French Language and Literature Course Descriptions

French Language and Literature
Course Descriptions

Language and literature courses numbered 300 and above in a given language have, unless otherwise stated, 202 in that language as a prerequisite.

FREN 101 Elementary French Communication I 3 Credit Hours
Basic functional communication on daily activities and immediate environment in the present and past. Emphasis on understanding, speaking, reading, and writing simple French; pronunciation; and vocabulary expansion. Cross-cultural similarities and differences stressed through use of videocassettes. Course conducted primarily in French. Language laboratory required.

FREN 102 Elementary French Communication II 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 101 or placement
Continued development of basic communication skills: understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in increasingly more complex situations, including pronouns, descriptions, and actions in the past and future, and conjectures. Cross-culture similarities and differences stressed through use of videocassettes. Course conducted primarily in French. Language laboratory required.

FREN 201 Intermediate French Communication 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 102 or placement
Functional use of French in different sociocultural contexts. Extensive oral and written practice with vocabulary and structures vital to expressing increasingly complex ideas. Course conducted in French. Language laboratory required.

FREN 202 French Reading, Conversation, and Composition 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 201 or placement
Systematic development of reading and writing skills through cultural and literary texts. Oral communication skills development through discussions of readings and of videomagazine from French television. Course conducted in French.

FREN 203 Intermediate French Composition and Conversation 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 102 (or equivalent) and permission of instructor
An intensive, systematic study of grammar and development of speaking and writing skills through readings, discussions, and compositions. May be taken in lieu of FREN 201. Offered only during summer program in Europe.

FREN 204 Intermediate French Culture 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 102 (or equivalent) and permission of instructor.
Participation in cultural activities (excursions, visits to museums, theatrical performances, movies, etc.) required. Weekly journal of cultural and cross-cultural experiences. May be taken in lieu of FREN 202. Offered only during summer program in Europe.

FREN 301 Advanced French Conversation 3 Credit Hours
Development of skill and ease in speaking correct, idiomatic French at an advanced level. Audio and video cassettes used for aural comprehension. Pronunciation exercises. Required of all French majors and minors. Course not open to students with native-level proficiency.

FREN 302 Advanced French Composition 3 Credit Hours
Detailed study, analysis, and practice of written French based upon selected literary texts. Study of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary as necessary to achieve coherent, idiomatic compositions related to the readings. Required of all French majors and minors.

FREN 303 French Civilization 3 Credit Hours
A broad survey of French culture (architecture, painting, sculpture, music, cuisine, etc.) and society from prehistoric times to World War I.

FREN 304 Contemporary French and Francophone Civilization 3 Credit Hours
A study of all aspects of French civilization in the twentieth century (social and cultural mores and values, art, industry, and economy) in France and throughout the French-speaking world.

FREN 307 Business French 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 202 or permission of instructor
Introduction to the language of economics, banking, commerce, correspondence, sales, import-export, transportation, and corporations in the French-speaking world.

FREN 390 Special Topics in Contemporary French Culture 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 202 and permission of instructor
A survey of current trends in art, architecture, music, cuisine, film, and literature, as well as in popular culture, in France. Visits to museums, concerts, theater, etc. Weekly journal of cultural and cross-cultural experiences. Offered only during summer program in Europe.

FREN 391 Special Topics in Contemporary French Usage 3 Credit Hours
A course designed to acquaint students with the French of today as a language in evolution; particular attention to current usage of slang, jargon, and neologisms. Offered only during summer program in Europe.

FREN 421 French Literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance 3 Credit Hours
A study of representative works composed in the Middle Ages and Renaissance in modern French translation.

FREN 422 French Classicism and Enlightenment 3 Credit Hours
A study of the principal writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in France. Major figures: Molière, Corneille, Racine, Pascal, La Fontaine, La Bruyère, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau.

FREN 423 French Literature of the Nineteenth Century 3 Credit Hours
A study of the works representative of Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, and Symbolism, with special emphasis on developments in the novel and lyric poetry.

FREN 424 French Literature of the Twentieth Century 3 Credit Hours
A study of the major writers and literary movements—Surrealism, Modernism, Existentialism, Theatre of the Absurd, Nouveau Roman—from the turn of the century to the present.

FREN 450 Undergraduate Seminar: Studies in Special Topics 3 Credit Hours
Investigation and analysis of the works of one notable French author or of some other literary, linguistic, or cultural topic. The significance of the topic studied to Francophone civilization and/or literature in general will be emphasized. This course may be repeated provided that the subtitle is not duplicated.

FREN 490 Advanced Grammar, Syntax, and Translation 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: FREN 302 or permission of instructor
Development of linguistic skills necessary for fluent idiomatic writing in French, from colloquial to more sophisticated styles, including translation from English to French. Required of all French majors.