Iconic and dramatically diverse landscapes characterize the western United States, including snow-capped mountain ranges, deep canyons, volcanoes, monuments of stone, geyser fields, and vast lava-capped plateaus - in marked contrast to the more subdued lands of the east. North America is a dynamic, at times cataclysmic, continent with a deep geologic past. In this course, we will focus our attention on the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain and Glacier National Parks, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Columbia Plateau.

Spring semester. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on written work; readings; independent research; textual analysis.

Independent reading course. Full course.

Admission with consent of the instructor required. Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Readings; independent research; textual analysis.

The course provides a forum for seniors for the practice of spoken French at the advanced level with native speakers. Students will prepare and deliver presentations; practice interviewing techniques; and learn and practice using technical vocabulary from a variety of disciplines in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The choice of short readings and vocabulary sets will vary each time the course is offered and will reflect the interests of the students enrolled.

Open only to Senior French majors. Spring semester. The Department.

This course aims at improving the students' knowledge of the contemporary French language and of contemporary French society through translation. We will draw from a wide variety of sources, such as fiction, poetry, film, songs, graphic novels and advertising, to gain a better understanding of idiomatic French and of the translation process. Some translation theory will be introduced, but the class will primarily focus on close readings and critical interpretations of sources.  Conducted in French.

Ghosts are part of modern life. The ghost, sociologist Avery Gordon reminds us, is simply a form by which something lost, or barely visible, makes itself known to us. This seminar explores post-humous narration in the literatures of Africa and the Caribbean, focusing on ghostly, otherworldly, non-human, and (un)dead narrators who tell their story from beyond the grave. Over the course of the semester, students will encounter narrators who have drowned, disappeared, exploded, or been devoured by sharks.

An exploration of Enlightenment thought within the context of the collaborative institutions and activities that fostered its development, including literary and artistic salons, cafés, and the Encyclopédie. We will read texts by Rousseau, Diderot, Voltaire, and others, drawn from the domains of literature, philosophy, memoirs, and correspondence. To get a better idea of what it might have been like to live in the eighteenth century and be a participant in the "Republic of Letters," we will also read a variety of essays in French cultural history. Conducted in French.

From the inverted retinal image to the invention of the telescope and microscope, the seventeenth century marks a pivotal moment in the history of vision and optical instruments. What are the repercussions of discovering a retinal image that is but an effect of light and color, and realizing that the world as the eye sees it is literally upside down? What does one make of telescopic and microscopic observations that show objects other than they appear and which unveil worlds beyond what the eye can see?

To gain as much confidence as possible in idiomatic French, we discuss French social institutions and culture, trying to appreciate differences between French and American viewpoints. Our conversational exchanges will touch upon such topics as French education, art and architecture, the status of women, the spectrum of political parties, minority groups, religion, and the position of France and French-speaking countries in the world. Supplementary work with audio and video materials.

To gain as much confidence as possible in idiomatic French, we discuss French social institutions and culture, trying to appreciate differences between French and American viewpoints. Our conversational exchanges will touch upon such topics as French education, art and architecture, the status of women, the spectrum of political parties, minority groups, religion, and the position of France and French-speaking countries in the world. Supplementary work with audio and video materials.