Fall 2024 upper-level French Course Descriptions

FRH 214 Encounters: French and Francophone Literature and Culture (Honors)

MWF 11-11:50 / Prof. Anthony / Prerequisite: FRH 212

Designed for incoming students with a strong high school background in French, the Honors course offers the opportunity to participate in a dynamic, discussion-based class and to develop skills in reading and analyzing texts in French from a variety of literary genres (poetry, prose, theater). We will explore themes including love and artistic inspiration in a selection of poems dating from the Middle Ages to the 20th century; enjoy a French comedy by Molière; and consider a variety of short stories and films from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Students in this Honors class often form a “francophone” community that extends well beyond their first semester at WFU.

FRH 216: Literature and Culture: “Colonial and Post-colonial Landscapes”

WF 2-3:15 / Prof. McNelly / Prerequisite: FRH 212, 213, or 214

This course will approach the literature of former French colonies through the theme of landscape. Writers of Africa and the Caribbean draw on landscapes and other spaces in representations of inhuman conditions, expressions of psychological and political uncertainty, and constructions of identity. From barren, unforgiving landscapes to the search for spiritual renewal in sacred spaces, to ambivalent nostalgia for both real and mythologized homelands, the concept of landscape will be broadly construed to include physical, ideological, and psychological spaces imbued with moral and political feeling. We will read essays, poetry, short and longer prose pieces by L. S. Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Dany Laferrière, Marie-Celine Agnant, Cheik Charles Sow, Véronique Tadjo, Albert Camus. Some attention will be given to consideration of the role of prefaces, ethnography, and criticism in the reception of this literature. In addition to class discussions and presentations, coursework will include two essays, a midterm and final exam.

FRH 315: Introduction to French and Francophone Studies

MWF 12-12:50 / Prof. Vincent / Prerequisite: FRH 200-level or equivalent

This course will orient you to the culture and society of France and the French-speaking world from the Gallo-Roman era to the twentieth century. You will gain an understanding of how French and Francophone identities have developed by examining historical events and their commemoration, remarkable people, and lasting institutions. You will also analyze how artistic and cultural movements represent changes to perspectives and values. This course will improve your capacity to read and 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 365: French and Francophone Drama

TR 2-3:15 / Prof. Anthony / Prerequisite: FRH 216 or 315 or POI

What made audiences laugh during the Middle Ages in France? What touched French theatergoers during the 17th and 18th centuries? How do contemporary French playwrights captivate us, and at times, assault our sensibilities? In this course we will study major works of French drama from medieval times to the 21st century and two minimalist plays set in the French Antilles. We will analyze plays from a variety of theatrical genres (farce, comedy, tragedy, drama), each in its historical and political context. As readers, we will use our imaginations to move words from the page to the stage. In class, we will also analyze scenes of pivotal performances from many of the plays under consideration.