Courses

INDS 100. African Perspectives on Justice, Human Rights, and Renewal. This team-taught course aims to expose students to the physical, ecological, and climatic diversity of the African continent (human geography) and to the diversity of cultural beliefs and values as well as the diversity of historical and political experiences that shape the complexity of Africa's nations and societies. By choosing very contrasting areas of study (Algeria, Nigeria, Rwanda-RDC, Somalia, South Africa) the course seeks to develop a set of key questions regarding the analysis of Africa and develop critical capacity against the received knowledge that defines most perceptions of Africa. Students will foster a new understanding of how politics, race, ethnicity and gender are at play within Africa's history and contemporary scene. The course seeks also to develop a familiarity with essential critical perspectives, promote specific knowledge regarding some area/region, and require the mastery of basic vocabulary (key terms) and concepts. Cross-listed in anthropology, French, and politics New course beginning Winter 2010. Enrollment limited to 40. Normally offered every year. A. Dauge-Roth.

FRE 101. Elementary French I. 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. K. Read, L. Balladur. Concentrations.

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. K. Read, L. Balladur. Concentrations.

FRE 102. Elementary French II. In the first semester, emphasis is placed on oral proficiency with conversational practice in various aspects of contemporary French culture. Acquisition of vocabulary, basic grammar, and reading and writing skills. In the second semester, concentration 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. Normally offered every year. K. Read, L. Balladur. Concentrations.

FRE 201. Intermediate French. 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. A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

FRE 205. Oral French. The course is designed to develop oral fluency and aural acuity, with attention to vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation. Students discuss topics of contemporary interest and focus on improvisation, role play, and reporting. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every semester. L. Balladur, K. Read. Concentrations.

FRE 207. Introduction to Contemporary France. This course develops facility in speaking, reading, and writing French by focusing on French society and culture. Students explore contemporary France through content-based cultural materials such as magazine and newspaper articles, published interviews, video, film, music, and appropriate works of current literature. Students prepare oral reports and written essays. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Not open to students who have received credit for French 202. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. Normally offered every year. M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

FRE 208. Introduction to the Francophone World. This course focuses on the Francophone world while developing greater facility in speaking, reading, and writing in French. The Francophone world is first presented through the history of colonization, the slave trade, and the decolonization movements in several areas such as the Caribbean, Senegal, and Algeria. The diversity of Francophone cultures and voices is explored through a variety of cultural material including newspaper and magazine articles, and the work of directors and authors such as Ernest Pépin, Gisèle Pineau (Guadeloupe), Patrick Chamoiseau (Martinique), Assia Djebar, Leïla Sebbar, Lyes Salem (Algeria), Mariama Bâ, Ousmane Sembène, and Djibril Diop Mambety (Senegal). Class presentations and discussions are conducted entirely in French. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Not open to students who have received credit for French 203. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. Normally offered every year. M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

FRE 235. Advanced French Language. The course is designed to develop facility in conversing and writing in idiomatic French with ease and fluency. Students review linguistic structures with attention to correct written expression. The course focuses on analysis and critical thinking in a variety of media such as film, fiction, documentary, essay, and journalism. Prerequisite(s): French 205, 207, or 208. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. [W2] Normally offered every semester. A. Dauge-Roth, L. Balladur. Concentrations.

FRE 240. Introduction to French Studies. In these courses, 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. [W2] Concentrations.

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, and Amrouche and filmmakers Ferroukhi and Boughedir. Recommended background: French 207 or 208. Open to first-year students. [W2] K. Read. Concentrations.

FRE 240F. Borders and Disorders. A study of the various experiences of immigration that the Francophone world has made possible and, in certain cases, forced upon people for political and economic reasons. In an era of increasing globalization, students examine how more and more migrants must negotiate their sense of self through multiple heritages and places, and how Francophone novels and films imagine new forms of belonging that embrace the complex and fluid status of the migrant experience. The central question of the course is: How does one define "home" within one's host country without denying one's past and cultural origins? The course envisions the Francophone world as a theater of multiple encounters that lead to the creation of new hybrid identities that transform both the immigrant and the host country. Authors and filmmakers include Allouache, Benguigui, Bouchareb, Bouraoui, Condé, Kane, Mabanckou, Ngangura, Dardenne, Gomis, Sebbar, and Sembène. Prerequisite(s): French 207 or 208. [W2] A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

FRE 240G. Science and Literature. This course explores the relationship between science and literature in France. French literature has a particularly rich tradition in which authors have explored this relationship, from those who participated in and investigated both fields, to science fiction writers, and more recently to authors who manipulate the literary form to express scientific theories. While the central theme of the course explores how French literature articulates scientific concepts, a background in science is not required. Readings provide students with a better understanding of certain key scientific concepts such as fractals, entropy, and information systems. Prerequisite(s): French 207 or 208. [W2] L. Balladur. Concentrations.

AC/FR 240I. French in Maine. An appreciation and analysis of what it means to speak French and to be "French" in the local and regional context. Students examine questions of language, ethnic identity, and cultural expression through novels, short stories, autobiographies, film, and written and oral histories. Visits to local cultural sites enhance students' understanding of the Franco-American community and its heritage. Prerequisite(s): French 207 or 208. Not open to students who have received credit for French s35. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. [W2] M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

FRE 250. Introduction to French Literature I. 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 207 or 208. Open to first-year students. [W2] Normally offered every year. L. Balladur, A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

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 207 or 208. Open to first-year students. [W2] Normally offered every year. L. Balladur, A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

FRE 251. Introduction to French Literature 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 207 or 208. Open to first-year students. [W2] Normally offered every year. L. Balladur, A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

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 207 or 208. Open to first-year students. M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

FRE 270. French Stylistics. 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 235, 240, 250, or 251. Open to first-year students. Staff. Concentrations.

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 207, 208, or 235. Open to first-year students. M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

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. Concentrations.

FRE 365. Special Topics. These courses are 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. Concentrations.

FRE 371. Literary Identity in 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, kinship, and nationality. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 351. K. Read. Concentrations.

FRE 372. 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 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 352. K. Read. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

FRE 373. Close-up on the Enlightenment: Film, Text, Context. This course explores twentieth-century film perceptions of France from the Enlightenment through the Revolution, either through adaptations of literary texts or representations of the ancient régime's historical, social, and political atmosphere. Readings of literary texts as well as contemporary criticism reveal the ways Enlightenment ideology is reshaped by twentieth-century film. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 365F. Enrollment limited to 15. L. Balladur.

FRE 374. Écrire la Revolution: French Literature in the Nineteenth Century. This course explores a century of enormous political, socio-economic, and cultural change through its literature. Students consider such authors as Staël, Nodier, Balzac, Hugo, Sand, Flaubert, Baudelaire, and Zola. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 354. [W2] M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

FRE 375. The French Dis/Connection in Contemporary Literature. From Proust's quest at the beginning of the twentieth century to Nothomb's haunting fictions one century later, from Apollinaire's ideograms and vision of Paris to Bon's poetry of place, from Delbo's autobiographical account of the Holocaust to Perec's W ou le souvenir d'enfance, from La Vagabonde by Colette to Irigaray's Ce sexe qui n'en est pas un, contemporary French literature has been in constant dialogue with a century marked by social change, redefinition of gender, trauma, urban modernity, and mobility. This course explores how contemporary literature shaped the perceptions of such issues and examines its contribution by understanding its authors in their social and political context. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 355. A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

FRE 376. 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. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 365A. M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

FRE 377. 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 Leïla Sebbar. Gender is often highlighted as a category of analysis. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 365D. Instructor permission is required. K. Read. Concentrations.

FRE 378. Voix francophones des Antilles. An examination of literary voices from the French-speaking Caribbean from the first half of the twentieth century to the contemporary period, including works by authors such as Aimé Césaire, René Depestre, Edouard Glissant, Marie Chauvet, Maryse Condé, Gisèle Pineau, and Patrick Chamoiseau. The course explores topics such representations of colonial past and slavery, the Négritude movement, issues of political and social justice, hybridity, and créolité. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 365G. M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

FRE 379. Documenting the Genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda. This course presents a historical and rhetorical examination of various media and genres that bear witness to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and a questioning of the ability to document genocide in Africa through Western modes of representation and information. Students analyze literary works written by Francophone sub-Saharan African writers such as Koulsy Lamko (Chad) and Boubacar Boris Diop (Senegal), the play Rwanda 94, written testimonies by Tutsi and Hutu survivors such as Yolande Mukagasana and Annick Kayitezi and those of foreign journalists present during or after the genocide such as Jean Hatzfeld, fictional films by Raoul Peck and Terry George, and numerous documentaries. Prerequisite(s): French 240, 250, or 251. Not open to students who have received credit for French 365H. Enrollment limited to 20. [W2] A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

FRE 457. 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 or 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.

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 or 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.

FRE 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 or 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 Courses

FRE s28. Social Pulse, Documentary Impulse. What kind of unique knowledge does a documentary film seek to offer? What are the strengths and the limits of this genre in our increasingly visual culture? Does the documentary impulse bring us closer to the "reality" of which it takes the pulse? Does it force us to face the existential and political practices it makes socially visible? How do documentary films, in comparison with historical fiction or novels, position their viewers and call for social engagment? Moreover, to what extent are documentary films able to renew our vision of postcolonial history and national memory? This course examines these issues through the works of several French and Francophone documentary filmmakers. Recommended background: French 201. A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

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 course 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. K. Read. Concentrations.

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, Beneix, and Jeunet. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. Instructor permission is required. M. Rice-DeFosse. Concentrations.

FRE s38. Learning with Orphans of the Genocide in Rwanda. From a perspective of civic engagement, students undertake an oral history project to understand the lives of orphans of the genocide of the Tutsis fifteen years after the catastrophic event. By evaluating the life stories, needs, challenges, sufferings, and hopes of these vulnerable survivors, students learn from them as they identify forms of social resilience and long-term negotiation of trauma. They consider the history of Rwanda, the origin of the genocide of 1994, and its aftermath. In Rwanda, they meet several important social actors and government officials involved in the process of memorialization, mourning, national reconciliation, and testimony. Prerequisite(s): French 235. Enrollment limited to 12. A. Dauge-Roth. Concentrations.

FRE s39. Tintin et les Intellos. The intrepid boy reporter Tintin is a cultural icon of vast international acclaim. His adventures, drawn and written by Georges Rémi (Hergé), have been translated into over fifty languages and sold hundreds of millions of copies. In this course, students explore the Tintin phenomenon as artistic production, as colonialist discourse, as commodified object, and as part of a distinctly European tradition of graphic storytelling. Readings include a selection of the twenty-three adventures, a biography of Hergé, and related critical works on the reception and controversy of Tintin's enduring popularity. All readings and discussions are in French. Prerequisite(s): French 201. Recommended background: another upper-level course in French. Enrollment limited to 30. K. Read. Concentrations.

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.