Fall 2022 upper-level French course descriptions

FRH 216: LITERATURE & CULTURE:
“FRANCOPHONE WOMEN WRITERS”

MWF 12-12:50 / Prof. Mann / Prerequisite: FRH 212, 213, or 214

In this course, we will explore women’s works produced in the 20th and into the 21st century across the Francophone world. The concept of alterity will guide us as we travel to the five major continents of our planet seeking out the meaning of what it means to be Woman today in all of her diverse contexts: the personal, the political, the social and the cultural. By studying the voices—what they say and how they say it—we will begin to hear and appreciate the truly cacophonic harmony that l’écriture feminine provides to our ever-changing world.

*Did you know? You can repeat FRH 216 once for credit when topics vary.

FRH 315: INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE STUDIES

WF 3:30-4:45 / Prof. McNelly / Prerequisite: Any FRH 200-level course

This course will orient you to the culture and society of France and the French-speaking world through the study of moments, people, monuments, and movements from the Gallo-Roman era to the turn of the twentieth century. You will gain an understanding of how France’s identity as a nation and a culture has come to be constructed through political, social, and cultural values attributed to historical events and embodied by remarkable people. You will analyze how monuments commemorate the nation’s past and how artistic and cultural movements shape collective tastes. This course will improve your capacity to interpret primary source texts; develop your ability to place key events, people, and ideas in their larger historical context; and augment your intercultural competence.

*Did you know? FRH 315 is not recommended for students who plan to participate in the WFU Dijon semester program. WFU Dijon students receive credit for this course.

**Please note: FRH 315 is offered only once each academic year, in the fall semester.

FRH 361: SPECIAL TOPICS IN FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE FILM STUDIES:
“ENTRE DEUX MONDES: LIMINALITY AND IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN CINEMA”

MW 2:00-3:15 & M 6:00-8:00/ Prof. Coly / Prerequisite: FRH 216 or 315 or 360 or POI

In this course, we will focus on the question of identity, a central theme in contemporary African cinema. We will consider the vantage point of a series of liminal characters: that is, those characters who occupy an in-between or transitional state.  These may include, for example, immigrants navigating the challenges and the potentials inherent in belonging to multiple “worlds,” to multiple social formations at once. We will pay particular attention to matters around race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, and generation. In addition to developing skills in basic film analysis using a specialized vocabulary, students will hone their language skills by watching, discussing and analyzing films and film clips.

FRH 364: FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE PROSE FICTION

TR 11-12:15 / Prof. Vincent / Prerequisite: FRH 216 or 315 or POI

In this course we will explore a wide variety of prose fiction in French, from the 17^th to the 21^st century. Shorter and longer texts, from France and from the Francophone world, closer or more distant from worlds familiar to experience: we will discover imaginary worlds and examine how they are put together with the resources of narrative technique and the French language.