Spring 2021 | FREN 3101W Section 001: Methods in French and Francophone Studies (48807)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Discussion
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Repeat Credit Limit:
- 4 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- Completely Online
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education RequirementOnline Course
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021Tue, Thu 11:15AM - 12:30PMOff CampusUMN REMOTE
- Enrollment Status:
- Open (15 of 20 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- Taught entirely in French. In this course, you will delve deeply into original stories, lyrics, plays, and films in French, from around the world and across time. What verbal and visual codes carry meaning in a given culture? How do cultures create a space for the subject or the self? As you discuss these questions, you will become a faster and more independent reader, gain sensitivity to the sonorities and rhythms of the French language and the nuances of sense it makes possible, and learn to perceive implicit meaning in texts. Theoretical readings and lessons in developing thesis statements and organizing arguments will enhance your ability to understand and create complex arguments in French. Each individual section of this course addresses these questions with a different selection of readings and films grouped around a specific theme, so please consult the Class Info page to find out more! nonfiction texts, cultural artifacts, and audio/visual media pertaining to France and Francophone communities across the centuries. prereq: 3016 or equiv
- Class Notes:
- http://classinfo.umn.edu/?FREN3101W+Spring2021
- Class Description:
- What has been "interdit" in French culture? The banned or prohibited will provide the focus of this section of French 3101W. French literary works which have caused their authors to be indicted, imprisoned, or exiled from France will form the core of the reading list. The class will also study less official ways in which French language and culture creates boundaries between the forbidden and the permitted, from street riots to the inculcation of such concepts as "les bienseances" and "le bien range." Visual languages, as used in advertising, drawing, painting, and cinema, will form an essential element in the course, which will include the viewing of several banned films. The class will consider such cultural artifacts as wine, tapestries, chastity belts worn by French queens, and French fashion through the centuries. Students will also have the opportunity to view, discuss in French, and write about a performance, at the Guthrie Theater, of a play based on medieval French literature, dealing with the negotiation between what is forbidden and what is allowed. In relation to this play, and the poem on which it is based, students will listen to and analyze a number of French songs. Analysis and discussion of course materials should help students to understand better the nature and history of French culture and its ways of establishing and policing norms. Interesting contrasts between French and, for example, American culture will emerge. Study of works by French thinkers which inquire into aspects of the forbidden (Barthes, Kristeva, Foucault, Derrida, Fanon, Bourdieu) will also form a part of the course. Reading, in French, will average 50 pp. per week. Several short papers are required, in fulfillment of the writing-intensive requirement; these papers will be graded for grammar, vocabulary, and logic, which the instructor understands as important elements of "content." Each student will also organize and lead discussions on multiple occasions and present several solo reports to the class. All assignments are designed to fulfill the objective of teaching useful methods for or approaches to understanding and analyzing French literary and non-fictional texts, cultural artifacts, and audio and visual media. Students reluctant to study and discuss forbidden (and thus, to some, potentially offensive) French material are encouraged to select another section. Moreover, this section will require very regular preparation, attendance, and participation; students unable to commit to a four-credit course, with the workload specified by the Faculty Senate, should not sign up for this section. The Faculty Senate requires eight hours weekly preparation time to earn a passing grade (C); students who wish to earn better than a C must regularly have more than eight hours of preparation time available weekly.
- Grading:
- 20% mid exam, 60% reports/papers, 10% in-class presentation, 10% class participation.
- Exam Format:
- essay
- Class Format:
- 40% Lecture, 50% Discussion, 10% Student Presentations.
- Workload:
- 50 pages reading per week, 15 pages writing per term, 1 exam, 2 papers, 6 presentations.
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/48807/1213
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 5 April 2016
Spring 2021 | FREN 3101W Section 002: Methods in French and Francophone Studies (49701)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Discussion
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Repeat Credit Limit:
- 4 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- Completely Online
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education RequirementOnline Course
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021Mon, Wed 09:45AM - 11:00AMOff CampusUMN REMOTE
- Enrollment Status:
- Closed (23 of 20 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- Taught entirely in French. In this course, you will delve deeply into original stories, lyrics, plays, and films in French, from around the world and across time. What verbal and visual codes carry meaning in a given culture? How do cultures create a space for the subject or the self? As you discuss these questions, you will become a faster and more independent reader, gain sensitivity to the sonorities and rhythms of the French language and the nuances of sense it makes possible, and learn to perceive implicit meaning in texts. Theoretical readings and lessons in developing thesis statements and organizing arguments will enhance your ability to understand and create complex arguments in French. Each individual section of this course addresses these questions with a different selection of readings and films grouped around a specific theme, so please consult the Class Info page to find out more! nonfiction texts, cultural artifacts, and audio/visual media pertaining to France and Francophone communities across the centuries. prereq: 3016 or equiv
- Class Notes:
- http://classinfo.umn.edu/?FREN3101W+Spring2021
- Class Description:
- French 3101W is a writing intensive course offering a broad introduction to the critical methods, standards of scholarship, and body of knowledge specific to the discipline of French and Francophone Studies. The course will train students to understand and analyze various documents and media such as literary works, cultural or theoretical texts, cultural artifacts, film, art, audio and visual media pertaining to France and Francophone communities from selected periods spanning the centuries. Since this is a writing intensive course, particular attention is given to the content, style and format of written assignments.
French 3101W, section 2, spring 2021 (fully remote), taught by Dr. Lydia Belatèche
Family Feuds and Fusions
Do you have people in your family who annoy you, inspire you, love you and frustrate you more than anyone else? Most of us do, and based on works of fiction throughout time, it would seem that it has ever been thus. This class will use Francophone contexts, across genres and time, to study the role and representation of family, and consider if we find truth in José Carlos Llop's observation that "La famille est le vrai roman de l'individu." How does family form one's identity? What truths lie behind the proverb, "On choisit ses amis, on ne choisit pas sa famille"? Where is one's place inside the family unit? Why do people often have a love-hate relationship with members of their family?
We will first explore these questions through 17th century theatre (Le Cid by Corneille), followed by 19thcentury prose (Thérèse Raquin by Zola) and early 20th century poetry (Alcools by Apollinaire). 20th century novels include L'Étranger by Camus, La Place by Ernaux, and Elle danse dans le noir by Frégni. We will observe modern families in films by Varda (Le bonheur) and Benguigui (Inch'Allah dimanche). Finally, we will reach current times with filmmakers Julien-Laferrière (C'est quoi cette famille?!) and Meyer (Rhapsody), as well as singers Bigflo & Oli (Rentrez chez vous).
- Who Should Take This Class?:
The recommended prerequisites for this course are French 3015 and French 3016 (taken either at the U or in Montpellier). Please check with your professor if you've taken equivalent 3000-level French courses elsewhere!Liberal Arts Education Requirements, Literature Core:
In this course, you will learn to analyze forms of cultural expression in their social and cultural context, considering the ways in which the paradigms and practices of art - particularly literature - are constructed and modified over time. This is an essential component of any Liberal Arts Education.
- Learning Objectives:
The newly revised French 3101W presents four distinct areas of inquiry and the modes of analysis proper to them. The course modules are the following:
A. Language and code: grammatical accuracy in spoken and written expression; lexical resources, vocabulary, and idiomatic usage
B. Literature and literary studies: skills in reading and textual analysis; increased ability to articulate and organize ideas in writing and speaking
C. Subjects and cultures
D. Film and visual media
Please note that the modules are not completely separate and will overlap in different parts of the course.- Grading:
§ Class participation (preparation and discussion of readings, reading comprehension questions, group work in class and outside of class) - 10%
§ Informal Writing Assignments/Rédactions (3 x 5%) - 15%
§ Compositions (3 x 15) - 45%
§ Mid-term (short answer and essay) - 15%
§ Final Exam (short answer and essay) - 15%
This course uses the following grading scale: A-F, with pluses and minuses- Exam Format:
- short answer and essay (mid-term and final exam)
- Class Format:
- 40% Lecture, 50% Discussion, 10% Student Group Work + Presentations.
- Workload:
50-75 Pages Reading Per Week
15-20 Pages Writing Per Term
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/49701/1213
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 11 November 2020
ClassInfo Links - Spring 2021 French Classes
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