French Studies

DR. ALAIN GABON

Virginia Wesleyan’s programs in French Studies, German Studies, and Hispanic Studies are designed to prepare students for meaningful international and intercultural exchange in a competitive, globalized world. In keeping with the university’s commitment to a liberal arts education, students pursuing one of these majors will acquire a multidisciplinary and compre-hensive understanding of the target culture, its language, and its impact on the world at large. Each major provides communication skills in a foreign language and a strong knowledge base that will support a career in business, communications, political science, journalism, criminal justice, education, law, and many others.

FRENCH STUDIES

The French Studies major aims to develop in its students the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values necessary for living and working in a French-speaking society with little or no dependence on English. Students attain language skills at the high-advanced level, as well as knowledge of French history, literature, and the arts, including cinema.

Courses are designed to help students understand contemporary French culture as compared to their own and deepen their appreciation of these differences. The major also prepares students for meaningful exchange in an increasingly complex, globalized, transnational, and multicultural world where interaction with non-English speaking people has become not just desirable, but unavoidable and where liberal arts graduates should have a sense of enlightened understanding of, appreciation for, and solidarity with other countries, nations, and peoples. The major prepares students for careers in education, diplomacy, business, communications, political science, and journalism, and for graduate study.

Major Requirements: French Studies

COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE

SEMESTER HOURS

FR 307: Topics in Advanced Conversation and Composition

FR 327: France Today

One of the following:

FR 328: French History I: Vercingétorix-Revolution

FR 329: French History II: Revolution- World War II

FR 334: Introduction to French Cinema

FR 335: Masterpieces of French Literature 4 4

4

4 4

FR 300: Study Abroad OR a second FR 307 OR another upper-level French course with instructor’s consent French elective at the 300/400 level FR 443: Senior Seminar

TOTAL HOURS REQUIRED:

4

4 4 32

Minor Requirements: French Studies

COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE

FR 307: Topics in Advanced Conversation and Composition One course in French history One course in French Literature One course in French Cinema One course in contemporary French society and civilization French elective at the 300/400 level

TOTAL HOURS REQUIRED: SEMESTER HOURS

4 4 4 4 4 4 24

FRENCH STUDIES COURSES (FR)

111 Beginning French I (4)

An introduction to French as a spoken and written language. Emphasizes the development of oral and written skills and cultural awareness. Four classes each week. Offered every year.

112 Beginning French II (4)

An introduction to French as a spoken and written language. Emphasizes the development of oral and written skills and cultural awareness. Prerequisite: FR 111 with a grade of C or higher or proficiency as determined by the instructor. Four classes each week. Offered every year.

213 Intermediate French (4)

Develops speaking and writing proficiency through active learning and intensive practice. Prerequisite: FR 112 or equivalent. Fulfills the foreign language requirement. Offered every fall.

307 Topics in Advanced Conversation and Composition (4)

Designed to help students reach advanced proficiency while offering an introduction to French society today, French history, the arts, and more. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: FR 213 or equivalent or consent. Offered every year.

320 French through Film and Literature (4)

Offers language learning and intensive practice in advanced-level reading, listening, speaking, writing, and culture through recent French films and canonical literary works. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FR 213 or equivalent or consent. Offered on demand.

327 France Today (4)

Offers a thorough examination of France and the French in the postwar era until today. Covers the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of France today; artistic productions, and the patterns, structures, and on-going mutations of everyday life in France, as well as the lifestyles, values, and worldviews of the French today. Taught in English with reading and writing in French for French majors and minors. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered on demand.

328 French History I: Vercingétorix-Revolution (4)

Introduces students to the history of France from the Celtic Gauls to the Revolution of 1789. Taught in English with work in French for majors and minors. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered in selected semesters.

329 French History II: Revolution-World War II (4)

Covers French history from the 1789 Revolution to World War II. Taught in English with work in French for majors and minors. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered in selected semesters.

334 Introduction to French Cinema (4)

Introduces students to French cinema from its origins to the present, beginning with the birth of the motion picture in France, then exploring several significant film movements, including major directors and seminal films associated with them. Poetic realism, the New Wave, the heritage film, beur cinema, contemporary blockbusters, and more are examined. Taught in English, with 300-level language coursework for French majors and minors. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered on demand.

335 Masterpieces of French Literature (4) W

Introduces students to French literature from its origins to the present day through a representative sample of authors and literary masterpieces. Emphasizes modernist literature from Baudelaire to Marguerite Duras. Taught in English, with 300-level language work in the French language for French majors and minors. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered alternate years.

443 Senior Seminar (4) I, W

Studies the life and work of a major writer and its history, literature and philosophical trends. Taught in French. Prerequisites: ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher and FR 307, or consent. Offered on demand.