Bryn Mawr College

Curriculum 2010

On this page Undergraduate Courses Graduate Courses

The Institut's curriculum includes general and advanced courses in French language, literature, history and economics. The plan of study is designed to accomplish two main purposes. The first is to provide work in French language of such a nature that each student will make appreciable progress in fluency, comprehension and writing. The second is to provide courses covering material pertinent to the understanding of modern France and the appreciation of French culture. Students also attend a series of lectures given by visiting speakers and are expected to participate in supplementary discussions. Individual drill in French phonetics is available for students who need to do remedial work in French pronunciation. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the listening and recording equipment available at the Palais du Roure.

Each student must enroll in two courses, for a total of two units of academic credit. Attendance at all class meetings is required. Courses are organized so as to include student participation in classroom discussion.
 
The student who wishes transfer credits should make the necessary arrangements with the appropriate officer of his/her own college or university.

(Detailed course information, including times)

Undergraduate Courses

French S 201
COURS AVANCÉ DE LANGUE FRANÇAISE
A general review of grammar and language problems with the goal of improving written and oral skills in French. (M. Giraud)

French S 203
ATELIER DE PHONÉTIQUE
This course is a non-credit course which is offered to all students wishing to feel more comfortable in expressing themselves orally in the French language. (T.A.)

French S 208
THÉÂTRE ET MODERNITÉ EN FRANCE AU XXe SIÉCLE: COURS ET ATELIER
A study of dominant visions and techniques in modern theater (Artaud's théâtre de la cruauté, theater of the absurd, new concepts in stage direction and stage design), and a workshop with training in the projection of voice, diction, memorization, staging and acting. Excerpts from plays by authors such as Jarry, Ionesco, Tardieu, Genet will be staged and presented to the public. (P. Osmalin)

French S 215
MARSEILLE
This course, which is designed to explore the richly layered cultural heritage of the "Phocaean city" from its early settlement to the present, will pay particular attention to its recent past as a city of immigration. Through reading, discussions, and on site excursions, we will examine the impact of various waves of immigration, how they have shaped the cityscape and had a thriving effect on its cultural production in a variety of fields such as architecture and city planning (Le Corbusier), literature (Izzo), music (IAM), and cinema (Guédiguian). (A. Peysson-Zeiss)

Economics S 201
L'ÉCONOMIE ET LA CIVILISATION DE L'EUROPE
A study of contemporary French economic policies in the context of political institutions of the European Union, with particular emphasis on the anthropological and philosophical motivations at work in the development of these policies. The course will include a number of field trips to businesses in the region so that students may observe the practical results of what we will have studied in terms of the adaptation of local commerce to increasingly globalized markets. (J.-R. Alcaras)

French S 309
GENRES DRAMATIQUES AU XVIIe SIÈCLE
This course will trace the history of dramatic genre, a key concept in classicist poetics, throughout the 17th century. While Corneille’s early gore romance Clitandre and his tragicomedy Le Cid bridge the gap between Aristotelian theory and theatrical practice, Racine imposes a regular form of serious drama, which will become a prototype of French classical tragedy (Andromaque). At the same time Molière’s first farcical plays (La jalousie du barbouillé) give way, in the later part of the century, as taste and expectations change, to the genres of high comedy and “comédie-ballet” (such as Le Misanthrope and Le bourgeois gentilhomme). (M. Chihaia)

French S 325
L'IMMIGRATION DANS LE ROMAN AFRICAIN FRANÇAIS

As a large and growing number of people of African immigrants live in France today, it is not surprising that their condition has inspired some of the best Francophone African novelists, among them: Calixthe Beyala, Edem Awumey, Alain Mabanckou, Sami Tchak, and Abdourahman Waberi. The body of novels dealing with the immigrant’s experience is large enough to be categorized as a sub-genre of Francophone African literature. In this course we will study the thematic (e.g. constitutive traits of the African immigrant; his/her interaction with the ‘host’ society; his/her attitude vis-à-vis Africa) and aesthetic characteristics of representative texts of the genre. As the majority of these “immigrés” are French citizens, these texts also address issues of race and ethnicity, and identity politics in contemporary France. (K. Anyinefa)

Graduate Courses

NOTE: Courses on the 500-level carry graduate credit. Qualified undergraduates may be admitted to these courses with the consent of the Director.

French 501
ATELIER D'ÉCRITURE
Advanced training in grammar, stylistics and written expression. (TBA)

French S 505
IMAGINAIRE DU DON DES LUMIÈRES AU XXe SIÈCLE
An examination of key theoretical studies on the gift along with a selection of fiction discussing the merits and pitfalls of philanthropy, alms giving, social welfare, and presents. Emphasis will be placed on the various critiques that were raised against giving in eighteenth-century France and on their present-day echoes. Historians, philosophers, novelists, lawmakers, sociologists, and painters will be called upon in order to reflect on the changing and complex meanings that have been assigned to the act of giving. Readings will include texts from Rousseau, Voltaire, Sade, and Charrière, as well as Mauss, Bataille, Starobinski, and Derrida. (G. Lafrance)

French S 506
L'ÉCHEC DE L'ARTISTE DANS LA LITTÉRATURE DU XIXe SIÈCLE
This course will explore the curious contradiction whereby, at a time when artists were viewed as secular priesthood and art as a religion, many French writers nevertheless depicted artists as failures. These artist-figures included painters, philosophers and performers in whom one may see alter egos of their writer-creators who are seeking to establish a distinctive role for themselves in relations to new forms of knowledge and other types of expertise. These concerns are complicated by issues of gender and the role of women in art. Through a reading of texts from Mme de Staël to Zola, including fiction and poetry, the seminar will trace the different forms taken by this preoccupation with artistic failure in the context of the evolving status of literature across the 19th century. (E. Ladenson, A. Jefferson)