French and Francophone Studies (FRST)
Director: Associate Professor Éva Pósfay
Committee Members: Scott D. Carpenter, Laurence Cooper, Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, Cherif Keïta, Christine Lac, Jamie Monson, Victoria Morse, William North, Susannah Ottaway, Lauren Soth, Dana Strand, Cathy M. Yandell, Carl D. Weiner
Requirements for a French and Francophone Studies Major:
The French and Francophone Studies program responds to the growing interest in cultural studies, Africana and post-colonial studies by combining in the best possible way the resources of various disciplinary approaches including literature, political science, history, anthropology, and arts. After acquiring a solid grounding in the language, students will embark on the study of topics such as French cultural theory, issues of identity, social change, nationalism, and gender in France and the francophone societies in Canada, Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia.
The major in French and Francophone Studies follows the general outlines of the French and Francophone Studies Concentration with a total of 27 additional credits in coursework and senior requirements.
I. Language competence:
Prerequisite: French 204. In order to handle the sophisticated materials in French covered in our departmental courses and in order to be able to conduct research in French, where appropriate, in the courses offered outside the French section, it is highly recommended that students take French language classes above the 204-level. Examples: French 206, 208, 209 and 309.
II. One supporting course in cultural studies (see under concentration)
These interdisciplinary courses (FREN 243 and appropriate off-campus courses on culture) serve to introduce students to a variety of topics and techniques relevant to cultural studies.
III. One supporting course in history (see under concentration)
This requirement reflects the importance of historical grounding that was previously recognized in the organization of the concentration.
IV. Four French language or literature courses, three of which must be at the 300-level:
Since our literature courses adopt an interdisciplinary approach, students can complement their learning in other disciplines through the literature offerings of the French section. We insist on three courses at the 300-level, because we find that the complex issues raised by the intersection of history, politics, and socio-cultural perspectives can best be explored by students who have a solid background in both language and literary studies.
V. Three elective courses appropriate for the major:
Students may choose from any of the courses included in the Concentration description, or any course appropriate for the major.
VI. The capstone seminar:
This 300-level course is an advanced interdisciplinary seminar focused on a particular topic and the methodology used for its study. It will be taught in French or English. Example: FRST 395: Mande of West Africa
VII. Comprehensive exercise:
a. French Studies 398-399: Senior Essay (Fall and Winter). A seminar focusing on the
planning, preparation, and completion of a significant paper in French or Francophone Studies under the supervision of two advisors: one from the French section (the designated comps coordinator), and one from another discipline. This exercise will normally be written in French. 3 credits per term.
b. French Studies 400: Integrative Exercise (Spring). A colloquium in which students present and defend their senior essay and discuss the essays of others. 3 credits.
A total of 69 credits are required for the major.
Majors are urged to pursue off-campus study in a French-speaking country. For information on approved international off-campus programs, consult the faculty in French and the Off-Campus Studies Office.
French and Francophone Studies Courses
FRST 140. Modern Europe Cross-listed with HIST 140. An introduction to Europe in the age of political and social revolutions. Emphasis is given to the impact of industrialization, the rise of national consciousness, and the search for progress through the great liberal and socialist movements, and ultimately the drive for global domination and development. Students are invited but not required to take History 141 as a follow-up to this course. 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—D. Prowe
FRST 141. Europe in the Twentieth Century Cross-listed with HIST 141. A survey of the major political, socio-economic, and intellectual developments of twentieth-century Europe. Special emphasis will be placed on the rise of urban masses and private economic power and the attempts to integrate these new forces into a stable political system. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—D. Prowe
FRST 142. The Peasants are Revolting! Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe Cross-listed with HIST 142. This course examines daily life in France, England and the German states from the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Topics include popular recreation and literature; popular rebellions and protest; religious practices; and work habits. We will focus on the question of the division between elite and "plebeian" cultures in this period. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 206. Composition and Conversation Cross-listed with FREN 206. Designed to encourage students to express themselves orally and in writing while strengthening their knowledge of contemporary French through discussions of current issues in France. A wide range of topics and activities will allow students to function in diverse situations from practical tasks to much more specialized language situations. Students will learn useful and practical strategies for improving effective communication and refining their own writing style. Prerequisite: French 204 or equivalent. 6 credits cr., ND, Spring—Staff
FRST 207. Mali Program: Composition and Conversation Cross-listed with FREN 207. Since the official language of Mali is French, this course is aimed at strengthening the ability of the students to discuss, orally and in writing, topics related to life in Mali and in other West African countries. They will read articles form the Malian press and report on radio/TV programs and other cultural events. 6 credits cr., ND, Winter—C. Keïta
FRST 208. Paris Program: Conversation and Composition Cross-listed with FREN 208. Focusing on topics of current interest in French society, this course is designed to help students speak and write French with grace and ease. It will be taught by a local instructor with the assistance of graduate students in FLE (French as a Foreign Language) from the University of Paris. The course will include both in-class activities and tutorials. 6 credits cr., AL, Spring—Non-Carleton Faculty
FRST 220. Border Crossings: Postmodern Perspectives on French and German Cinema Cross-listed with GERM 220,FREN 238,MEDA 238. In this course, we will explore the responses of French and German filmmakers to the challenges facing Europe as it redefined itself throughout the twentieth century. Taking Foucault's and Derrida's theories about the center and the margin as a starting point, we will examine such issues as national identity, marginalization, shifting gender roles and technological change. Filmmakers to be discussed will be Jean-Luc Godard, Jean Renoir, Agnes Varda, Fritz Lang, Rainer W. Fassbinder and Helma Sanders-Brahms. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 235. France in the Making, 987-1460 Cross-listed with HIST 234. This course will examine the political and social transformations and cultural developments that conspired to make the kingdom of France one of the most influential and dynamic polities in the medieval world. Among the topics to be addressed: the ideals and practice of medieval governance; the formation of "French" national identity; France as a center of European intellectual and cultural life; forms of religious life, dissent, and persecution (the Albigensian Crusade, treatment of the Jews, and Trial of the Templars); and the ideals and realities of social relations (courtly romance, the rise of the merchant class, the status of women). 6 credits cr., HU, Winter—W. North
FRST 236. Impressionism Cross-listed with ARTH 242. French painting of the second half of the nineteenth century. Concentration on the major artists: Manet, Degas, Morisot, Cassatt, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, et al. Prerequisite: any one term of art history. 6 credits cr., AL,RAD, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 237. The Enlightenment Cross-listed with HIST 237. This course focuses on the texts of Enlightenment thinkers, including Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Kant and Mesmer. Emphasis will be on French thinkers and the effect of the Enlightenment on French society. The course covers the impact of the Enlightenment on science, religion, politics and the position of women. Students will have the opportunity to read the philosophies in French. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 238. Topics in Medieval History: Gender and Ethics in Medieval France Cross-listed with RELG 238,HIST 238,WGST 233. Acknowledged by contemporaries as one of the leading intellects of her time, Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364-ca. 1431) was an author of unusual literary range and perceptiveness. In addition to romances, poetry, and a quasi-autobiographical Vision, she composed works on political theory, arms and chivalry, and her famous defenses of women—The City of Ladies and the Treasure of the City of Ladies. Using Christine's writings as a foundation, we will explore problems and perceptions of gender, love, the ethics of personal relations, and the exercise of power in domestic and public spheres in late medieval France. 3 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 238. Topics in Medieval History: Papacy, Church and Empire Cross-listed with RELG 238,HIST 238,WGST 233. In the late eleventh century, the foundations of medieval society began to shake. Monks and clerics, kings and princes, lay men and women, challenged the traditional order of European society, demanding purity, freedom, and justice for their church and the reform of institutions grown corrupt. Yet the traditional order had its defenders, too. In this course we will examine their struggles—verbal and physical—as they debate such issues as clerical marriage and purity, institutional corruption, the relationship of Church and King, the meaning of canon law, the concept of just war, and the power of the pope within the Church. 3 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 240. Introduction to French and Francophone Literatures: Dreams of Trespass Cross-listed with FREN 240. From sweet-talking medieval troubadours to free-spirited Moroccan harem women, French and Francophone literature offers fascinating glimpses of what happens when we dare to flirt with the forbidden. In this survey course, we will explore the transgressive acts imagined by such authors as Fatima Mernissi, George Sand, Gustave Flaubert (along with his cinematographic interpreter, Claude Chabrol), Tahar Ben Jelloun and Jean Genet. Conducted in French. 6 credits cr., AL, Fall—D. Strand
FRST 241. Introduction to French and Francophone Literatures: "Invitation au Voyage" Cross-listed with FREN 241. From Rabelais to Le Petit Prince, the voyage has been a compelling force in the French literary imagination. This course will explore the question of the voyage in French and Francophone literature, film and music. What does it mean to go elsewhere (both literally and figuratively)? Through travel or displacement how are both the self and the other redefined? These are the sorts of questions we will discuss, through literary works of Montaigne, Voltaire, Madame de Grafigny, Baudelaire, Gide, Sebbar and Duras; recent films of Téchiné and Varda; and selected contemporary songs. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: French 204 or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Spring—C. Yandell
FRST 243. Topics in Cultural Studies: Language and Identity in France and the Francophone World Cross-listed with FREN 243. We will take a sociolinguistic approach to the study of French culture as we focus on the parallel evolution of the French language and the society that produced it and was created by it. After examining the concept of French identity from an historical and linguistic perspective, we will analyze specific elements of that identity in the contemporary world, notably, education, regionalism, postcolonialism (within and outside of France), and the influence of Europe and the U.S.A. We will look at movies, songs, cartoons, recipes, toys, short stories, essays and other types of cultural artifacts as the object of our study. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: French 204 or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Winter—C. Lac
FRST 245. Francophone Literature of Africa and the Caribbean Cross-listed with AFAM 245,FREN 245. Reading and discussion of literary works, with analysis of social, historical and political issues. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: French 204 or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL,RAD, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 246. Cross-listed with HIST 246,WGST 247. The eighteenth century witnessed the rise of the sentimental novel as a popular genre in both France and England. This course will examine the historical context of novels that depicted women as creatures that were often defined by their "sensibility." We will look at debates about the "nature of women" as well as at the social and economic roles actually played by women in this period. 6 credits cr., HU,RAD, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 249. Mali Program: Negotiating the Past: Cross-listed with FREN 251. This course will look at various issues in Malian history (ancient and modern) and the process of political and economic change. A component of this course will be an introduction to conversational Bambara, the lingua franca of Mali. 4 credits cr., AL, Winter—Non-Carleton Faculty
FRST 250. Mali Program: Film, Literature and Society in Mali Cross-listed with FREN 250. . This course will concentrate on the dynamics of orality, writing, and the art of cinema in Mali. The works of writers such as Amadou Hampaté Bâ, Seydou Badian, Massa Makan Diabate, and filmmakers such as Souleymane Cisse, Cheick Oumar Sissoko, and Adama Drabo will be studied. This course will also introduce the students to the life and work of traditional and modern performers in Mali. 6 credits cr., AL, Winter—C. Keïta
FRST 251. Modern Political Philosophy Cross-listed with POSC 251. We will follow the "march" of modern political philosophy from Machiavelli through the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau to Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche. 6 credits cr., SS, Fall—L. Cooper
FRST 253. Paris Program: Reading and Writing the City Cross-listed with FREN 249. Paris is a world capital, a crossroads of cultures, classes, and languages. How does one make sense of the immense complexity of a city of this scope? "Reading and Writing the City" will study the city both within texts (literary, sociological, historical), and as a text. Drawing on signifying systems as varied as maps, street signs, film, and poetry (just to give a few examples), students will learn about how and what the city means to its various "readers" and "users." An independent project will enable students to discuss a particular representation of the city, or to represent it in the medium of the student's choice. 6 credits cr., AL, Spring—S. Carpenter
FRST 254. Introduction to Critical Methods: Structure, Gender, Culture Cross-listed with LCST 245. What does it mean to theorize the way we read? For one thing, it means to reflect on the assumptions already implicit in our reading habits; for another, it invites us to challenge those assumptions to see what might be gained. Changes of perspective can have significant impact, for the set of questions we bring to our reading largely determines the answers we come away with. In this course we will study a range of critical issues and movements, and we will examine how they can influence our reading of texts (prose, poetry, film) drawn from a variety of national traditions. Open only to declared majors of literature or language programs or permission of instructor. 6 credits cr., AL, Winter—S. Carpenter
FRST 255. Post-Modern Political Thought Cross-listed with POSC 255. The thought and practice of the modern age have been found irredeemably oppressive, alienating, dehumanizing, and/or exhausted by a number of leading philosophic thinkers in recent years. In this course we will explore the critiques and alternative visions offered by a variety of post-modern thinkers, including Nietzsche (in many ways the first post-modern), Heidegger, Foucault, and Derrida. 6 credits cr., SS, Winter—L. Cooper
FRST 256. Ethnography of Africa Cross-listed with AFAM 256,SOAN 256. This course emphasizes the study of several sub-Saharan African societies so as to deal with themes that have concerned anthropologists working in Africa. The types of questions anthropologists have posed about African societies, and the role Africa has played in the development of anthropological theory is explored. Texts include two classics, The Nuer and Chisungu, as well as contemporary re-studies and ethnographic case studies by both African and Western scholars to address issues affecting the entire continent, including colonialism, gender, local-state relations, the role of history, and debates about cultural identities. Prerequisite: Sociology/Anthropology 110 or 111 or permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., SS,RAD, Fall—P. Feldman-Savelsberg
FRST 285. Topics in Art History: Gauguin Cross-listed with ARTH 285. Close study of the artist's work and the issues of race and gender it raises. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. 3 credits cr., AL, Spring—L. Soth
FRST 285. Topics in Art History: Cezanne Cross-listed with ARTH 285. Close study of the work of the founder of modern painting. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. 3 credits cr., AL, Spring—L. Soth
FRST 290. Mali Program: Directed Reading Cross-listed with FREN 290. 2 credits cr., S/CR/NC, ND, Winter—C. Keïta
FRST 309. Beyond Words: The Fine Art of Writing in French Cross-listed with FREN 309. Designed to help students develop strategies to master the writing of literary essays, "exposés" and "explication de textes" in French, while perfecting their own writing style through creative writing and translation. Required for the major in French. Prerequisite: at least one course above 204. 6 credits cr., AL, Winter—C. Lac
FRST 341. France, Third-Fifth Republic Cross-listed with HIST 341. Modern France from 1870 to the present. The politics, culture, society and economy of modern France will be studied in relation to such topics as agriculture and industry, archaic and modern; mass politics, class struggle and the rise of socialism; perceiving Paris; modernism in art and life, Bohemia, the belle epoque and the post-industrialist society; Gaullism and the prospect of European unity. History 341 can be taken as one of the core courses in the French and Francophone Studies Concentration. 6 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 345. Atlantic Revolutions, France and America Cross-listed with AMST 346,HIST 345. An examination of the recent literature on the French and American Revolutions to establish a basis for a comparative approach to both revolutions. Our approach will include social, political, intellectual and cultural perspectives on a variety of subjects illuminating the reciprocity between the revolutions. The course will not concern itself with a detailed narrative of either revolution so some solid knowledge of one or both of these revolutions is assumed. This will be a reading intensive course heavily dependent on class discussion. Written work will consist of one short critical review at the mid-term and a final, more extensive analytic paper. Permission of the instructors is required. 6 credits cr., HU, Spring—C. Weiner, S. Zabin
FRST 349. Paris Program: Reading and Writing the City Cross-listed with FREN 349. Paris is a world capital, a crossroads of cultures, classes, and languages. How does one make sense of the immense complexity of a city of this scope? "Reading and Writing the City" will study the city both within texts (literary, sociological, historical), and as a text. Drawing on signifying systems as varied as maps, street signs, film, and poetry (just to give a few examples), students will learn about how and what the city means to its various "readers" and "users." An independent project will enable students to discuss a particular representation of the city, or to represent it in the medium of the student's choice. Conducted in French. 6 credits cr., AL, Spring—S. Carpenter
FRST 351. Topics in the Sixteenth Century: Metamorphoses: Love, War and Monsters in Early Modern France Cross-listed with FREN 351. The French Renaissance continues to intrigue students and critics by its propensity for paradox, ambiguity, and contradiction. Just as literature and the arts reached new levels of aesthetic achievement, the bloodiest civil war in French history was taking shape. Simultaneously producing lyric poetry praising beautiful bodies, bawdy tales, moralizing dialogue, and chronicles of monsters, French sixteenth-century culture was in a constant state of flux. Through such authors as Rabelais, Marguerite de Navarre, Ronsard, Louise Labé and Montaigne, as well as contemporaneous artistic and musical works, we will investigate the meaning of these metamorphoses. Recommended preparation: 240 or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 352. Seventeenth-Century Literature: Eccentrics in Classical France Cross-listed with FREN 352. Seventeenth century France is often touted as the pinnacle of French grandeur. Under Louis XIV's absolutist rule, France supported an astounding number of normative measures-from founding academies to policing codes of behavior-designed to help the French nation to become a political, economic and cultural world power. But in the midst of all these pressures towards normativeness, could one express any dissent in the age of Versailles? We will explore the creative strategies used in a whole range irreverent writings by of Molière, Racine, Perrault, Lafayette, Choisy and many more. Conducted in French. Recommended preparation: 240-level course or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Spring—É. Pósfay
FRST 354. Literature of the Other Cross-listed with FREN 354. What is the division between Us and Them? The way we define the groups we belong to and those we differ from has always been of capital importance, and these definitions change over time. By looking at texts and events of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including travel literature, tales of the supernatural, texts from the Revolution and documents of colonization, we will investigate the creation and manipulation of various "Others," as they have been defined socially, culturally, and sexually. Authors may include Mme de Graffigny, Diderot, Sade, Mme de Sta"l, Balzac, Flaubert, Baudelaire, among others. Conducted in French. Recommended preparation: 240-level course or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Winter—S. Carpenter
FRST 357. Modern French Poetry Cross-listed with FREN 357. How does a poem mean? We will address this question in the light of nineteenth and twentieth-century French poetry. This is a dynamic period, one which witnesses a series of poetic revolutions: classical verse, forms, and esthetics shatter under the weight of new understandings of language. Authors studied include Lamartine, Hugo, Baudelaire, Siefert, Mallarmé, Valéry, Apollinaire, Eluard, Ponge, and more. Topics will include literary movements (e.g., Romanticism, Symbolism, Surrealism), lyrical forms (from the sonnet to the picture-poem to free verse), and such key notions as mimesis the unconscious, and the function of language. Conducted in French. Recommended preparation: 240-level course or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 358. Twentieth-Century Literature: Theater of Derision Cross-listed with FREN 358. Derisive laughter echoes hauntingly throughout much of modern French theater, challenging both the spectator's self-complacency and the play's unquestioned representation of the real. In this course, we will explore the subversive effects that techniques of derision have on the theatrical experience in the works of such innovative twentieth century playwrights as Sartre, Beckett, Vian, and Genet. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: at least one course above the 240-level or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 359. Twentieth-Century Literature: The Novel and Memory Cross-listed with FREN 359. Marcel Proust's quest to retrieve the past set the stage for future writers who, in their turn, have undertaken the challenging task of probing what bell hooks has referred to as "the debris of history." Memory, whether real or imagined, experiential or experimental, has been a central concern in the works of such twentieth-century authors as Maguerite Duras, Patrick Modiano, Charlotte Delbo, and Albert Camus. In this course we will pay particular attention to the high stakes of remembering (and forgetting) at the intersection of story (personal) and history (collective). Taught in French. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2001-2002.
FRST 395. Writing and Identity Cross-listed with FREN 395. Drawing upon autobiographical writings from French and Francophone traditions, this course will address questions of culture and identity (personal, familial, national, ethnic and sexual). Authors may include Montaigne, Rousseau, Sartre, Sarraute, Agag, Bugul, Guibert and Ernaux. To complement these literary and theoretical considerations, students will engage in their own autobiographical projects throughout the class. Conducted in French. Recommended preparation: French 240 or equivalent. 6 credits cr., AL, Fall—C. Yandell
FRST 398. Senior Essay The planning, preparation and writing of a significant paper in French or French and Francophone Studies under the direction of the department. Devoted to formulating a thesis and establishing a critical bibliography. 3 credits cr., S/CR/NC, ND, Fall—Staff
FRST 399. Senior Essay The planning, preparation and writing of a significant paper in French or French and Francophone Studies under the direction of the department. Discussion of drafts with other seminar members and the completion of the essay 3 credits cr., ND, Winter—D. Strand
FRST 400. Integrative Exercise A colloquium in which students present and defend their senior essays and discuss the essays of others. 3 credits cr., S/NC, ND, Spring—C. Yandell