and education. The course will examine the image of the postcolonial state and society as found in contemporary arts, paintings, sculpture, music, and cinema. Selections from painters and sculptors like Cheri Samba (Zaire), Iba NDiaye, O. Sow (Senegal), Werewere Liking (Cameroun), including such popular icons as Mamy Wata and forms such as Souwere glass painting; from musicians like Youssou Ndour (Senegal), Cheb Khaled (Algeria), Seigneur Rochereau, Tshala Muana (Zaire), Salif Keita (Mali), and Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde); from Mande, Peul, and Kabyle oral literature in French translation; from filmmakers D.D. Mambety, Moussa Sene Absa, and Ngangura Mweze. The final grade will be based on contributions to discussions, a mid-term, and 2 papers.

Prerequisite FREN 3031 and FREN 3032.

TR 03:30PM - 04:45PM Dramé

Expand content

FREN 3584-001 - Topics in French Cinema Masterpieces of French Cinema

An introduction to masterpieces of French cinema, from the earliest short films of the Lumière Brothers and George Meliès, to feature-length works by Jean Cocteau, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, and others. Students will study film genres and movements (Poetic Realism, the New Wave) in relation to social, cultural and aesthetic trends. They will also learn to identify and analyze film techniques (camera angle, camera movement, montage, and more). Students will view approximately one film/week, outside of class, complete accompanying reading assignments, participate in class discussion, write analytical papers, attend audiovisual workshops, and create original short video projects. Counts toward the French Major or Minor. All films are in French with English subtitles. Questions? Contact the professor: Alison Levine (alevine@virginia.edu)

Prerequisite: FREN 3031. FREN 3032 is not a prerequisite for this section of 3584. Please send an email to Prof. Cheryl Krueger (DUP French, clk6m@virginia.edu) to have the 3032 prerequisite waived for this course.

MW 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM Levine

Expand content

FREN 3585-001 - Topics in Cultural Studies: Arts & the Nation

In France, the arts and creative culture have always been integral to national identity. This class will examine France’s distinctive approach to artistic and intellectual sponsorship stretching from its medieval origins to modern governmental practices. The arts will be broadly defined, allowing us to address the following topics: food, fashion, and conversation as art forms; the politics of artistic patronage; and the invention of literary academies, libraries, and museums. The final third of the class will engage with ongoing debates surrounding multiculturalism, state investment in the arts, and the impact of globalism on creative freedom.

Prerequisite 3031. FREN 3032 is not a prerequisite for this section of 3585. To register without first taking 3032, please fill out a course action form, have it signed by Cheryl Krueger (DUP French, clk6m@virginia.edu) or the course instructor, and turn it in to Kathy Halvorsen in 358 NCH.

TR 11:00AM - 12:15PM McGrady

Expand content

FREN 4031-001 - Grammar and Style

Prerequisites: Fren 3031, Fren 3032 and at least one FREN course numbered 3040 or higher. Restricted to third and fourth year students.

Penser en français, parler en français correct, et écrire avec style, tels sont les objectifs de ce cours. Pour ce faire, nous reverrons les règles de base de la grammaire française à partir de textes variés choisis pour leur élégance et leur intérêt. Nous paierons tout spécialement attention au choix des mots, à leur fonction, aux expressions nouvellement apprises par les étudiants, ce qui nous permettra de relever les particularités grammaticales et stylistiques de la langue française. Lecture des documents dans Collab, exercices de formation de phrases, présentations orales, trois essais de 500 mots, deux compositions de 1000 mots, deux interrogations et un examen en fin de semestre, tels sont les exercices de ce cours.

Taught in French.

MWF 12:00PM - 12:50PM Zunz

Expand content

FREN 4410-001 - The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment, or Les Lumières, was one of the most important movements in Western intellectual history. Its proponents fought against superstition and a corrupt monarchy with notoriously witty essays and with fictions that seemed, on the surface, to be about sentimentality, sex, or exotic lands. In this course, we will consider how famous philosophes such as Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau brought France into a new era and inadvertently inspired the American and then the French Revolutions. We will examine how their writings treated issues such as: slavery, women's sexuality, blasphemy, the conflict between religion and science, and moral relativism among various countries. We will also focus on strategies used by the authors to hide their provocative ideas from government censors

Prerequisite: Any course above FREN 3032

TR 03:30PM - 04:45PM Tsien

Expand content

FREN 4560-001 - Advanced Topics in Nineteenth-Century Literature: le Romantisme

Dans ce cours, nous examinerons une sélection de textes littéraires du mouvement romantique français de la première moitié du 19ème siècle où de nombreux facteurs -- culturels, sociaux, historiques et politiques -- concourent à façonner une esthétique littéraire à la fois complexe et contradictoire. A travers une lecture approfondie de poèmes, romans, théâtres et traités/ manifestes, nous explorerons la sensibilité mélancolique, l'esprit de la révolte et la passion du sublime qui régissent l'état d'âme romantique ainsi que la manière dont les différences sexuelles se construisent et fonctionnent dans l'univers romantique. Nous nous intéressons également aux vestiges du romantisme dans la vie de nos jours.

Prerequisite: Un cours sur la littérature, la culture, ou le cinéma français au-delà de 3032.

MW 03:30PM - 04:45PM Lyu

Expand content

FREN 4585-001 - Adv Topics Cultural Studies: Love and Sex in the French Renaissance

Love, Sex, Marriage, and Friendship in Renaissance France

If passions and emotions are part of human nature, the forms they take and the ways in which they are and can be expressed vary greatly over time and between cultures. How were love, sex, marriage, and friendship understood and lived in sixteenth-century France – in each case between members of the opposite sex and the same sex? How did they evolve in this pivotal period of transition between the Middle Ages and the modern world? How were they inflected by intellectual, social and cultural movements such as the Reformation, Humanism, developing notions of the individual, and ongoing debates about the nature of women? Through the study of a combination of contemporary texts and modern films, we will explore a fascinating culture, at once similar to and different from our own – one whose stories (like that of Romeo and Juliette) still speak to us today and with whose legacy we live and continue to grapple.

Prerequisite: At least one literature or culture course beyond FREN 3032

TR 02:00PM - 03:15PM Ferguson

Expand content

FREN 4743-002 - Africa in Cinema

This course is a study of the representation of Africa in American, Western European and African films. It deals with the representations of African cultures by filmmakers from different cultural backgrounds and studies the ways in which their perspectives on Africa are often informed by their own social and ideological positions as well as the demands of exoticism. It also examines the constructions of the African as the “other” and the kinds of responses such constructions have elicited from Africa’s filmmakers. These filmic inventions are analyzed through a selection of French, British, American, and African films by such directors as John Huston, S. Pollack, J-J Annaud, M. Radford, Ngangura Mweze, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Souleymane Cissé, Gaston Kaboré, Amadou Seck, Dani Kouyaté, Brian Tilley, Jean-Marie Teno, A. Sissako on a variety of subjects relative to the image of Africa in cinema. Attendance is mandatory. The final grade will be based on one oral presentation (20%) and a short paper (20%), contributions to discussions in class (10% of final grade), and a Final Research Paper (50%).

Prerequisite: FREN 3032 and FREN 3584 or another 3000-level literature, culture, or film course in French.

TR 12:30PM - 01:45PM Dramé,Kandioura

Expand content

FREN 4750 - From Literature to Film : Screening Dangerous Liaisons
The Many Movie Lives of a French Masterpiece

This course will explore the dissemination in time and space of a single literary work : the famous (and infamous) novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, written by Choderlos de Laclos at the end of the 18th century. After examining the novel itself and its significance in the context of pre-revolutionary France, we will study several movie adaptations or transpositions. Ranging from the 1960s to our days, shot by directors of diverse backgrounds and cultures, this study will allow us 1) to reflect on the historicity of a given work of art ; 2) to study the process of transposition from medium to medium ; 3) to analyse the cultural twists given to plot, characters, morals, etc. by each director and their impact on our reading of the original novel.

Readings :

Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses

Movies :

Les Liaisons dangereuses 1960 (France-Italie)

Roger Vadim, 1959

Dangerous Liaisons (Grande-Bretagne-France-USA)

Stephen Frears, 1988

Valmont (France-USA)

Milos Forman, 1989

Cruel Intentions (USA)

Roger Kumble, 1999.

Untold Scandal (Corée)

Je-yong Lee, 2003

Wi-heom-han gyan-gye («Liaisons dangereuses») (Chine)

Jin-ho Hur, 2012

Assignments : short reaction papers ; mid-term exam; final essay (research paper).

Prerequisite: FREN 3032 and at least one course in the 3040 sequence.

TR 5:00 pm – 6:45 pm (Roger)

Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students who have earned a B+ (or higher) in at least one 4000-level course may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5011 Old French

M 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 5100/8510 - Medieval Literature in Modern French I

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 5540/8540 - Topics in Eigthteenth Century Literature - LE THÉÂTRE EN FRANCE AU XVIIIE SIÈCLE : PRATIQUES, POÉTIQUES, POLÉMIQUES

Du côté des poétiques, on étudiera la remise en question des règles édictées au siècle précédent et la longue marche vers une nouvelle poétique théâtrale : celle du «drame».

Notez le format particulier du cours, qui se termine début novembre.

Travaux : un (bref) exposé oral en classe sur un sujet choisi par l’étudiant(e) et un «final paper» d’une quinzaine de pages, en français.

W 3:30 pm – 6:15 pm (Roger)

Expand content

FREN 5560/8560 - Topics in Nineteenth Century Literature: Reading With Emma Bovary

Open to graduate students with reading knowledge of French
Course conducted in French and English (depending on students’ background)
Written work in French (for French MA or PhD students), and English
Most readings in French

M 3:30 – 6:00 pm (Krueger)

Expand content

FREN 5570/8570 - Topics in 20th & 21st Century Literature: French Literature Now!

R 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Blatt)

Expand content

FREN 7040 - Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

T 3:30 pm 6:00 pm (James)

Spring 2019 Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5540/8540 Topics in Eighteenth Century Literature: Pre-Colonialism: Early French Explorations

The topic of this course is French exploration and attempts at colonization from the beginnings to the Napoleonic era, with a focus on North America. How did Frenchmen perceive what they saw in Canada, Louisiana, and the Caribbean and how did they fit their new experiences into their old paradigms? What did they learn from lifestyle of the native Americans? What was France's strategy in colonizing the Americas and why did it largely fail?

Primary readings include excerpts from exploration journals, ethnological and scientific writings, and reflections on the "New World" by Early Modern philosophers. Secondary readings will include selections of post-colonial theory.

Assignments for Ph.D. students will include one article-length paper that will be rewritten throughout the semester and one oral presentation in the format of a conference paper.

W 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Tsien)

Expand content

FREN 5581/8581 Topics in African Literature and Culture

This course is a survey of 20th century Francophone literature of Africa. Colonial literature and Assimilation; Negritude, Nationalism and Identity; Postcolonial literature; Feminism; Literature and Censorship; Language and Literature; Theatre and ritual performance; and Oral literature as a major inter-text will all be examined through novels, poems, and plays by contemporary African writers in French.

Oral presentations, response papers, and a final research paper are required.

R 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Dramé)

Expand content

FREN 5585/8585 Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies

« Questioning the archive in Postcolonial Studies? or How do we write cultural history in postcolony? »

This course will question nineteenth century archives in postcolonial francophone studies and their impact in writing cultural history. Colonialism destroyed cultural archives partly or completely. To understand the writing of cultural history in postcolonial contexts, it is urgent to have a better understanding of where the archives are and how we can explore them to write a decolonized cultural history. How do we think the foundation of the archive? What kind of periodization can we imagine? What are the specific questions scholars need to ask when confronted to period of History lacking cultural resources? How can we then fill the gaps left by colonization?

T 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Boutaghou)

Spring 2019 Undergraduate Courses

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

French in Translation Course

Expand content

FRTR 2552.001 French Culture

This course shall examine a varied body of literature which depicts and engages with the topic of war, in order to shed light on how war was understood in Medieval France (1100s-1450s). In covering a turbulent but crucial period of French history, we will read medieval texts treating the Norman Conquest of England, the Crusades, France’s persecution of the ‘heretical’ Cathars in Occitania, and the Hundred Years’ War.

The course will operate as a seminar, with discussions and analysis of the texts. Readings will include epics, chronicles, romances, satire, and troubadour songs from Medieval France. Both the class and the readings will be in English. No prior familiarity with French or the subject matter is required. Students of all academic disciplines are welcome to enroll.

TR 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm (Karalexis)

Expand content

FRTR 3584 Topics in French Cinema

An introduction to masterpieces of French cinema, from the earliest short films of the Lumière Brothers and George Meliès, to feature-length works by Jean Vigo, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, and others. Students will study film genres and movements (Poetic Realism, the New Wave) in relation to social, cultural and aesthetic trends. They will also learn to identify and analyze film techniques (camera angle, camera movement, montage, and more). Students will view approximately one film/week, outside of class, complete accompanying reading assignments, participate in class discussion, write analytical papers, attend audiovisual workshops, and create original short video projects. All films are in French with English subtitles; all reading, writing, discussion, and audiovisual assignments are in English.

Questions? Contact the professor: Alison Levine (alevine@virginia.edu)

MW 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm (Levine)

Expand content

FRTR 3814 Gender & Sexuality in Pre-France

If you imagine the Middle Ages as a far-off land occupied by only “knights in shining armor and damsels in distress,” think again. This course will open your eyes to controversial figures of early society, including werewolves and monstrous women, knights in distress and women in shining armor, who openly challenged social norms. Their adventures – recorded in fiction, scientific works, legal cases, sermons, and conduct books –became the testing ground to explore questions that continue to preoccupy us today: What is the relationship between nature and nurture in shaping identity? What role should gender play in defining social and intimate roles? Can the law regulate sexuality and desire?

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (McGrady)

Elementary and Intermediate French Courses (FREN 1010-2320)

Advanced Courses in French

Expand content

FREN 3010 Oral & Written Expression in French

* Prerequisite: Completion of FREN 2320 or equivalent. Permission of instructor for those having completed only FREN 2020. Students having completed French 3032 may not take this course.

Do you want to study, work, or travel in francophone countries? Students in this course develop a better command of both present-day spoken and written French. Class discussion of news articles on current events (French and international), including but not limited to politics, economics, education, language, and entertainment, and including some articles which class members choose. Practice with practical, current vocabulary. Graded written or oral assignments include several one-two page papers, 1 oral and 1 written quiz, one guided short exposé, and a final exam. Consistent attendance and ACTIVE participation in a workshop-like approach constitute 30% of the semester grade.

Although this course does not count for the major or minor, students simultaneously enrolled in 3031 or 3032 have found it helps their success in the other course. The course is designed for students who have not had an extended stay in a French-speaking country. Students who have participated in a summer or semester study-abroad program must confirm placement and transfer credit with the instructor to avoid duplication. Students who have studied in a francophone setting for a year should enroll in FREN 3034 or above.

MW 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm and 6:00 pm - 7:15 pm TR (Stuart)

Expand content

FREN 3030 Phonetics

FREN 3030 is an introductory course in French phonetics. It provides basic concepts in articulatory phonetics and phonological theory, and offers students techniques for improving their own pronunciation. The course will cover the physical characteristics of individual French sounds, the relationship between French sounds and their written representation (orthography), the rules governing the pronunciation of "standard French", the most salient phonological features of selected French varieties, phonetic differences between French and English sounds, and ‘la musique du français’, i.e., prosodic phenomena (le rythme, l’accent, l’intonation, la syllabation). Practical exercises in 'ear-training' (the perception of sounds) and 'phonetic transcription' (using IPA) are also essential components of this dynamic course. – This is NOT a conversation course. Taught in French. Counts for major/minor credit in French and in Linguistics.

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Saunders)

Expand content

FREN 3031 – Finding Your Voice in French

** Prerequisite: Completion of FREN 2020 or 2320; exemption from FREN 2020 by the UVA (F-Cape) Placement Test; a score of 3 on the AP French Language Exam; or a score of at least 660 on the SAT exam. FREN 3031 is a prerequisite for all undergraduate French courses at a higher level.

MWF 11 am – 11:50 am (James)
MWF 10:00 am – 10:50 am (James)
TR 9:30 am - 10:45 am (Hall)
TR 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm (Krueger)

Expand content

FREN 3032 – Text Image, Culture

Prerequisite: French 3031. FREN 3032 is a prerequisite for all French undergraduate courses on a higher level.

TR 9:30 am – 11:45 am (Ogden)
TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Ferguson)
TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm (Boutaghou)
TR 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm (Geer)

Expand content

FREN 3035 Business French

At the end of the semester, students will have the possibility to take the Diplôme de Français des Affaires (B1) for a fee charged by the Chambre de Commerce et de l’Industrie de Paris.

Prerequisite: FREN 3031 and 3032

MWF 9:00 am - 9:50 am (Rajaonariso)

Expand content

FREN 3043 French-Speaking World III: Tradition et innovation: l'art de transposer à travers le temps, l'espace et la culture

Ce cours vous invite à réfléchir sur les questions essentielles qui se trouvent au cœur de toute entreprise humaine qui tente de créer une œuvre artistique et/ou intellectuelle: comment faire surgir le nouveau de l'ancien, l'originalité de l'imitation, le singulier du conformisme? Ainsi, nous explorerons la relation entre la tradition et l'innovation à travers les écrivains, les artistes et les penseurs modernes qui ont façonné leurs œuvres en dialogue explicit avec le passé et la voix des autres. Que pouvons-nous apprendre, par exemple, de l'écrivain franco-chinois Cheng qui, élu à l'Académie française, écrit en un français qui est traversé par la langue et la pensée chinoises?; ou de la philosophe belge Despret qui reprend la thèse cartésienne du 17ème siècle sur la supériorité des hommes sur les animaux et la resitue dans le contexte éthique, féministe et écologique de nos jours?; ou du musicien belgo-rwandais Stromae qui transpose en performance du 21ème siècle (vidéo/youtube et concert) la chanson de l'opéra de Bizet qui, à son tour, puise dans la nouvelle de Mérimée du 19ème siècle?

Cours requis: FREN 3032

TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Lyu)

Expand content

FREN 3584 – Topics in French Cinema: Masterpieces of French Cinema

An introduction to great works of French cinema, from the earliest short films of the Lumière Brothers and George Meliès, to feature-length works by Jean Vigo, Jean Renoir, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Mathieu Kassovitz, Michael Haneke, Céline Sciamma and others. Students will study various film genres, movements, and trends (poetic realism, the new wave, cinema of the banlieue) in relation to larger social, cultural and aesthetic contexts. They will also spend time paying close attention to film form. Required work includes a series of short papers, a more substantial critical essay, regular contribution to group discussion, and the production, in small teams, of a short film inspired by one or more works on the syllabus. All films are in French with English subtitles. Course conducted in French.

TR 11:00 am - 12:15 pm (Blatt)

Expand content

FREN 3585.001 – Topics in Cultural Studies: Beasts and Beauties

Werewolves, vampires, phantoms, and fairies: these are some the creatures who inhabit the eerie space of French fiction. In fables, legends, fairy tales, short stories, novels and film, outer beauty is associated often with virtue, often with inner monstrosity. We will study the presence of menacing fictional creatures in relation to physical and moral beauty, animality, and evocations of good, evil, comfort, fear, the uncanny, kindness and familiarity,

Prerequisites: FREN 3031 and 3032 (or equivalent courses/placement)

TR 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm (Krueger)

Expand content

FREN 3585.002 Topics in Cultural Studies: Introduction to French Drama

Un livre qu’on lit ? Un enregistrement qu’on regarde à la télé ou qu’on écoute à la radio ? Une représentation à laquelle on assiste ? Tous sont du théâtre. Ces multiples formes font du théâtre un art vivant : à tout texte théâtral, on insuffle la vie, celle de l’imagination du lecteur, du metteur en scène, des acteurs, des spectateurs, de l’époque et de la société. Les plus vieilles œuvres théâtrales en langues romanes sont, d’ailleurs, dans la langue de Molière et la scène ne s’est plus arrêtée depuis. Dans notre voyage dans le temps, nous allons nous focaliser sur des œuvres théâtrales en français d’auteurs phares (comme Molière, Beaumarchais, Giraudoux…) et interroger leurs mouvements et tendances, tout en observant la langue et le style pour améliorer notre expression orale et écrite en français.

MW 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm (Gammar)

Expand content

FREN 4035 Tools and Techniques of Translation

Survey of the main tools and techniques of translation. Written and oral translation exercises to and from the target language. Selection of texts will vary. Taught in French.

** Prerequisites: B+ average in FREN 3031, 3032, and 4031 or instructor’s permission.

MWF 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm (Zunz)

Expand content

**FREN 4509 Seminar in French Linguistics: L’individu bilingue / the bilingual speaker**

Nearly half the people in the world speak more than one language every day; and in France, some 13 million speakers use regularly several languages. Yet, says expert (renowned psycholinguist) François Grosjean, “le bilinguisme reste méconnu et victime d’idées reçues” (especially in France where, historically, a linguistic policy of monolingualism has been promoted). In this course, we shall explore the many facets of the bilingual and bicultural individual (focusing particularly on the two languages that everyone taking the course will speak: French and English). Our guide will be Grosjean’s 2015 book, Parler plusieurs langues: le monde des bilingues (an excellent analysis of the complex field for the French audience).

Students will conduct fieldwork, record and analyze oral interviews, assess case studies, examine autobiographies of celebrated bilinguals, and contribute daily to in-class discussions of readings and video clips (on subjects such as code switching, mixed linguistic systems, accent retention, language dominance, translating/ interpreting, simultaneous and successive language acquisition, and exceptional bilingualism). Participants must feel comfortable speaking French inside the classroom and outside the classroom (as some field projects will require you to use your French). Taught in French. Counts for major/minor credit in French and in Linguistics.

MW 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm (Saunders)

Expand content

FREN 4582 Advanced Topics in French Poetry: Baudelaire et la modernité

Nous lirons une sélection de textes de Baudelaire (Les Fleurs du mal, Les Petits poèmes en prose, Les Paradis artificiels, et les critiques d'art) pour apprécier l'ensemble de la production littéraire de l'un des poètes les plus célébrés dans la culture occidentale. Nous procèderons par des lectures et des analyses attentives et examinerons la sensibilité et l'esthétique de la modernité baudelairienne: le problème du mal et l'éthique de la poésie, la structure et la déstructuration de la forme poétique, et la question de l'inspiration et de la lucidité dans l'entreprise poétique. De façon plus générale, nous nous intéresserons à la nature et au pouvoir du langage poétique ainsi qu'à la relation entre la poésie et la vie.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032 plus one additional 3000-level literature, civilization, film, or cultural history course in French.

TR 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm (Lyu)

Expand content

FREN 4585: Joan of Arc: From Medieval to Modern Times

Does the past matter in modern France? To what extent does history shape contemporary culture? This course will turn to the medieval heroine Joan of Arc and her role in French society to tease out these questions. Students by the end of the semester will have not only mastered the historical facts of Joan’s life but will also be able to discern Joan’s use over time to achieve different artistic and political ends in French society. We will begin with contemporary writings of Joan and then her full trial record before turning to her reception in modern society, where we will discover multiple versions of Joan – as harlot, saint, warmonger, nationalist, and feminist icon.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032 plus one additional 3000-level literature, civilization, or cultural history course in French.

MW 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm McGrady)

Expand content

FREN 4743 Africa in Cinema

This course is a study of the representation of Africa in American, Western European and African films. It deals with the representations of African cultures by filmmakers from different cultural backgrounds and studies the ways in which their perspectives on Africa are often informed by their own social and ideological positions as well as the demands of exoticism. It also examines the constructions of the African as the “other” and the kinds of responses such constructions have elicited from Africa’s filmmakers. These filmic inventions are analyzed through a selection of French, British, American, and African films by such directors as John Huston, S. Pollack, J-J Annaud, M. Radford, Ngangura Mweze, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Souleymane Cissé, Gaston Kaboré, Sembene Ousmane, Dani Kouyaté, Fanta Régina Nacro, Jean-Marie Teno, A. Sissako on a variety of subjects relative to the image of Africa in cinema. Attendance is mandatory. The final grade will be based on one oral presentation (20%) and a short paper (20%), contributions to discussions in class (10% of final grade), and a Final Research Paper (50%).

For the oral presentation select a film from the syllabus and provide an analysis of an aspect -style or theme- of the film; followed by Q&A session (10-15 minutes). Write a paper (3 pages) on the subject of your presentation. The paper is due one week after the presentation.

The final research paper should study a theme or technique using at least 2 films. The paper should be analytical, well documented and written in clear, grammatically correct French using correct film terminology (10 pages, including bibliography).

Prerequisite: FREN 3032 and FREN 3584 or another 3000-level literature, culture, or film course in French.

Reading material in Course Packet available at n. k. print & design, on Elliewood Avenue.

TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Dramé)

Expand content

FREN 4744 - The Occupation and After

The Occupation and After…

While in 2014 the French spent a year commemorating the centenary of the start of the “Great War” (“la Der des Ders,” the so called “war to end all wars”), in the summer of 2015 the nation marked another important anniversary: namely, seventy years since the Liberation of Paris during World War II. The German occupation of France, which lasted from 1940 until 1945, was one of the most consequential periods in the nation’s history, one that left an indelible mark on the French national psyche that continues to rouse the country’s collective memory to this day. After an initial examination of the political and social conditions in France under the Nazi regime, this seminar proposes to explore the enduring legacy of those “Dark Years” by investigating how the complex (and traumatic) history of the Occupation has impacted French culture during the last half of the twentieth century and into the twenty first. Discussions will focus on a variety of documentary and artistic sources—novels and films, mostly, though we will also explore photographs and graphic novels—that attest to what historians refer to as contemporary France’s collective “obsession” with the past.

Readings and films may include (but are not limited to) work by Némirovsky, Vercors, Perec, Duras, Modiano, Salvayre, Daeninckx, Claudel, Sartre, Clouzot, Melville, Resnais, Ophüls, Berri, Malle, Chabrol, and Audiard. Course conducted in French.

TR 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm (Blatt)

5000-Level Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5540/8540 Topics in Eighteenth Century Literature: Pre-Colonialism: Early French Explorations

Assignments for Ph.D. students will include one article-length paper that will be rewritten throughout the semester and one oral presentation in the format of a conference paper.

W 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Tsien)

Expand content

FREN 5581/8581 Topics in African Literature and Culture

Oral presentations, response papers, and a final research paper are required.

R 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Dramé)

Expand content

FREN 5585/8585 Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies

« Questioning the archive in Postcolonial Studies? or How do we write cultural history in postcolony? »

T 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Boutaghou)

Fall 2019 Graduate Courses

Graduate Courses - Fall 2019

Advanced undergraduate students who have earned a B+ (or higher) in at least one 4000-level course may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5510/8510 - Topics in Medieval Literature: Poetry in Motion: The Composition, Circulation and Reception of Verse in the Late Middle Ages

Founded on the notion that art is neither produced in a vacuum nor received by passive participants, this course will consider the ways in which the circulation of writings transforms their form, function, and meaning. Key topics to be addressed include 1) multi-authorship (both collaborative and competitive), 2) multi-modal compositions that combine text/image/music, 3) delivery and messaging (whether as performed works or material artifacts), 4) textual appropriation through rewriting and translation. Primary works will be from the “long fourteenth century” and will include Jean de Meun’s continuation of the Roman de la Rose, the Ovide moralisé, the poetry and music of Guillaume de Machaut, Christine de Pizan’s Cent ballades d’amant et de dame, and Charles d’Orléans’ French and English poetry.

R 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (McGrady)

Expand content

FREN 5520/8510 – Topics in 16th Century Literature: Masculine/Feminine: Gender, Sexuality, and Self in French Renaissance Literature

This course will examine texts from a variety of genres in which men and women of the sixteenth century write about themselves and each other, constructing similarities and differences, expressing love or hatred, admiration or rivalry, perplexity or a claim to know. What ideas of the body, sex, and gendered roles informed their thinking? In a period marked by new humanist models of learning, the perennial querelle des femmes, and the outbreak of civil war, sexual, social, political, and religious categories are at once circumscribed and fluid; the stakes of writing are high; the exploration of the self and the other in history is an undertaking at once urgent, tentative, and contested.

W 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Ferguson)

FREN 5585/8585 – Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies LE SIÉCLE DES INTELLECTUELS (1898-2018)

« Intellectuel » was coined as a substantive in 1898, in the context of the Dreyfus Affair. Since then, it has remained a key notion in French social, political, and literary life. Used as a rallying cry or an insult, the word was born polemical, and never ceased to stir up controversy. In many occasions, French intellectuels proved able to considerably influence the course of national, and sometimes international, events. In that sense, telling their stories is one of the best possible introductions to French cultural, artistic and political life in the past one hundred years. Is it still the case, or is the « soft power » of French intellectuels already a thing of the past ?

Those questions, and many others, will be addressed in this seminar.

We will follow three major paths :

1) we will contextualize the intellectuels' rise and reign, in relation with specific political events (Dreyfus Affair, antifascism, protests against colonization and colonial wars, Mai 68, etc.), but also in relation with the development of new literary genres (roman «idéologique», roman à thèse, polemical essays, «engagés» novels or theater, «littérature de témoignage»), and new forms of interventions in the public sphere (manifeste, pétition, lettre ouverte, collective or anonymous writing, films-tracts, political graffiti, etc.)

2) we will take a fresh look at the disputes among, or about, French intellectuels, and we will revisit the notions around which authors such as Zola, Péguy, Sartre or Camus quarreled (art vs. ideology, «mystique» vs. politics, engagement vs. mauvaise foi, political partisanship vs. ethical critique, etc.) ;

3) finally, we will try to assess the status of les intellectuels today. Although anti-intellectualism is in no way a novelty, it has been boosted in recent times by a new wave of populism. Is the French intellectuel(le) an endangered species ? From Houllebecq's novels to the Gilets jaunes' street demonstrations, he or she is, in any case, the target of many attacks.

We will work mostly on short excerpts from various sources, political, sociological, historical, but most of all literary and philosophical — among the latter : Zola, Barrès, Péguy, Gide, Breton, Alain, Beauvoir, Sartre, Camus, Blanchot, Barthes, Foucault, Kristeva, Lyotard, Lévy, Houllebecq.

Special guest : Prof. Martin Rueff (University of Geneva), an eminent literary critic and a poet, also an editor of Michel Foucault, will come to UVA this Fall at the invitation of the French Department, and has agreed to speak in our seminar.

Taught in French

T 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Roger)

Expand content

FREN 7040 – Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (James)

Expand content

FREN 7500 - Topics in Theory and Criticism: Literary Theory: Classic Thoughts, Modern Texts, Contemporary Debates

This course serves as an introduction to theoretical texts we encounter most frequently in the discourses of literary criticism. Our aim is to gain a deeper understanding of how literature has been thought and debated as well as how literary criticism has been practiced over time.

In the first part of the course, we will read key texts of the critical tradition from antiquity to the early twentieth century. In the second part of the course, we will survey the major theoretical movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries such as formalism/ structuralism/ deconstruction, reader response theory, psychoanalysis, feminism/ gender studies/ queer theory, eco-criticism/ animal studies. (Due to time constraints, we will not cover post-colonial theory and its variations in the francophone context, given that several seminars in the department treat the subject.)

M 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Lyu)

Fall 2019 Undergraduate Courses

French Translation Courses

Expand content

FRTR 2510 Topics in Medieval Literature: Lives of the Saints

Murderers, prostitutes, Trans people, kings, rebellious children… all saints? Modern depictions of holy people often foreground their subjects' virtues and gloss over their complexities, but, historically, stories about saints highlight more than just heroic courage in the face of impossible odds: the stories (hagiography) also focus on sin and redemption and on staunch resistance to contemporary norms. Gender bending, marvelous journeys to heaven and hell, spectacular sins and helpful animals are just a few of the exciting elements authors have used to draw their audiences in. For more sophisticated readers and listeners, they frequently offer edgy commentaries on the hot topics of their day (e.g., virginity vs. marriage) and on eternal issues (e.g., the conflicting goals of parents and children). Focusing on one of the highpoints of hagiographic writing—Christian France in the Middle Ages—but drawing on a range of Lives, from the earliest times to the modern era and from different religious traditions, we will investigate what saints’ Lives can tell us about their culture’s theological concerns, secular interests, conceptions of history and fiction, and the quest of both ecclesiastics and lay people to fulfill their spiritual and their terrestrial responsibilities.

All readings will be in English translation and discussion will be in English. This course may not be taken as part of the requirements for the major or minor in French.

MW 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (Ogden)

Expand content

CREO 1010-001 - Elementary Creole I

Development of basic oral expression, listening and reading comprehension, and writing. Pre-requisite: No previous formal instruction of French or Creole is required.

TBA - Dramé

Expand content

CREO 2010-001 - Intermediate Creole I

Develops the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Creole.

Enrollment Requirement: Must have completed CREO 1020.

Pre-requisite: Two previous semesters of Elementary Creole (I and II).

TBA - Dramé

Advanced Courses in French

Expand content

FREN 3030 – Phonetics: The Sounds of French

Pre-requisite: FREN 2020 (or equivalent). Course taught in French; counts for major/minor credit in French and Linguistics

MWF 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM (Saunders)

Expand content

FREN 3031 –Finding Your Voice in French

Pre-requisite: Completion of FREN 2020 or 2320; exemption from FREN 2020 by the UVA (F-Cape) Placement Test; a score of 3 on the AP French Language Exam; or a score of at least 660 on the SAT exam.

Advice: FREN 3031 is a major and minor requirement and a pre-requisite for most other courses in French. Try to take FREN 3031 as soon as you are eligible --first year, first semester if possible.

MWF 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM (Zunz)
TR 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM (Staff)
TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (Staff)
MW 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM (Geer)

Expand content

FREN 3032 – Image, Text, Culture

Pre-requisite: French 3031.

Advice: FREN 3032 is a major and minor requirement and a pre-requisite for most other courses in French. Try to take FREN 3032 as soon as you are eligible--first year, first semester if possible.

TR       11:00 AM – 12:15 PM (Staff)
TR       12:30 PM – 1:45 PM (McGrady)
MW     2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (Lyu)

Expand content

FREN 3036 - Introduction to Translation

Comment dit-on… ? Que veut dire… ? 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.

**Students who have already taken FREN 4035 “Tools and Techniques of Translation” may not enroll in this course.

Pre-requisite: FREN 2020 or FREN 2320 or equivalent placement

MWF 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM (Hall)

Expand content

FREN 3041 – The French-Speaking World I: Origins:

Globalization. Love and friendship. Encounters with other cultures and peoples. Separation of Church and State. Bourgeois values. Law and justice. Where did these features of modern life come from and—more importantly—what other forms might they have taken or might they still evolve into? It is said that history is written by the victors, but historical documents—literature, histories, prayer books, etc.—retain the evidence of alternate values as well as hints of (temporarily?) abandoned futures. Can we escape our preconceptions of the past and uncover, in the documents, different histories? Histories that offer alternative ways of thinking about modern institutions, assumptions, and inequities and about the stories that give them authority?

Readings in the course will be in modern French translation, with occasional discussions of the original medieval and middle French if students are interested in the history of the language. We’ll begin with the earliest narrative in French (ca. 880 C.E.) and continue up to about 1600, looking both at classic texts and little-known treasures. Reading and writing assignments will be appropriate both for students coming directly from FREN 3032 and for more advanced students who want to hone their close reading and analytical/persuasive writing skills in French.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032

MWF 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 3043-001 - The French-Speaking World III: Great Books in French

Rather than focus on any single theme, movement, motif, or overarching problematic, this seminar will examine a few of the most admired and influential novels in the history of modern and contemporary French literature. Special attention will be paid to the potential uses (but also, as some would put it, to the ultimate uselessness) of literature. How might reading fiction inform our understanding of the world and our place in it, if at all? Texts may include, but are certainly not limited to: Honoré de Balzac’s tale of a young law student’s drive to make it in the big city (Le Père Goriot, 1835); Gustave Flaubert’s portrait of the original desperate housewife (Madame Bovary, 1856); Alain Robbe-Grillet’s scandalously puzzling La Jalousie (1957); and/or Georges Perec's critique of consumer society in the 1960s. We will end our semester with an "extremely contemporary" novel, or two, published within the last decade or two.

Required work may include: active participation in class discussion, regular response papers (1-2 pages), an oral presentation, and 2 longer papers (4-5 pages). Course conducted entirely in French.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032

TR 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM (Blatt)

Expand content

FREN 3051 - Histoire et civilisation de la France contemporaine

Beginning with a study of the French Revolution, this course focuses on the cultural and historical influences that have shaped Modern France. We will explore the relationship between culture and political power, the changing role of government, and how ordinary men and women experienced social change. Readings will be drawn from primary documents, memoirs and secondary historical texts. Visual elements will be incorporated in this course as well as selected films.

Readings in this course will be done in both French and English. All lectures, discussions and writing will be done exclusively in French

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032

TR 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM (Horne)

Expand content

FREN 3509 - Topics in French Linguistics: Introduction to phonological variation in French (NEW COURSE)

Language variation is not an exceptional phenomenon in living languages; it is fundamental and permanent. This introductory course considers selected aspects of variation in French at the phonological level. It will focus on inter-speaker variation (variation between speakers, i.e., according to geographical and social characteristics) as well as intra-speaker variation (variation within the same speaker, i.e., according to register, or style). The course will attempt to answer questions such as the following: What aspects of the pronunciation of French vary (vowels, consonants, liaison, /ə/ . . .) and why? What do the phonological systems of different varieties of French have in common? How can one [or can one] identify the geographical region of France from which one comes just by listening to his/her pronunciation? How do non-linguists (as opposed to linguists) perceive variation in French? Why do some non-Parisian French speakers perceive their own variety of French as inferior?

In addition to providing students with useful knowledge to support their future studies in French, linguistics, communication, cognitive sciences, global studies, and the like, this course offers students the opportunity to practice their oral French, improve their listening skills and engage actively in a number of individual and group projects (involving ‘authentic’ French).

Course taught entirely in French, though some reading assignments are in English

Pre-requisites: FREN 3030 (phonetics) or comparable course

MWF 12:00 PM – 12:50 PM (Saunders)

Expand content

FREN 3570 – Topics in Francophone African

This course will explore aspects of African literatures and cultures. It will focus on selected issues of special resonance in contemporary African life; oral literature and its impact on all other art forms; key issues in French colonial policy and its legacy in Africa: language, politics, and education. The course will examine the image of the postcolonial state and society as found in contemporary arts, paintings, sculpture, music, and cinema. Selections from painters and sculptors like Cheri Samba (Zaire), Iba NDiaye, O. Sow (Senegal), Werewere Liking (Cameroun), including such popular icons as Mamy Wata
and forms such as Souwere glass painting; from musicians like Youssou Ndour (Senegal), Cheb Khaled (Algeria), Seigneur Rochereau, Tshala Muana (Zaire), Salif Keita (Mali), and Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde); from Mande, Peul, and Kabyle oral literature in French translation; from filmmakers D.D. Mambety, Moussa Sene Absa, and Ngangura Mweze. The final grade will be based on contributions to discussions, a mid-term, and 2 papers.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032

TR 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM (Dramé)

Expand content

FREN 3585-001 - Topics in Cultural Studies: France and the US (1919-2019)

The French-American relationship can be described as intense, passionate, and highly paradoxical. While the two countries like to think of themselves as old-time friends and allies, they often behave as rivals, not to say adversaries. While they share common (democratic) values, they often disagree on how to interpret those values, or how to act in accordance with them. As observed by an influential French statesman as early as the 1920s, periods of good will and camaraderie between France and the U.S. were always short-lived, and quickly followed by bitterness and tensions.

An aggravating factor in that strained relationship was, in the aftermath of WWI, the imbalance created by the war between a victorious, but weakened France, and the U.S.

Conflicts of interest — diplomatic, economical or otherwise— always played an important part in that rampant bellicosity. However, the great divide runs deeper. The most strident differences between the two countries are cultural, while at the same time (again paradoxically), each country feels, on many grounds, culturally attracted by the other. Such is the charade that we will explore together, through texts, images, songs, and films.

Our approach will be twofold :

1) CONTEXT : we will analyze the French-American relationship in terms of international relations, starting with the post-WWI crisis over the League of Nations, the treaties and the war debts, down to the (at best) tepid relationship between Presidents Trump and Macron;

2) REPRESENTATIONS : we will explore the major areas of ideological or cultural conflict, from religion to work ethics or néfaste food (a French pun on American fast-food). Identifying stereotypes on both sides of the Atlantic, will help us to delineate the imaginary portraits of «les Yankees», as seen by «the Frogs» —and vice versa. We will also explore the major objects of mutual fascination between the two cultures.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3031 and FREN 3032 (or equivalent placement)

Taught in French

PLEASE NOTE THE UNUSUAL FORMAT AND SCHEDULE

MW 3:30 PM – 5:15 PM (Roger)

Expand content

FREN 4031-001 - Grammar and Style

Taught in French.

Pre-requisites: FREN 3031, FREN 3032 and at least one FREN course numbered 3040 or higher. Restricted to third and fourth year students.

MWF 12:00PM - 12:50PM Zunz

Expand content

FREN 4580 – Advanced Topics in Literature: The Extreme Contemporary, or What the French are Reading Today

This course is designed as a survey of contemporary French literature. One might even call it an introduction to what has come to be known as “extremely contemporary” French literature (l’extrême contemporain), which is to say books that have been published within the last few years. After an initial consideration of some of the major trends to have emerged on the French literary scene since the turn of the twenty-first century, students will read, discuss, and write about a selection of texts (fictions, non-fictions, and works that fall somewhere in between) that have been hailed by critics and readers alike. While the course focuses on what kinds of books the French are reading today, we will also consider how they read, how they talk about what they are reading, and how they inform themselves further about what to read next by consulting a number of essential and readily available resources for enthusiasts of contemporary French writing, like magazines, radio programs, websites, blogs, book reviews, and television programs (indeed, the French have a long tradition of producing quality “book tv”). Works by writers such as Jean Rolin, Jean Echenoz, Maylis de Kerangal, Vincent Almendros, Gael Faye, Leila Slimani, and Michel Houellebecq may find their way onto the syllabus. We will also endeavor to schedule a few opportunities for students to discuss their readings (over skype) with the writers themselves.

Requirements include regular reading and active participation in class discussion, an oral presentation on a particular aspect of the contemporary literary scene, a series of short commentaries and book reviews, and a final paper.

Pre-requisites: FREN 3032 and at least one other course above FREN 3040. Course conducted in French.

TR 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM (Blatt)

Expand content

FREN 4585 - The History of Paris

This course will explore the history of Paris from the French Revolution to the present. The principal theater of the Revolution, Paris became over the course of the 19th-century not only the central focus of French intellectual, political, and artistic life, but also the model of a 19th-century European city.

Through a broad variety of written and visual texts, we will study the topography, architecture, politics and daily life of nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century Paris as well as the development of the imagined city in art and literature. We will also consider how the traces of the past are inscribed on the modern urban landscape.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032 plus one additional 3000-level course in French. (N.B. Students who have previously taken FREN 3652: Modern Paris may not enroll for FREN credit in this course.)

TR 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM (Horne)

Expand content

FREN 4585-002 - Adv Topics Cultural Studies: Portraits

An exploration of human portraits in France from prehistoric cave art to the selfie. Students will examine a variety of genres and media including paintings, drawings, film, photography, autobiography, autofiction, poetry, essays, and journals. We will focus in particular on narrative believability (in text and image), on the e creation of self-image and public persona, and on the mediated self. Coursework includes a final autobiographical, autofictional, or biographical audio-visual project.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3031 and 3032 (or equivalent) and one literature or culture course at the 3000 level.

MW 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (Krueger)

Expand content

FREN 4743 - Africa in Cinema

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032 and FREN 3584 or another 3000-level literature, culture, or film course in French.

TR 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM Dramé,Kandioura

Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students who have earned a B+ (or higher) in at least one 4000-level course may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5510/8510 - Topics in Medieval Literature: Poetry in Motion: The Composition, Circulation and Reception of Verse in the Late Middle Ages

R 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (McGrady)

Expand content

FREN 5520/8510 – Topics in 16th Century Literature: Masculine/Feminine: Gender, Sexuality, and Self in French Renaissance Literature

W 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Ferguson)

Expand content

FREN 5585/8585 – Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies LE SIÉCLE DES INTELLECTUELS (1898-2018)

Those questions, and many others, will be addressed in this seminar.

We will follow three major paths :

Taught in French

T 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Roger)

Expand content

FREN 7040 – Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (James)

Expand content

FREN 7500 - Topics in Theory and Criticism: Literary Theory: Classic Thoughts, Modern Texts, Contemporary Debates

M 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Lyu)

Spring 2020 Graduate Courses

5000-Level Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5530/8530 Topics in Seventeenth-Century French Literature –– Baroque Culture

There are many ways of framing French culture in the period from the last quarter of the sixteenth century to the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Sometimes called the “long seventeenth century,” or simply “early modernity,” this period reveals different aspects when considered in conjunction with the “Baroque,” a term about which French literary studies have exceptionally ambivalent. Yet the term “Baroque” contextualizes the French experience within the European and the colonial culture of absolutism, of the Counter-Reformation, of heliocentrism and other disruptive scientific advances, and of growing controversies about Modernity (e.g. the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns). In this seminar we will consider the hypothesis that the “Baroque” can be fruitfully understood not simply as a style but as a set of solutions to a crisis of organization in knowledge, belief, and politics.

W 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Lyons)

Expand content

FREN 5560/8560 Topics in Nineteenth-Century Literature –– Girls of the Nineteenth Century

In his 1884 novel Chérie, Edmond de Goncourt refers to his protagonist as “no longer a little girl, and not yet a woman.” This in-between state serves as a general identifier of the jeune fille (literally young girl), a protagonist of countless nineteenth-century French novels and a target buyer for nineteenth-century manuals of beauty and etiquette. Yet the idea of the jeune fille is more complex and culturally dependent than a general biological time-frame would suggest. In a 1907 article, critic Remy de Goncourt explained that while jeunes filles have existed for a long time, the question of the jeune fille becomes particularly complicated at the turn of the century. One could argue, of course, that writers like Gourmont contributed to this precarious status through their analyses and fictional representations of young women. Gourmont, like others, further defines the jeune fille as both marriageable and wanting to marry, characteristics that distinguish the jeune fille from what she may become if she strays from her wholesome destiny: a vieille fille (old maid); a fille-mère (a pejorative term for single mother); or a fille publique (streetwalker).

In this course we will explore the constructs of the nineteenth-century jeune fille and her fallen sisters in poetry and prose fiction by writers such as Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Honoré de Balzac, Delphine de Girardin, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, Guy de Maupassant, J.-K. Huysmans, Emile Zola, Julia Daudet, Edmond de Goncourt, and Rachilde, and in essays and self-help books of the era.

Open to graduate students with reading knowledge of French
Course conducted in French and English (depending on students’ background)
Written work in French (for most French MA and Ph.D. students), or English
Primary readings in French; some secondary readings in English

T 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Krueger)

Expand content

FREN 5585/8585 Topics in Civ/Cultural Studies –– Global France: History, Education, Empire

This course has several related ambitions. First, to prepare students to think about France through a global lens and to familiarize them with important theoretical approaches--derived from history, anthropology, sociology and literature--to such an expansive object of study. In order to understand how scholars use theory, we will examine theoretical texts in tandem with scholarly works that exemplify them.

Then, to give focus to the broad objectives outlined above, our study will be anchored by three intersecting concerns: the writing of history, both national and global; the role of education, including schools, books, and reading; and the construction and deconstruction of empire.

This course will hopefully allow graduate students to fill any gaps they may have in their own understanding of modern French history and to think more deeply about how that history intersects with their own research and teaching agendas, particularly because they may one day be expected to teach an undergraduate course on French history and culture. Since students will enter this course with varying backgrounds and interests, I will want to meet with each student very early in the spring semester, or even now, during the fall semester. Please contact me to set up an appointment.

This course will be taught in French and occasionally in English. Seminar participants are expected to read, write, and discuss readings in both languages.

R 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Horne)

Spring 2020 Undergraduate Courses

French in Translation Course

Expand content

FRTR 2580 Topics in French and Francophone Culture –– The Women in Islam, the right to History

This course is an attempt to understand the complexity of feminism and Islam in France and its former colonies. We will discuss important texts by pioneers of Arab feminism such as Fatima Mernissi’s Beyond the Veil and Nawal al Sa’dawi’s The Hidden Face of Eve. We will analyze how sexuality, feminism, and politics are closely related in Arab feminist discourse and how its roots are deeply grounded in French literature and culture. At the same time, we will address the question of the emergence of a singular experience of feminism in Islam. Indeed, Feminism, as a philosophical approach and as a practice, is no longer a Western discourse. Each historical, sociological, and cultural situation produces a specific feminist discourse. We will describe the specificity of Women in Islam and its dialogue with European and American Feminism throughout the history of the 20th century.

Course conducted entirely in English

No knowledge of French required

TR 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm (Boutaghou)

Expand content

FRTR 3584 Topics in French Cinema –– Masterpieces of French Cinema

An introduction to great works of French cinema, from the earliest short films of the Lumière Brothers and George Meliès, to feature-length works by Jean Vigo, Jean Renoir, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Mathieu Kassovitz, Michael Haneke, Céline Sciamma and others. Students will study various film genres, movements, and trends (poetic realism, the new wave, cinema of the banlieue) in relation to larger social, cultural, and aesthetic contexts. They will also spend time paying close attention to film form. Required work includes a series of short papers and film reviews, a more substantial critical essay, regular contribution to group discussion, and the production, in small teams, of a short film inspired by one or more works on the syllabus. All films are in French with English subtitles.

Course conducted entirely in English
No knowledge of French required

MW 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM (Blatt)

Expand content

FRTR 3814/WGS 3814 Gender/Sexuality/Identity in Premodern France

If you imagine the Middle Ages as a far-off land occupied by only “knights in shining armor and damsels in distress,” think again. This course will open your eyes to controversial figures of early society, including werewolves and monstrous women, knights in distress and women in shining armor, all of whom openly challenged social norms. Their adventures – recorded in fiction, scientific works, legal cases, sermons, and conduct books –became the testing ground to explore questions that continue to preoccupy us today: What is the relationship between nature and nurture in shaping identity? What role should gender play in defining social and intimate roles? Can the law regulate sexuality and desire?

Course taught in English.

Can be used to fulfill second writing requirement

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (McGrady)

Advanced Courses in French

Expand content

FREN 3030 Phonetics: The Sounds of French

FREN 3030 is an introductory course in French phonetics. It provides basic concepts in articulatory phonetics and phonological theory, and offers students techniques for improving their own pronunciation. The course will cover the physical characteristics of individual French sounds, the relationship between French sounds and their written representation (orthography), the rules governing the pronunciation of "standard French", the most salient phonological features of selected French varieties, phonetic differences between French and English sounds, and ‘la musique du français’, i.e., prosodic phenomena (le rythme, l’accent, l’intonation, la syllabation). Practical exercises in 'ear-training' (the perception of sounds) and 'phonetic transcription' (using IPA) are also essential components of this dynamic course. Taught in French.

Counts for major/minor credit in French and in Linguistics. Prerequisite: FREN 2020 (or equivalent).

Taught in French

Counts for major/minor credit in French and in Linguistics

TR 9:30 am – 10:45 am (Saunders)
TR 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm (Saunders)

FREN 3031 Finding Your Voice in French

Prerequisite: Completion of FREN 2020 or 2320; exemption from FREN 2020 by the UVA (F-Cape) Placement Test; a score of 3 on the AP French Language Exam; or a score of at least 660 on the SAT exam. FREN 3031 is a prerequisite for nearly all undergraduate French courses at a higher level.

TR 9:30 am – 10:45 am (Lombart)
MWF 10:00 am – 10:50 am (James)
MWF 11:00 am – 11:50 am (James)
TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Krueger)

FREN 3032 Text, Image, Culture

discuss a range of works that may include poetry, painting, prose, music, theater, films, graphic novels, photographs, essays, and historical documents. They will also make significant progress in their oral and written comprehension and communication in French. The course is conducted entirely in French.

Prerequisite: FREN 3031. FREN 3032 is a prerequisite for nearly all French undergraduate courses on a higher level.

TR       9:30 am – 10:45 am   (Ogden)
TR       11:00 am – 12:15 pm (Lombart)
MW     2:00 pm – 3:15 pm      (Lyons)
MW     3:30 pm – 4:45 pm      (McGrady)

Expand content

FREN 3035 Business French

In this course, you will develop a linguistic and cultural skill set adapted to the contemporary francophone business world. You will learn the proper etiquette for oral and written professional communication, and you will use it, in order to accomplish a variety of business-specific tasks. You will explore the major industries of the francophone world, study their organization structure, and apply for a job. If you are looking for a career in the francophone world, start here.

Prerequisite: FREN 3031 and FREN 3032

TR 11:00 am -12:15 pm (Simotas)

Expand content

FREN 3043 The French Speaking World III: Modernities –– Tradition et innovation: comment (se) transformer à travers le temps, l'espace et la culture?

Prerequisite: FREN 3031 and FREN 3032

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Lyu)

Expand content

FREN 3050 History and Civilization of France: Middle Ages to Revolution

You love France and are intrigued by its long and rich history? This course offers you the opportunity to explore your interests and deepen your knowledge of the major events, political figures, and the artistic, cultural, and intellectual movements, prior to the Revolution, that have shaped France as we know it and whose legacy is seen and felt to this day. Setting the stage with a survey of prehistoric and Roman Gaul, we will focus on the thousand-year period known as the Middle Ages, followed by the Renaissance, the Classical Age, and the Enlightenment. Subjects will be discussed both in terms of their original historical context and their evolving significance, sometimes contested, to later and present generations. Films, visual images, and primary documents will supplement readings from secondary historical texts. Assignments will include group projects, in-class presentations, written papers, and quizzes.

Prerequisite: FREN 3031 and FREN 3032

TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Ferguson)

Expand content

FREN 3570 Topics in Francophone African Studies –– African Literatures and Culture

This course will explore aspects of African literatures and cultures. It will focus on selected issues of special resonance in contemporary African life; oral literature and its impact on all other art forms; key issues in French colonial policy and its legacy in Africa: language, politics, and education. The course will examine the image of the postcolonial state and society as found in contemporary arts, paintings, sculpture, music, and cinema. Selections from painters and sculptors like Cheri Samba (Zaire), Iba NDiaye, Ousmane Sow (Senegal), Werewere Liking (Cameroun), including such popular icons as Mamy Wata and forms such as Souwere glass painting; from musicians like Youssou Ndour (Senegal), Cheb Khaled (Algeria), Seigneur Rochereau, Tshala Muana (Zaire), Salif Keita (Mali), and Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde); from

Mande, Peul, and Kabyle oral literature in French translation; from filmmakers D.D. Mambety, Moussa Sene Absa, and Ngangura Mweze. The final grade will be based on contributions to discussions, a mid-term, and 2 papers.

Prerequisite: FREN 3031 and FREN 3032

TR 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm (Dramé)

Expand content

FREN 3585 Topics in Cultural Studies –– Women’s Work: Women, Literature, and Society

Simone de Beauvoir famously wrote that, “On ne naît pas femme: on le devient.” What does it mean to be a woman? How do women define, defy, and redefine their place in society? This course considers French and Francophone women’s works of literature and film through the examination of the domestic sphere and conventions that have traditionally defined women’s places and roles. We will study autobiographical and fictional accounts of women's lives, conventions, transgressions (of gender, sexuality, language, morality, norms), and debates on/about women, women’s space, the feminine, the domestic, and feminism. Course texts will include essays, films, short stories, and novels from a variety of time periods and French and Francophone cultures. Students will participate actively in class discussion, collaborate on a group research presentation, write short reaction papers, a midterm and a final paper. Course conducted in French.

Prerequisite: FREN 3032

MWF 11:00 am – 11:50 am (Hall)

Expand content

FREN 4035 Tools and Techniques of Translation

« On ne s’improvise pas traducteur » selon les mots d’André Gide. En effet, on ne peut traduire que si l’on comprend un texte. Dans le cours « Tools and Techniques of Translation », les étudiants apprendront, à travers des textes variés, à découper une phrase en unités de traduction, à trouver le mot juste, à éviter les faux-amis, à reconnaitre les structures de la langue française, et découvriront les techniques de traduction nécessaires afin de rester fidèles à la langue de départ, l’anglais.

Prerequisites: B+ average in FREN 3031, 3032, and 4031 or instructor’s permission

MWF 12:00 pm – 12:50 (Zunz)

Expand content

FREN 4560 Advanced Topics in Nineteenth-Century Literature –– Le Romantisme français: la quête du soi et la recherche du bonheur

Ce cours vous invite à explorer deux soucis majeurs de la jeune génération romantique en France au 19ème siècle: la quête du soi et la recherche du bonheur. A travers une lecture approfondie des textes (poèmes, nouvelle, roman, réflexions théoriques), nous examinerons l'idéal, la sensibilité, la mélancolie, et le goût de la révolte et de la passion dont s'imprègne l'état d'âme romantique pour interroger comment les héros et les héroïnes romantiques conçoivent le soi et poursuivent le bonheur. Quelle relation y a-t-il entre la quête du soi, d'un côté; et la recherche du bonheur, de l'autre? Y a-t-il harmonie ou opposition? Quel rôle le genre y joue-t-il? Quelle est la part de l'amour et de la mort? Tout au long du semestre, nous essayerons de dégager la signifiance de la double quête romantique française du 19ème siècle pour notre époque contemporaine qui est tout aussi préoccupée par le soi (ou son image) et le bonheur (ou le succès).

Prerequisite: Un cours sur la littérature, la culture, ou le cinéma français au-delà de FREN 3032 (ou l’accord du professeur).

MW 3 :30 pm – 4 :45 pm (Lyu)

Expand content

FREN 4585 Advanced Topics Cultural Studies –– Getting Medieval on the Movies

Why isn’t Jamie Foxx cast as Robin Hood, or Zoe Saldana as Lancelot, or Michelle Yeoh as Merlin? When we’re dealing in myths, why do some ideas of “historical realism” seem to matter... and how sure are we that we know what medieval European society really looked like? When we imagine the world of over a thousand years ago, why do 1950s (or even 21st-century) race and gender dynamics so often structure it? Why does it matter how we retell important myths in popular culture anyway?

Writers and artists of the Middle Ages often didn’t share our worries about historical accuracy in representation and gave us the lasting legacies of a white Jesus and a pink-cheeked Virgin Mary—even if regional alternatives in fact existed with various degrees of cultural (in)sensitivity. What legacies are we passing down to future generations in our retellings of stories about Robin Hood, the Holy Grail, and Lancelot’s illicit love for Guenevere? Who benefits from perpetuating a singular image of the Middle Ages? Is there a future for different ways of using these stories, as in the work of French rapper Black M or American artist S. Ross Browne?

This class will look at such stories as told in medieval French texts (in modern French translation) and modern stage and screen adaptations, such as the 2012 musical Robin des Bois and classics like Rohmer’s 1964 Perceval. For cultural contrast, we’ll also examine a few Anglo adaptations (like Monty Python and the Holy Grail / Spamalot, Black Knight, and the 2018 Robin Hood). There will be an optional field trip to see the 2020 release of the live-action Mulan in March. As a final project, students will make a short film based on a medieval legend. No previous study of film required.

Prerequisite: FREN 3032

TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 4744 Occupation and After

Prerequisite: At least one 3000-level FREN course above 3032.

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Blatt)

Expand content

FREN 4811 Francophone African Literature

This course is an introduction to the Francophone literature of Africa, a survey with special emphasis on the post-World War II poets, novelists, and playwrights of Africa. The role of cultural and literary reviews (Légitime Défense, L'Etudiant noir, and Présence Africaine) in the historical and ideological development of this literature will be examined. Special reference will be made to Caribbean writers of the Negritude movement. Documentary videos on African history and cultures will be shown and important audio recordings will be played from time to time. Supplementary texts will be assigned occasionally. Students will be expected to present occasional response papers.

In addition to the required reading material, 2 essays (60%), regular class attendance, and contribution to discussions (10%), and a final exam (30%) constitute the course requirements.

Prerequisite: successful completion of at least one 3000-level course in literature or cultural studies beyond 3032.

TR 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm (Dramé)

Expand content

FREN 4838 French Society and Civilization

French 4838 is designed to provide students with a background in social, cultural, political, and institutional aspects of contemporary French society in the context of recent history. We will examine the role of geography, history, education, and politics in shaping contemporary French attitudes, cultural practices, and institutions since the Second World War. We will also study important social questions facing contemporary France: changing family structures, the role of women, religion, immigration, and France’s place in the European Union. Course materials include readings from the French press and other published sources, films, music, and virtual media. The course strongly emphasizes oral participation and discussion, and students are expected to follow current events throughout the semester.

Prerequisite: successful completion of at least one 3000-level course in literature or cultural studies beyond 3032.

TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm (Horne)

5000-Level Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5530/8530 Topics in Seventeenth-Century French Literature –– Baroque Culture

W 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Lyons)

Expand content

FREN 5560/8560 Topics in Nineteenth-Century Literature –– Girls of the Nineteenth Century

T 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Krueger)

Expand content

FREN 5585/8585 Topics in Civ/Cultural Studies –– Global France: History, Education, Empire

This course will be taught in French and occasionally in English. Seminar participants are expected to read, write, and discuss readings in both languages.

R 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Horne)

Summer 2020

The following writing requirements apply to courses in which the authorized enrollments do not exceed 20 (French 3031 and 3032) or 25 (literature and civilization courses beyond French 3032):

FREN 3031 and 3032: 10-15 pages, typically divided among 4 to 5 papers. Peer editing is introduced during class and practiced outside.

3000-level literature 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 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.

Advanced Courses in French

Expand content

FREN 3031 Finding Your Voice in French

Pre-requisite: Completion of FREN 2020 or 2320; exemption from FREN 2020 by the UVA (F-Cape) Placement Test; a score of 3 on the AP French Language Exam; or a score of at least 660 on the SAT exam. FREN 3031 is a Pre-requisite for all undergraduate French courses at a higher level.

UVa Summer Session I: May 18, 2020 – June 12, 2020

MTWTF 10:30 am – 12:45 pm (Hall)

Expand content

FREN 3034 Advanced Oral Expression in French - Live from Lyon, France!

A focus on speaking, listening, and pronunciation. Activities include guided conversation practice, discussion leading, and other oral activities related to authentic materials in French. Work may include quizzes, presentations, reports, interviews, exams , and projects.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3031 or concurrent enrollment in FREN 3031.

Not intended for students who are native speakers of French or whose secondary education was in French schools.

This course counts toward the major and minor in French.

UVA Summer Session I: June 15, 2020 – July 9, 2020

MTWTF 10:30 am - 12:45 pm (Rajaonarisoa)

UVA Summer Session II: July 13, 2020 – August 8, 2020

MTWTF 10:30 am - 12:45 pm (Rajaonarisoa)

Expand content

FREN 3585 Topics in Cultural Studies— À la carte : La gastronomie et la France

UVA Summer Session 1, 2020

Gertrude Stein famously wrote, "[France] is a country where they talk about eating. Every country talks

about eating but in that country they talk about talking about eating." All of this “food talk” has long extended beyond casual conversation. France is the home of gastronomic writing, haute cuisine, and many culinary norms that define cooking and restaurants the world over. Perhaps more than any other nation, France is readily associated with food and gastronomy. The deep relationship that the French have with gastronomy dates to the Middle Ages and is now more important than ever; Luc Dubanchet, the founder of the French publication Omnivore, has suggested that “the food scene is the strongest cultural movement in France right now.” However, there are negative repercussions of this national focus on food. Food functions not only as a coalescing force, but also as a tool of critique and division. We will explore a number of questions including: What does food mean in France? What is the relationship between food, culture, and identity? How do the French harness cuisine as a political, social, and cultural tool? What is the legacy of France’s agricultural heritage and how does it shape national values? How does food connect France’s past, present, and future? Is French gastronomy merely a myth? How is citizenship forged and reinforced through what is on the plate?

Students can take this course topic at the 3585 or 4585 level. All coursework will be in French

This course counts toward the major and minor in French.

UVA Summer Session I: May 18 – June 13, 2020

MTWTF 1:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Holm)

Expand content

FREN 3585 Topics in Cultural Studies— Francophone North Africa: Literature & Cinema

North Africa is a region where many civilizations and cultures have left their mark over the centuries. French colonization which began at the end of the 19th century is no exception. Even today, six decades after their independence, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco keep an indelible trace of French influence both through language and culture. Throughout the semester, we will discover North African culture, from the 1950’s to the present day, through a range of materials including films, postcolonial literature, photography and contemporary feminist art. We will observe the emergence of these cultural products in their context and develop our sensitivity to the issues they address.

Pre-requisite: FREN 3032. All coursework in French.

This course counts toward the major and minor in French.
Please contact Sana Abdi (sa3gk@virginia.edu) if you have questions.

UVA Summer Session II: June 15 – July 11, 2020

MTWTF 1:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Abdi)

Expand content

FREN 4585 Advanced Topics in Cultural Studies—À la carte : La gastronomie et la France

Gertrude Stein famously wrote, "[France] is a country where they talk about eating. Every country talks about eating but in that country they talk about talking about eating." All of this “food talk” has long extended beyond casual conversation. France is the home of gastronomic writing, haute cuisine, and many culinary norms that define cooking and restaurants the world over. Perhaps more than any other nation, France is readily associated with food and gastronomy. The deep relationship that the French have with gastronomy dates to the Middle Ages and is now more important than ever; Luc Dubanchet, the founder of the French publication Omnivore, has suggested that “the food scene is the strongest cultural movement in France right now.” However, there are negative repercussions of this national focus on food. Food functions not only as a coalescing force, but also as a tool of critique and division. We will explore a number of questions including: What does food mean in France? What is the relationship between food, culture, and identity? How do the French harness cuisine as a political, social, and cultural tool? What is the legacy of France’s agricultural heritage and how does it shape national values? How does food connect France’s past, present, and future? Is French gastronomy merely a myth? How is citizenship forged and reinforced through what is on the plate?

Students can take this course topic at the 3585 or 4585 level. All coursework will be in French

This course counts toward the major and minor in French.

UVA Summer Session I: May 18 – June 13, 2020

MTWTF 1:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Holm)

Fall 2020 Graduate Courses

Graduate Courses

Advanced undergraduate students who have earned a B+ (or higher) in at least one 4000-level course may enroll in graduate level courses with instructor permission.

Expand content

FREN 5011 – Topics in Medieval Literature

Introduction to reading Old French, with consideration of its main dialects (Ile-de-France, Picard, Anglo-Norman) and paleographical issues. May be taken in conjunction with FREN 5510/8510 or independently. Weekly reading exercises, a transcription and translation exercise, and a final open-book exam. Prerequisite: good reading knowledge of modern French, Latin or another romance language. Taught in English.

M 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 5510/8510 – Topics in Medieval Literature: MEDIEVAL Saints’ Lives

African saints. Trans saints. Saints’ Lives as media. Saints in material culture and literature and history.

Recent academic enthusiasm for medieval saints’ Lives has begun to uncover the usefulness of this genre for gaining deeper understanding of both medieval and modern attitudes toward a variety of topics, from sexuality and sentiments to materiality and foreign cultures. Reading Lives written between 880 and the late thirteenth century, together with the work of some of the most engaging scholars in the field of hagiography studies, we will investigate a variety of issues that resonate with current interests in the broader fields of medieval and French studies. Readings include the Lives of St. Mary the Egyptian (a courtesan turned hermit), St. Catherine of Alexandria (known for her wisdom), St. Alexis (who abandoned his family), St. Louis IX (king of France), St. Euphrosyne (a woman who became a male monk), and St. Moses the Ethiopian (a brigand turned abbot).

MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (Ogden)

Expand content

FREN 5585.001/8585.001 – Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies

Expand content

FREN 5585.002/8585.002 – Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies

The history of Literature is inseparable from the manifold efforts to limit, control, and repress writings which were (are) deemed subversive, deviant, or immoral. For most writers, playing with, around, or against religious, political, and moral censorships has been a necessary part of their art and trade to avoid jail, exile —or worse. This is, however, only one side of the coin. Another, no less important aspect of literary censorship is self-censorship. By self-censorship, I am not referring solely to personal decisions leading writers to tune down their works (or keep them for themselves). I am also referring to the many limitations imposed upon writing by the literary milieu itself, and its institutions. While self-censorship most often derives from the writer's desire to protect him/herself from harmful “consequences”, limitations placed upon writing by literary societies or institutions take various forms, and reflect diverse intentions. Traditionally, studies about censorship have been disconnected from studies about the esthetical rules and regulations prevailing in literary societies, such as the statements and rulings issued by Académies; the règles defining a literary genre; the check put on literary activities by normative critique; not forgetting the ukases issued by avant-garde groups.

In this course, we will look at the two faces of the coin by 1) historically revisiting the judicial forms of censorship (arrests, trials, etc.), and their impact upon literature; 2) examining in which ways, and to what extent the gens de lettres themselves established and enforced limitations, or taboos.

Last, but not least, we will try to examine and assert the creative, productive consequences of censorship and its constraints, in terms of literary innovation. SCHEDULE AND DETAILS ON COLLAB

T 3:30 pm – 6:15 pm (Roger)

Expand content

FREN 7040 – Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (James)

Subscribe to

Fall 2018 Graduate Courses

FREN 5011 Old French

FREN 5100/8510 Medieval Literature in Modern French I

FREN 5540/8540 Topics in Eigthteenth Century Literature - LE THÉÂTRE EN FRANCE AU XVIIIE SIÈCLE : PRATIQUES, POÉTIQUES, POLÉMIQUES

FREN 5560/8560 Topics in Nineteenth Century Literature: Reading With Emma Bovary

FREN 5570/8570 Topics in 20th & 21st Century Literature: French Literature Now!

FREN 7040 Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

Fall 2018 Undergraduate Courses

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

French Translation Courses

FRTR 2552-001 - French Culture – Crafting Islam in France : images, texts and political value

FRTR 3584-001- Topics in French Cinema

Elementary and Intermediate French Courses (FREN 1010-2320)

Advanced Courses in French

FREN 3030 – Phonetics: The Sounds of French

FREN 3031 –Finding Your Voice in French

FREN 3032 – Image, Text, Culture

FREN 3035-001 - Business French

FREN 3043-001 - The French-Speaking World III: Great Books

FREN 3570-001 - Topics in Francophone African - African Literatures and Cultures

FREN 3584-001 - Topics in French Cinema Masterpieces of French Cinema

FREN 3585-001 - Topics in Cultural Studies: Arts & the Nation

FREN 4031-001 - Grammar and Style

FREN 4410-001 - The Enlightenment​

FREN 4560-001 - Advanced Topics in Nineteenth-Century Literature: le Romantisme

FREN 4585-001 - Adv Topics Cultural Studies: Love and Sex in the French Renaissance

FREN 4743-002 - Africa in Cinema

FREN 4750 - From Literature to Film : Screening Dangerous Liaisons The Many Movie Lives of a French Masterpiece

Graduate Courses

FREN 5011 Old French

FREN 5100/8510 - Medieval Literature in Modern French I

FREN 5540/8540 - Topics in Eigthteenth Century Literature - LE THÉÂTRE EN FRANCE AU XVIIIE SIÈCLE : PRATIQUES, POÉTIQUES, POLÉMIQUES

FREN 5560/8560 - Topics in Nineteenth Century Literature: Reading With Emma Bovary

FREN 5570/8570 - Topics in 20th & 21st Century Literature: French Literature Now!

FREN 7040 - Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

Spring 2019 Graduate Courses

FREN 5540/8540 Topics in Eighteenth Century Literature: Pre-Colonialism: Early French Explorations

FREN 5581/8581 Topics in African Literature and Culture

FREN 5585/8585 Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies

Spring 2019 Undergraduate Courses

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

French in Translation Course

FRTR 2552.001 French Culture

FRTR 3584 Topics in French Cinema

FRTR 3814 Gender & Sexuality in Pre-France

Elementary and Intermediate French Courses (FREN 1010-2320)

Advanced Courses in French

FREN 3010 Oral & Written Expression in French

FREN 3030 Phonetics

FREN 3031 – Finding Your Voice in French

FREN 3032 – Text Image, Culture

FREN 3035 Business French

FREN 3043 French-Speaking World III: Tradition et innovation: l'art de transposer à travers le temps, l'espace et la culture

FREN 3584 – Topics in French Cinema: Masterpieces of French Cinema

FREN 3585.001 – Topics in Cultural Studies: Beasts and Beauties

FREN 3585.002 Topics in Cultural Studies: Introduction to French Drama

FREN 4035 Tools and Techniques of Translation

FREN 4509 Seminar in French Linguistics: L’individu bilingue / the bilingual speaker

FREN 4582 Advanced Topics in French Poetry: Baudelaire et la modernité

FREN 4585: Joan of Arc: From Medieval to Modern Times

FREN 4743 Africa in Cinema

FREN 4744 - The Occupation and After

5000-Level Graduate Courses

FREN 5540/8540 Topics in Eighteenth Century Literature: Pre-Colonialism: Early French Explorations

FREN 5581/8581 Topics in African Literature and Culture

FREN 5585/8585 Topics in Civilization/Cultural Studies

Fall 2019 Graduate Courses

Graduate Courses - Fall 2019

FREN 5510/8510 - Topics in Medieval Literature: Poetry in Motion: The Composition, Circulation and Reception of Verse in the Late Middle Ages

FREN 5520/8510 – Topics in 16th Century Literature: Masculine/Feminine: Gender, Sexuality, and Self in French Renaissance Literature

FREN 7040 – Theories & Methods of Language Teaching

FREN 7500 - Topics in Theory and Criticism: Literary Theory: Classic Thoughts, Modern Texts, Contemporary Debates

Fall 2019 Undergraduate Courses

French Translation Courses

FRTR 2510 Topics in Medieval Literature: Lives of the Saints

CREO 1010-001 - Elementary Creole I

CREO 2010-001 - Intermediate Creole I

Advanced Courses in French

FREN 3030 – Phonetics: The Sounds of French

FREN 3031 –Finding Your Voice in French

FREN 4410-001 - The Enlightenment

FREN 4750 - From Literature to Film : Screening Dangerous Liaisons
The Many Movie Lives of a French Masterpiece

**FREN 4509 Seminar in French Linguistics: L’individu bilingue / the bilingual speaker**

FREN 3585 Topics in Cultural Studies— À la carte : La gastronomie et la France