French

FREN W1101x-W1102y Elementary Course 4 pts. Enrollment limited to 20. The course is designed to help students understand, speak, read, and write the French language. Students learn to provide information about their opinions and feelings, their families, their immediate environment, and their daily activities. They are introduced to both the structure of the French language the cultural features of some French-speaking communities. Daily assignments, laboratory work, and screening of video materials.

FREN W1101y-W1102x Elementary Course 4 pts. Enrollment limited to 20. The same course as W1101-W1102, above.

FREN W1201x-W1202y Intermediate Course 4 pts. Enrollment limited to 20. Recommended companion course: W1221-W1222. Prepares students for advanced French language and culture. Develops skills in speaking, reading, and writing French. Emphasizes cross-cultural awareness through the study of short stories, films, and passages from novels. Fosters the ability to write about and discuss a variety of topics using relatively complex structures.

FREN W1201y-W1202x Intermediate Course 4 pts. Enrollment limited to 20. The same course as W1201-W1202, above.

FREN W1221xy-W1222xy Intermediate Conversation I and II 2 pts. Conducted in French. Practice in conversational French, with emphasis on comprehension, pronunciation, and idiomatic usage. Recommended parallel: French W1201-W1202

FREN W3131x-W3132y Third-Year Conversation 2 pts. Prerequisites: completion of the language requirement in French or the equivalent. Conversation on contemporary French subjects based on readings in current popular French periodicals.

FREN W3200y Advanced Translation Workshop 3 pts. A practical introduction to translation from French to English (and vice versa), to translation theory and to comparative stylistics. The course will emphasize stylictic issues through close reading and frequent individual and group work on both prose and poetry.

FREN W3333x or y Introduction to Literary Study I 3 pts. Prerequisites: FREN 3405 (Advanced Grammar and Composition) or an AP score of 5 or the permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 20. Reading and discussion of major works from the Middle Ages to 1750.

FREN W3334x or y Introduction to Literary Studies II 3 pts. Prerequisites: FREN 3405 (Advanced Grammar and Composition) or an AP score of 5 or the permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 20. Reading and discussion of major works from 1750 to the present.

FREN W3405xy Advanced Grammar and Composition I 3 pts. Prerequisites: W3405 must be taken before W3406 and before W3333/4 unless the student has an AP score of 5 or receives the permission of the Director of undergraduate studies. Enrollment limited to 15. The goal of W3405 is to help students improve their grammar and perfect their writing and reading skills, especially as a preparation for taking literature or civilization courses, or spending a semester in a francophone country. Through the study of two full-length works of literature and a number of short texts representative of different genres, periods, and styles, they will become more aware of stylistic nuances, and will be introduced to the vocabulary and methods of literary analysis. Working on the advanced grammar points covered in this course will further strengthen their mastery of French syntax. They will also be practicing writing through a variety of exercises, including pastiches and creative pieces, as well as typically French forms of academic writing such as "résumé," "explication de texte," and "dissertation".

FREN W3420x Introduction To French and Francophone Studies I 3 pts. Prerequisites: Prerequisites: FREN 3405 (Advanced Grammar and Composition) or an AP score of 5 or the permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Examines conceptions of culture and civilization in France from the Enlightenment to the Exposition Coloniale of 1931, with an emphasis on the historical development and ideological foundations of French colonialism. Authors and texts include: the Encyclopédie; the Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen; the Code noir; Diderot; Chateaubriand; Tocqueville; Claire de Duras; Renan; Gobineau; Gauguin; Drumont.

FREN W3421y Introduction To French and Francophone Studies II 3 pts. Prerequisites: FREN 3405 (Advanced Grammar and Composition) or an AP score of 5 or the Director of Undergraduate Studies' permission. Universalism vs. exceptionalism, tradition vs. modernity, integration and exclusion, racial, gender, regional, and national identities are considered in this introduction to the contemporary French-speaking world in Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Authors include: Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sedar Senghor, Frantz Fanon, Maryse Condé.

FREN W3498x French Cultural Workshop 3 pts. Prerequisites: Completion of 1202 Designed (though not exclusively) for students contemplating a stay at Reid Hall, this course will foster a comparison of the French and American cultures with readings from sociological sources and emphasis on in-class discussion in an attempt to comprehend and avoid common causes of cross-cultural communication.

CLFR W3500 The Modern Novel: Balzac, Flaubert, Proust. 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. This course will examine the genealogy of 19th- and 20th-century realism and modernism through readings of three French novels: Balzac's Lost Illusions, Flaubert's Sentimental Education, and Proust's Swann's Way. Readings and discussion in English.

FREN W3503x or y Enlightenment/Counter-Enlightenment 3 pts. Prerequisites: Completion of French W3333 or W3334 and W3405, or permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies Taking modern definitions and critiques of Enlightenment as its starting point, this course will look at how the Enlightenment defined itself as a philosophical, cultural and literary movement, practiced self-criticism from within, and responded to dissension and critique from without. Authors will include Adorno, Horkheimer, Foucault and Israel for the modern critical context, and Voltaire, Diderot, Buffon, Rousseau, Sade and Kant for the eighteenth century material. The course will be given in French, but non-majors may write papers in English.

FREN W3517 Montaigne, Descartes, Pascal 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: FREN W3333-W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies or the instructor A study of Montaigne's Essais and their rewriting by Descartes and Pascal, with a focus on the nature of intellectual and aesthetic innovation in a humanist context.

FREN W3520x or y The Avant-Gardes in France. From Baudelaire to Situationism. Not offered in 2013-2014. In this course, we will study the main movements of 19th and 20th-century literary history: symbolism, modernism, dada, surrealism, existentialism, Nouveau Roman, situationism... We will pay particular attention to the emergence of the notion of avant-garde and to its theoretical implications. Although centered on literature, the course will also consider some musical and visual pieces (paintings, collages, sculptures, photographs, short films...).

FREN W3529x French Theater in Performance 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Advanced coursework in French (3405, 3333, 3334 or the equivalent) This course will combine reading, interpretation and performance of a small selection of short French plays from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in preparation for a public performance at Columbia University's Maison Française at the end of the semester. Class size is limited to 15, and students must have done advanced coursework in French (3405, 3333, 3334 or the equivalent) to register for the course.

FREN W3544x French Lyric Poetry 3 pts. Prerequisites: FREN W3333-W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies or the instructor. A study of lyric poetry from the Middle-Ages to the Nineteenth Century, with a focus on the changing uses of poetic form. Authors include Charles d'Orléans, Christine de Pizan, Voiture, Musset, Banville, Hugo.

FREN W3600x or y France, Past and Present. An Introduction to French Civilization. 3 pts. Prerequisites: French W3333 or W3334 and W3405, or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies. Based on readings of short historical sources, the course will provide an overview of French political and cultural history since 1700

FREN W3603x or y Sexual Enlightenment 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Fren W3333-W3334 or the instructor's permission. This course explores the relationship between sex and knowledge in literary and philosophical works of the French Enlightenment. Authors include Montesquieu, Crébillon, Buffon, Condillac, Diderot, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Laclos and Sade. The course fulfills the pre-1800 requirement for the French major.

FREN W3666x or y Moliere 3 pts. Prerequisites: Completion of FREN W3333 or W3334 and W3405, or permission of the director of undergraduate studies. Study of Molière's major plays, including Tartuffe, Dom Juan, and Le Misanthrope, focusing on key concepts such as naturalness and convention, value and exchange, and the relationship between ethics and comedy. Special attention will be paid to the connections between critical approaches of the text and the various ways in which the plays can be staged.

FREN W3672x or y Surrealism 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: FREN W3333-W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies or the instructor Study of one of the main movements of 20th-century literary history, and art history in general. We will pay particular attention to the evolution of surrealism and to its theoretical implications on such key notions as: the notion of author, of avant-garde, of automatism, of image or of work of art. Although centered on literature, the course will also consider some visual pieces (paintings, collages, sculptures, photographs, short films…).

FREN W3695y The French Philosophical Tradition 3 pts. Prerequisites: French W3333-W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies or the instructor. A study of the French philosophical tradition from Montaigne to Derrida, with an emphasis on moral and political philosophy. Readings also include Descartes, Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, Voltaire, Rousseau, Tocqueville, Renan, and Ricœur.

FREN W3810x or y French Language , Society, and Culture through film 3 pts. Prerequisites: FREN W1202 Intermediate French II French socio-political issues and language through the prism of film. Especially designed for non-majors wishing to further develop their French language skills and learn about French culture. Each module includes assignments targeting the four language competencies: reading, writing, speaking and oral comprehension, as well as cultural understanding. Note: this course does not count toward the French major or concentration.

FREN W3820 The Author as Lawbreaker 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: FREN W3333-W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies or the instructor A study of writers presenting themselves as "bad boys" or outcasts from the Middle-Ages to the Twentieth Century. Authors include Rutebeuf, Villon, Tristan l'Hermite, Rimbaud, Vallès, Genet, Sagan.

CLFR W3830 French Film 3 pts. In English A study of landmarks of French cinema from its origins to the 1970s. We will pay particular attention to the relation between cinema and social and political events in France. We will study films by Jean Vigo, Jean Renoir, Rene Clair, Alain Resnais, Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.

FREN W3840x or y The French New Wave 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: FREN W3333-W3334 or the permission of the director of undergraduate studies or the instructor In this course we will study the main films of the French New Wave, paying particular attention to the formal and thematic concerns that constituted the New Wave "school," to the memory of cinema ingrained in these films and to the critical debates that have accompanied these films from the late 1950s to today.

FREN W3995x or y Senior Seminar 3 pts. Prerequisites: Completion of FREN W3333-W3334 and W3405-W3406, or the director of undergraduate studies or the instructor. Required of all French majors. Usually taken by majors during the fall term of their senior year. Critical discussion of a few major literary works along with some classic commentaries on those works. Students critically assess and practice diverse methods of literary analysis.

FREN W3996x or y Senior Tutorial in French Literature 3 pts. Prerequisites: the permission of the director of undergraduate studies. Required for majors wishing to be considered for departmental honors. This course may also be taken at Reid Hall. Recommended for seniors majoring or concentrating in French and open to other qualified students. Preparation of a senior essay. In consultation with a staff member designated by the director of undergraduate studies, the student develops a topic withing the areas of French language, literature, or intellectual history.