Advanced Courses - Course Descriptions
The following course descriptions are from current college catalogue.
III. Advanced
Prerequisite for all advanced courses: 1 unit of 200-level work above French 212 or French 213, or Study Abroad in France or in a French-speaking country, or by permission of the department.
300a. Senior Thesis (1)
Open only to majors. The department.
Permission required.
301a or b. Senior Translation (1/2 or 1)
Open only to majors. One unit of credit given in exceptional cases only and by permission of the chair. The department.
332a. Literature and Society in Pre-Revolutionary France (1)
Topic for 2009/10: A Taste of French Terroir from the Renaissance to the Revolution. The uniquely French concept of "terroir" explains how the physiographic properties of the origin of a food or wine can be detected in its taste. Yet, although the French have "tasted the earth" through foods for more than 500 years, the idea remains problematic: some believe terroir to be more myth than science. This seminar queries the intersection between the science and myth of terroir, mapping the latter's evolution from the Renaissance to the French Revolution. Along the way, we discover what terroir can tell us of French political theory, aesthetic appreciation, and an Epicurean philosophical movement subverted but never extinguished by Cartesian dualism. Most of all, just as Proust used the flavors of the Madeleine to travel in time, we learn how the French use the psychogeographics of terroir to revisit forgotten places. Readings include: Virgil, Ronsard, Montaigne, Descartes, Cyrano de Bergerac, Montesquieu, Diderot and Rousseau. Tastings accompany texts as we savor the fine line between science and figments of the French imagination. Mr. Parker.
One 2-hour period.
[ 348b. Modernism and its Discontents ] (1)
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2009/10.
355b. Cross-Currents in French Culture (1)
Topic for 2009/10: Women in the Margins. This seminar explores the roles and identities available to women in nineteenth-century France and the ways in which women challenged the boundaries of those constraints. Through readings of literary and non-literary texts as well as paintings, drawings, caricatures and fashion plates, we consider such institutions and conditions as female education and conduct, marriage, motherhood and fertility, prostitution and its variants, sainthood, crime, rebellion, and creativity. Readings may include texts by authors such as Duras, Balzac, Barbey d'Aurevilly, Maupassant, Goncourt, Rachilde and lesser-known authors of journals, conduct manuals, newspaper articles and travelogues, as well as works of critical theorists and historians. Ms. Hiner.
One 2-hour period.
[ 366a. Francophone Literature and Cultures ] (1)
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2009/10.
370b. Stylistics and Translation (1)
A study of different modes of writing and of the major problems encountered when translating from English to French, and vice versa. Practice with a broad range of both literary and nonliterary texts. Mr. Fenouillet.
380a. Special Seminar (1)
Topic for 2009/10: Auters Redux in Contemporary French Cinema. In the 1990s, critics hailed the arrival of new auteurs in French cinema. In this course, we study different trends gathered under this umbrella, as well as some of the filmmakers who may have helped shape these trends (Bresson, Godard, Rivette, Pialat): naturalism in the films of the Dardenne brothers and Laurent Cantet; a reworking of "French" propensity towards witty dialogue and psychological complexity by Arnaud Desplechin, Danièle Dubroux and Abdellatif Kechiche; a privileging of mood and form by Pascale Ferran and Claire Denis; a redefining of the "heritage" film by Patricia Mazuy and Olivier Assayas. Diverse as they may be, theirs films focus on characters at the edge of society, family life, or sanity, thereby summoning ideological or ethical considerations. Readings in film stylistics, auteur theory, and criticism are included. No prior knowledge of film is necessary. Ms. Cardonne-Arlyck.
One 2-hour period and screenings.
399a or b. Senior Independent Work (1/2 or 1)
One unit of credit given only in exceptional cases and by permission of the Chair. The department.