French

French 53A is the first part of the three-part 53ABC intensive advanced beginning conversation and grammar course sequence. The course immerses students in the French language and culture through daily class sessions and occasional instructor-led site visits. The 53ABC course sequence includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing with a focus on communication. Students have the opportunity to use everything they learn in class as they go about their daily activities. Students can expect to be able to talk about daily life, food, travelling, Paris, and a wide variety of activities. While students are learning how to speak the language, they continue their introduction to the culture of the French-speaking world. To immerse students in the language, only French is spoken in class. Although students are not expected to understand every word, they should try to follow the gist by paying attention to the context. Students find their comprehension increasing as the course progresses. The goal of the 53ABC course sequence is to help students develop the ability to communicate in spoken and written French. By the end of the course sequence, students should be able to understand the following at a level appropriate to a novice-high learner. Engage in short conversations with a sympathetic interlocutor in French, using simple sentences and basic vocabulary, with occasional use of past and future tenses, on familiar topics (such as the academic environment, family, food, and the home environment, habitual activities, memories, travelling and accommodations, facts and beliefs, opinions and emotions, health and illness, friendship, love and romance, etc.) and express their basic everyday needs. Use the present, and use occasionally the past, near future, and future, of high-frequency regular and irregular verbs, use reflexive verbs to talk about their daily routines, use reciprocal verbs, and use occasionally the imperative, conditional and subjunctive moods, as well as use subject, object, and relative pronouns, articles, prepositions, possessive and demonstrative adjectives, adverbs, interrogative expressions, negative expressions, idiomatic expressions, expressions of quantity, and time and weather expressions. Read, understand, and discuss short, non-complex, and highly predictable texts, for which there is contextual/extralinguistic support, on very familiar topics. Write with some accuracy on familiar topics in simple French, using the recombination of practiced vocabulary and structures to construct sentences. Understand basic French spoken by someone who is sympathetic to non-native and beginning students of French on familiar topics, using context and extralinguistic support to determine meaning. Reflect upon basic cultural differences as reflected in a variety of French and Francophone contexts, such as varying levels of familiarity/formality, etiquette, cuisine and dietary habits, family structures, commerce and the professional world, etc., as well as in cultural products such as film, performances, news, and music.

This class examines the role of investigative journalism with attention to public and private powers that might avoid, limit, or corrupt it. It covers the techniques, purpose, dangers, and modes of transmission of the journalist. In addition to discussion of the history and theories of investigative journalism, the course draws examples from the personal experiences and reflections of the professor, an active French journalist. It discusses the role and difficulties faced by journalists globally who are confronted by powerful regimes to consider how investigative journalism can survive in the face of oppression and authoritarianism, and how it can be utilized to provide society with more knowledge and equity. Each course session explores these questions and hears from a guest speaker investigative journalist to better understand their work and methods of journalism.

This course examines the place of religious and biblical culture in literature and literary studies, as well as general historical, philosophical, and artistic culture, to better understand literary and artistic works, philosophical thoughts, and historical facts through the most contemporary topicality. It consists of an introduction to the Bible, a historical journey through Biblical Antiquity, and a book-by-book presentation of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, while considering the issues of interpretation of these texts.

This course focuses on oral comprehension and expression, as well as on phonetics. It examines basic concepts of articulatory phonetics and French phonology, including perceptual phenomena, segmental and supra-segmental features, linking, neutralization, assimilation, germination, individual and dialectal variations, written and oral systems, and discourse analysis. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of French pronunciation, as well as oral and gestural expression. Methods employed include soundtracks, tapes, reading of texts, role-playing, formal writing, and note-taking.

This course uses a regional approach to highlight the main areas of conflict on the African continent. Using a reading grid based on an understanding of the spatial logics of actors in conflict, drawn from both history and the analysis of very contemporary phenomena and current events, this course differentiates between types of space and isolates their more or less belligerent characteristics. Drawing extensively on geography and the sociology of actors (polemology), this geopolitical analysis of the African continent uses methodological tools such as cartography and satellite imagery, as well as numerous readings, to review all of the continent's conflict zones. Examples highlight the use of geopolitical reasoning by political, military, and humanitarian decision-makers, as well as by economic players.