[Classical and Romance Languages and Literatures]

The major in French aims at flexibility within a structure that affords a diversity of experience in Francophone culture and literature and continuous training in the use of the language. It provides effective preparation for graduate work, but is not conceived as strictly preprofessional. The usefulness of French is highlighted by the College's proximity to Québec and by the significant number of Franco-Americans who live and work in Northern New England. In addition to the ten centuries of a rich and varied literature in France, the writers of such Francophone areas as North Africa, black West Africa, the Caribbean, and Québec have impressed the literary world with their dynamism and insights.

Cross-listed Courses. Note that unless otherwise specified, when a department/program references a course or unit in the department/program, it includes courses and units cross-listed with the department/program.

Major Requirements. Students may select a major in French language and culture or a major in Francophone cultural studies.

I. French Language and Culture. A major in French language and culture consists of a minimum of ten courses that should include: a) French 250 or 251; b) three courses from French 205, 235, 270, 271, or 305; c) one course from French 351, 352, or 353; d) French 354 and 355; e) French 240 and 261.

A student may request the department to substitute a Short Term unit for one of the courses above. The department normally allows only four courses taken in a study-abroad program to count toward the major in French. Fluent and correct use of the language is essential to the completion of the major. All senior majors in French language and culture must pass, during the second semester, a comprehensive examination testing advanced proficiency in the language and knowledge of the literature and civilization. All senior majors in French language and culture must also assemble a portfolio of their work in the major and defend it in French before the faculty at the end of the second semester of their senior year. This portfolio contains a personal statement on the student's experience in French and an essay designed to reflect the student's critical aptitude in the discipline. If a student elects to write a thesis in the major, an excerpt may be used in place of the essay. This portfolio may contain other components such as papers from courses taken at Bates or abroad, a journal of a study-abroad or travel experience, several cassette recordings to show progress in oral proficiency, and other personal reflections. Honors candidates register for French 457-458.

II. Francophone Cultural Studies. In addition to seeking to enhance the proficiency level in French language, this major serves to develop deeper understanding of one or more of the significant French-speaking areas of the world outside of France: a) French-speaking Europe (Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg); b) sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean; c) North America, particularly Québec and Northern New England; d) North Africa, the Maghreb. This major encourages interdisciplinarity and examines cultural diversity and identity in these Francophone areas.

A major in Francophone cultural studies consists of a minimum of ten courses, which should include: a) French 203; b) French 250 or 251; c) two courses from French 205, 235, 270, 271, or 305; d) French 240 or 261; e) one course from French 352, 353, 354, or 355; f) three courses in related subjects from such departments and programs as African-American studies, anthropology, art, economics, history, music, philosophy and religion, political science, theater and rhetoric, and women and gender studies. These courses should be selected in close consultation with the major advisor and must receive approval from the department chair; and g) French 457 or 458.

A student may request the department to substitute a Short Term unit for one of the courses above. Honors candidates register for French 457-458.

Students majoring in Francophone Cultural Studies are strongly encouraged to study abroad in a country appropriate for their area of interest.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. There are no restrictions on the use of the pass/fail option within the major or secondary concentration.

Courses

FRE 101-102. Elementary French I and II. In the first semester, emphasis is placed on oral proficiency with conversational practice in various aspects of contemporary French culture, and on the acquisition of vocabulary, basic grammar, and reading and writing skills. In the second semester, students concentrate on further development of these skills with short readings and films. French 101 is not open to students with two or more years of French in secondary school. Enrollment limited to 22 per section. Normally offered every year. R. Williamson, A. Leff.

FRE 201. Intermediate French I. The course focuses on proficiency in speaking, with intensive review of grammar. Students read and analyze selected texts. Class discussions in French explore both literary and cultural topics. Prerequisite(s): French 102. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 22 per section. Normally offered every semester. K. Read.

FRE 202. Intermediate French II: Language and Culture of Modern France. This course aims to develop facility in speaking, reading, and writing French as well as familiarity with current French thought and cultural institutions. Class discussions, conducted entirely in French, are based on such cultural material as magazine and newspaper articles, published interviews, videos, and appropriate works of current literature. Students prepare oral and written reports. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. Normally offered every year. R. Williamson.

FRE 203. Introduction au Monde Francophone. This course aims to develop familiarity with the Francophone world as well as greater facility in speaking, reading, and writing French. The course presents the diversity of Francophone voices, such as those of Mariama Bâ (Sénégal), Bernard Dadié (Côte d'Ivoire), Aimé Césaire (Martinique), Réne Depestre (Haïti), Assia Djebar (Algérie), Roch Carrier (Québec), and Antonine Maillet (Acadie). Class discussions, conducted entirely in French, are based on a variety of cultural materials including newspaper and magazine articles, interviews, videos, and appropriate works of literature. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. Normally offered every year. R. Williamson.

FRE 205. Oral French. Designed to develop oral fluency and aural acuity, the course introduces French phonetics, diction, intonation, and elocution. Students discuss topics of contemporary interest. In individual conferences, attention is given to the particular difficulties of the student. Not open to those who have taken French s31. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every semester. L. Balladur.

FRE 235. Advanced French Language. The course is designed to develop facility in conversing in idiomatic French with ease and fluency. Students review linguistic structures with attention to correct written expression. Prerequisite(s): French 205. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every semester. A. Leff.

FRE 238. Paris: Myths and Stereotypes. In this course, students confront the reality behind representations and myths of Paris generated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Students explore and analyze the perpetuation of both positive and negative stereotypes of France and the French that have accompanied these representations through literature, painting, music, cinema, architecture, fashion, cuisine, and poster art. Political, economic, cultural, and social transformations of Paris and its inhabitants are studied in an effort to understand the role this capital city has played. Authors may include Zola, Balzac, Baudelaire, Rochefort, Ernaux, and Charef. Prerequisite(s): French 202 or 203. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. A. Leff.

FRE 240. Introduction to French Studies. In this course, students examine literature in its social, political, and historical context with emphasis on the cultural interrelationship of text and society through short critical papers and class discussion in French. Open to first-year students.

FRE 240B. "Mon pays, c'est l'hiver": Québec Culture and Literature. A study of the unique North American society of Québec with focus on its continual search for identity and independence. Some attention is given to the emigration of French Canadians to Maine and to their influence. Reading and analysis of texts by such authors as Hémond, Godbout, Blais, Roy, Miron, Tremblay, and Lessard. Prerequisite(s): French 202 or 203. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. R. Williamson.

FRE 240E. Le Maghreb: Vue de l'Enfance. An appreciation and analysis of the amply recorded experience of childhood in North Africa. Students examine the rich body of memoirs, historical accounts, novels, films, and short stories that reveal the often tumultuous conditions of children caught in the calamity of colonization and its aftermath. Particular attention is paid to issues of gender, Orientalism, and religious and cultural diversity within the Maghreb. Authors include Sebbar, Ben Jelloun, Mernissi, Amrouche and filmmakers Ferroukhi and Boughedir. Recommended background: French 202 or 203. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. K. Read.

FRE 250, 251. Introduction to French Literature I and II. An introduction to major French authors and forms of French literature through close readings, short papers, and discussion of texts selected from various periods of French literature. The purpose is to introduce the student to a critical approach to French literature. Although this is not a survey course, the first semester does concentrate on texts written before the French Revolution, and the second semester, on texts written after 1800. Some attention is paid to the socioeconomic context of the works studied and to questions of gender. Prerequisite(s): French 202 or 203. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Balladur, K. Read.

FRE 261. French Civilization: The Changing Face of French Identity. This course traces the ways in which events have shaped French society and identity. Through various media (literature, art, film, television, popular culture, and the Internet), students explore the enduring importance of historical moments such as the conquest of Gaul, the Renaissance, the Edict of Nantes, the slave trade, the Revolution, the Dreyfus affair, and the two world wars. Students consider the effects of immigration, European unity, relations within the postcolonial Francophone world, and new constructions of the self. Prerequisite(s): French 202 or 203. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. A. Leff.

FRE 270. Advanced French Grammar and Composition. An intensive review of French grammar with emphasis on developing facility in writing idiomatic French, through weekly compositions, written exercises, oral drills, and grammatical analysis of literary texts. Prerequisite(s): French 202 and 203. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. R. Williamson.

FRE 271. Translation: Theory and Practice. A study of the problems of translation. Passages from newspapers and journals and from literary, technical, and scientific works are translated and analyzed. Prerequisite(s): French 202 or 203. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. M. Rice-DeFosse.

FRE 305. Cours Supérieur de Langue Française. An advanced course on the subtleties of oral French with particular attention to vocabulary acquisition and accent. Discussions of recent events in France and in Francophonic areas are based on selected newspaper or journal articles. Recommended for senior majors and others who have studied in a French-speaking country. Prerequisite(s): French 235. Enrollment limited to 15. Offered with varying frequency. R. Williamson.

FRE 351. Early French Literature. Literary identity in early French literature. Students read and discuss aspects of literary identity in medieval and Renaissance literature, devoting particular attention to considerations of religion, gender, family and domestic concerns, and nationality. Prerequisite(s): French 250 or 251. Normally offered every other year. K. Read.

FRE 352. French Literature of the Seventeenth Century: "Woman Writer/Women Written." Reading and discussion of women writers of the seventeenth century with a focus on their important role in the formation of the novel. Attention is given to women as heroines or titular characters in the works of male authors of the period. Prerequisite(s): French 250 or 251. Normally offered every other year. K. Read.

FRE 353. French Literature of the Eighteenth Century. A study of major works by authors such as Marivaux, Diderot, Rousseau, Condorcet, Sade, Beaumarchais, and Montesquieu. This course is similar to History 223, which may be taken in its place upon approval of the department chair. Prerequisite(s): French 250 or 251. Offered with varying frequency. M. Rice-DeFosse.

FRE 354. French Literature of the Nineteenth Century. This course explores a century of enormous political, socioeconomic, and cultural change through its literature. Students consider such authors as Balzac, Sand, Flaubert, Nerval, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Zola, Rachilde, and Huysmans. Prerequisite(s): French 250 or 251. Normally offered every other year. M. Rice-DeFosse.

FRE 355. French Literature of the Twentieth Century. From Proust's "new novel" at the beginning of the century to Duras's haunting fictions, from Apollinaire's lyrical ideograms to Bonnefoy's poetry of place, from Ubu roi of Jarry to Les Nègres of Genet, from Le deuxième sexe of Simone de Beauvoir to Irigaray's Ce sexe qui n'en est pas un, the twentieth century in French literature has been marked by a spirit of adventure. This course attempts to capture that spirit and to understand it in its social and political context. Serious attention is given to questions of gender. Prerequisite(s): French 250 or 251. Normally offered every other year. R. Williamson.

FRE 360. Independent Study. Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester. Normally offered every semester. Staff.

FRE 365. Special Topics. Designed for the small seminar group of students who may have particular interests in areas of study that go beyond the regular course offerings. Periodic conferences and papers are required. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.

FRE 365A. Femmes, Écrivaines. This course explores gender and voice in selected literary, political, and theoretical texts by French women from 1789 to the present. Through a study of writers such as Gouges, Sand, Tristan, Colette, Beauvoir, Duras, Condé, Cixous, and Irigaray, students explore the contributions of French women writers to women's writing, feminist theory, and questions of gender in social context. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. M. Rice-DeFosse.

FRE 365D. Colon/Colonisé: Récits de l'Expérience Nord-Africaine. This course studies the colonial, postcolonial, and immigrant experience of North Africans as portrayed in Francophone literature. Readings include narratives and journals from the beginning of the colonial period in Algeria (1830), as well as the contemporary novels and discourse of feminists such as Assia Djebar, Malika Mokkadem, and Leila Sebbar. Gender is often highlighted as a category of analysis. Written permission of the instructor is required. Offered with varying frequency. K. Read.

FRE 365E. Rêve ou l'intérieur de l'être. This course explores works ranging from medieval texts to contemporary cinema in which dreams play an important role in the narrative and the articulation of a subject’s identity. How are these various historically contingent identities transformed by the dream? Authors include Chrétien de Troyes, Louise Labé, Ronsard, Racine, Diderot, Rousseau, Nerval, Baudelaire, and Vigo, among others. Prerequisite(s): French 250 and 251. Enrollment limited to 15. One time offering. L. Balladur. New course beginning Winter 2004.

FRE 457, 458. Senior Thesis. Open only to senior majors, with departmental permission. Before registering for 457 or 458 a student must present to the department chair an acceptable plan, including an outline and a tentative bibliography, after discussion with a member of the department. Students register for French 457 in the fall semester and for French 458 in the winter semester. Senior majors register for 457 or 458 only, unless the department gives permission for a second semester's credit because the nature of the project warrants it. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both French 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

Short Term Units

FRE s34. French Drama in Performance. A study and performance of scenes from French dramatic works from a variety of literary styles, movements, and eras. Students read, discuss, and perform dramatic works (or portions thereof) throughout the unit and then conceive and create a coherent production of portions of these plays to be presented in public to area high schools and colleges. Readings may include the works of Molière, Racine, Beaumarchais, De Musset, Ionesco, and Duras, which, though drawn from a wide range of time periods and approaches, are assimilated and reconciled under a common theme to be determined by the class. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Recommended background: adequate oral fluency in French, good reading comprehension. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. Offered with varying frequency. K. Read.

FRE s35. French in Maine. A bilingual study of what it means to speak French and to be French in Maine. The unit explores the Franco-American heritage as well as contemporary expressions of Franco-American culture. It focuses on questions of language and identity through oral and written histories, interviews, newspaper articles, documentaries, literature, and music. Students visit local cultural sites and participate in an excursion to the St. John Valley and Québec. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. Offered with varying frequency. M. Rice-DeFosse.

FRE s36. The Evolution of French Cinema. A study of the development of theme, structure, and technique in French film through the works of directors such as Vigo, Clair, Renoir, Resnais, Godard, Truffaut, Kurys, and Beneix. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. Written permission of the instructor is required. Offered with varying frequency. M. Rice-DeFosse.

FRE s38. Des Dinosaures et des Éléphants. In this unit, students engage in the cultural disputes both between and within the United States and France. The unit analyzes a number of cultural debates: What can we learn from the way American directors remake popular French films, such as Three Men and a Baby versus Trois Hommes et un Couffin? Are the popular children's heroes Babar and Tin-Tin standard-bearers for the "glories" of French colonialism, or charming, innocent, storytime companions? How do these two cultures use fiction (both text and film) to address social issues differently? Discussion and most readings in French. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Enrollment limited to 30. Offered with varying frequency. K. Read.

FRE s50. Independent Study. Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every year. Staff.

[Classical and Romance Languages and Literatures]