French (FRE)

FRE 100 French I 3 Credits

Conversational French is taught through basic vocabulary and grammar building. Students will enjoy an immersion-style method emphasizing real-life situations and vocabulary in authentic cultural context, through an interactive textbook, videos, on-line resources, and oral/aural skill building using the technology in the Foreign Language Media Center to enhance learning. This course counts towards the fulfillment of the Essential Competencies element of the CLAS general education curriculum.

Prerequisite(s): Placement test if French has been studied elsewhere.

FRE 101 French II 3 Credits

Building on learning in French I, students will begin to converse using more complicated grammatical structures within immersion-style classroom interactions. While the focus is still on conversation and aural skill building, composition skills receive greater emphasis. Students will enjoy an interactive textbook, Internet usage, and authentic videos shot on location in France. This course counts towards the fulfillment of the Essential Competencies element of the CLAS general education curriculum.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 100 or placement test.

FRE 200 French III 3 Credits

This course builds on linguistic skills previously acquired through an emphasis on conversation and oral comprehension, and through vocabulary building. Grammar study is continued at a more advanced level, and students begin to read short passages focusing mainly on francophone culture and civilization. Film clips, Internet resources, and other computer-aided learning tools are used to create a dynamic immersion-style learning experience. This course counts towards the fulfillment of the Essential Competencies element of the CLAS general education curriculum.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 101 or placement test.

FRE 201 French IV 3 Credits

While continuing the emphasis on aural/oral production and grammar and vocabulary building, short passages of greater complexity taken from literary texts, newspapers, and magazines will become the focus of conversation/composition activities. Technological resources will continue to enhance the immersion-style learning experience consistent with a course in advanced French. Successful completion of this course, or its equivalent, serves as a prerequisite for French courses at the 300 and 400 level. This course counts towards the fulfillment of the Essential Competencies element of the CLAS general education curriculum.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 200 or placement test.

FRE 300 French Composition/Translation 3 Credits

An in-depth study of style, shades of meaning, and correctness of expression. Translation of business/professional/scientific/political texts will receive emphasis, and students will continue to perfect their writing skills, and review and improve advanced grammatical structures.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 301 French for Business 3 Credits

The fundamentals needed to survive in the French professional and business world are taught. Students will continue to perfect oral/written/aural skills while learning about the cultural climate within which these skills will be used. Students will learn how to prepare effective business/professional correspondence and, through role-playing activities, will use their knowledge in such real-life situations as interviewing, telephone conversations, and business meetings.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 305 An Introduction to French Literature 3 Credits

A chronological overview of the evolution of French literature from the Middle Ages to the present. Study and interpretation of selected works, authors or literary movements through the Renaissance, the classical period, Enlightenment, romanticism, realism, naturalism to representative works by authors of our century from Proust to existentialism, the nouveau Roman, theatre absurde and beyond.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 311 French Culture 3 Credits

A study of modern France and French value orientations as they are rooted in tradition and history and continue to shape everyday life as well as institutions, social organizations, artistic expression, education, attitudes and human interaction. A comparative approach will examine the underlying differences between France and the United States. Classes are in English.

FRE 320 French Phonetics and Conversation 3 Credits

This course is an introduction to French phonetics and is designed to help students further develop their skills in speaking French accurately and fluently. The course requires students to learn basic linguistic symbols and the phonetic alphabet as a theoretical step toward improving articulation and pronunciation. Moreover, special emphasis will be placed on the development of vocabulary and of appropriate communication techniques to participate in discussions in French. The course will be a mix of lectures, class discussions, debates, face-to-face conversations, and role games requiring a strong active participation. Counts toward major and minor requirements.

Prerequisite(s):FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 422 Cultural Expression in French Film and Television 3 Credits

A systematic analysis of selected French films and television broadcasts will reveal cultural value orientations as they relate to love, family, community, leisure, work, social, and political organization. A comparative approach will stress the underlying cultural differences between France and the United States. Course taught in French.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 425 Portrait of the Hero in French Fiction 3 Credits

This course deals with modern French fiction and its depiction of the role of the hero as a figure who gradually loses control over his fate (Stendhal, Balzac) and is changed into someone who struggles against ever increasing odds, only to be finally vanquished (Flaubert). The main character may find fulfillment in recollections of the past (Proust), explore the moral parameters of existence (Gide, Camus) or become the incapacitated anti-hero of Beckett’s novels. Course taught in French

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 430 Mask & Reality in French Theater 3 Credits

A study of theater through the optic of a unifying theme: the mask and reality. The goal is to gain a greater appreciation of the art of dramatic illusion whereby actors, while wearing the masks of the characters they play, allow us to examine ourselves and reality in true, unmasked form. Playwrights to be studied will range from the classical theater of Racine and Corneille, through the modern avant-garde, existentialist and Theater of the Absurd works of such playwrights as Ionesco and Beckett. Course taught in French.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 435 Self in French Prose & Poetry 3 Credits

Are we determining or pre-determined creatures? What is our essential nature? Is the quest for salvation justified? A study of the historical, political, and social realities in which the texts were composed will shed light on the concept of the self. Representative authors from the Renaissance to modern times will include: Montaigne, Descartes, Pascal, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Hugo, Baudelaire, Apollinaire, Sartre, Camus, Duras, Sarraute, Colette, de Beauvoir. Course taught in French.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 440 A Quest for Identity: Francophone Literature and Culture 3 Credits

This course introduces the cultures of countries or regions where French is used either as the (or one of the) official language(s) or, in a less official capacity, by a segment of the population. In readings, discussions, songs, film viewings, and written assignments, students will experience the Francophone cultures of specific areas and the amazing diversity of the Francophone world. They will also explore the difficult relation of the Francophone countries with France. The course considers issues of social status, history, resistance, and identity. Counts toward major and minor requirements. Course taught in French.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.

FRE 490 Independent Study: Research and Creative Expression 1-4 Credits

Independent Research and Study allows juniors and seniors in good academic standing to investigate topics of interest under faculty supervision. Projects must be approved by the faculty member, department chairperson, and academic dean no later than the third week of the semester in which the project is to be conducted. Only one project can be scheduled in a semester, and for no more than four semester hours; up to 12 semester hours of independent research and study may be counted toward graduation. Note that individual departments may have additional restrictions.

FRE 491 Internship in Foreign Languages 1-4 Credits

A supervised work experience in an approved organization to gain knowledge of the importance and interrelationship of foreign languages and cultures in the workplace. Placements can be made in international governmental agencies, international trade associations, multinational corporations, social service agencies, and other appropriate workplace environments both in the United States and abroad. With permission of the supervisor and faculty advisor, a three-credit internship may be substituted for a collateral requirement as credit toward the major.

Prerequisite(s): students should have completed at least one 300-level course in the foreign language.

FRE 496 Special Studies 3 Credits

Offered as needed to complement the program in French. A seminar open to a variety of topics treating a particular author, period, genre or critical approach.

Prerequisite(s): FRE 201 or above, or placement test at 300-level or above.