“I thought I had been transported to the garden of Eden”: the explorer Bougainville’s 1771 description of the abundance and beauty of “Taïti” set the tone for two centuries of exoticism in French literature and art. This course will explore legacies of Enlightenment, colonialism, feminism, and postcolonialism through the shifting representations of this so-called island paradise. Readings include travel narratives, philosophical texts, poetry, and novels by Rousseau, Diderot, Josephine de Montbart, Charles Baudelaire, Pierre Loti, and Chantal Spitz.

"Encountering Nature” examines how writers from the 16th-18th centuries experienced their natural settings. These settings varied widely, encompassing both Europe and the Americas during early phases of colonization. The great variety of flora and fauna in these different locales prompted questions about what nature signified and for whom. How did such factors as gender, religion, ethnicity, and social class combine with political influences in each century to cause shifting understandings and representations of the natural world?

To what degree is being French synonymous with membership in a particular socio economic, cultural or ethnic category? Can marginalized populations (immigrants, peasants, workers, youth, etc.) acquire the necessary tools for social inclusion? What determines the meaning of French identity and who is excluded from the realm of Frenchness? By whom and for what reasons? The course will explore the tensions that arise in the development and transmission of French cultural attitudes, tastes and values. Class readings include children’s literature, fiction, and memoir.

Review of communicative skills through writing and class discussion. Materials include two movies, a comic book and two novels. Prerequisite: three years of high school French; FRN 103 or FRN 120, or equivalent. Students completing the course normally enter FRN 230. Enrollment limited to 18.

Review of communicative skills through writing and class discussion. Materials include two movies, a comic book and two novels. Prerequisite: three years of high school French; FRN 103 or FRN 120, or equivalent. Students completing the course normally enter FRN 230. Enrollment limited to 18.

This second-semester French course allows students to acquire the basic elements of spoken and written French. They learn how to express themselves on a variety of topics and in everyday life situations as they connect to the Francophone world through authentic cultural material and multimedia activities. Students completing the course normally enter FRN 220. Prerequisite: FRN 101 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18.

This second-semester French course allows students to acquire the basic elements of spoken and written French. They learn how to express themselves on a variety of topics and in everyday life situations as they connect to the Francophone world through authentic cultural material and multimedia activities. Students completing the course normally enter FRN 220. Prerequisite: FRN 101 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18.

This elementary French course is designed to give students with no previous experience in French the opportunity to acquire the fundamentals of the French language and Francophone culture. It emphasizes communicative proficiency, the development of oral and listening skills, self-expression and cultural insights. Classroom activities incorporate authentic French material and are focused on acquiring competency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students must complete both FRN 101 and FRN 103 to fulfill the Latin honors distribution requirement for a foreign language.

Trending their fandom’s names on Twitter, funding the big screen adaptation of their favorite shows via Kickstarter, and in some cases, getting out on the streets for physical protests--Media fans and fandoms have become more visible in the digital age. However, fan practices pre-date the widespread use of the internet. This course will explore the past and the present of media fandom alongside the ways in which fans have been represented and studied.

Trending their fandom’s names on Twitter, funding the big screen adaptation of their favorite shows via Kickstarter, and in some cases, getting out on the streets for physical protests--Media fans and fandoms have become more visible in the digital age. However, fan practices pre-date the widespread use of the internet. This course will explore the past and the present of media fandom alongside the ways in which fans have been represented and studied.