French

This course serves as an overview of eighteenth-century literature. The curriculum focuses on the works of major authors of the Enlightenment within their respective philosophical and literary concentrations. This includes reflections on society and manners, religious and political criticism, and texts concerning human rights and the French Revolution (Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, the encyclopedia, etc.) This course also looks at the upset of the novel genre (Diderot), epistolary writings, (Montesquieu and Rousseau).

This course focuses on directors and producers of the French New Wave. It explores the aesthetic, historical, social, and economic context of films from Africa, Germany, Hollywood, England, Italy, Spain, and Japan beginning in 1959.

This course develops critical analytic skills in the scientific process, including forming hypotheses and producing scientific writing. Assessment includes a 5-10 page scientific research paper as well as a presentation. 

This course provides an overview of the decision-making process under the Fifth Republic and introduces the various components of the French Army and the strategic environment within which France's action takes place (European Union, NATO, UN).  It then examines security evolutions and considers the place of nuclear dissuasion and the technological revolution on the battlefield. The second part of the course is dedicated to the analysis of the French military interventions since 2001: from Afghanistan to Iraq, to the Ivory Coast, the Central African Republic, Libya, Syria, and Sahel; the diversity of the French Army's theaters of operation showcases various key concepts: power, strategy, French Africa, common spaces, the responsibility to protect (R2P), et cetera.

This fifteen-week beginning intermediate conversation, reading and writing course immerses students in the French language and culture through bi-weekly class sessions and occasional instructor-led site visits. The course 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. By the end of the course, students are able to understand, perform, and possess the following at a level appropriate to an intermediate-mid to -high learner. Understand the structures of French grammar and use the present, and all the verb tenses of high-frequency regular and irregular verbs including reflexive verbs, use the indicative, imperative, conditional and subjunctive moods, as well as use subject and object pronouns, articles, prepositions, possessive and demonstrative adjectives, negative and interrogative expressions. Apply these aspects of French grammar (such as verb tense, mode and conjugation) to written and oral communication. Possess a working vocabulary and engage in conversations with an interlocutor in French, using both simple and more complex sentences and vocabulary, with use of past and future tenses as well as conditional and subjunctive moods, on familiar topics and to express their basic everyday needs, as well as on topics relating to a variety of contemporary sociological and cultural issues that touch on questions of family and professional relationships, class, social, ethnic, multicultural, and political identities, and the role of the arts in contemporary contexts. Employ the listening strategies and skills necessary to understanding a wide variety of discourse. Understand information on French and Francophone culture on the following topics: health and illness, vacation time, family structures, schooling and values of the French Republic, the distribution of household chores, environmental protection, cuisine, grocery shopping and eating habits, the workplace, café life, multi-ethnic society, youth culture, and the geography, music, and cuisine of the francophone world. Individually and/or collectively present orally information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of sympathetic listeners on a variety of topics. Read, understand, answer questions, and discuss selected literary and journalistic texts as well as multimedia material. Write summaries, dialogues, or skits, as well as produce short (1-2½ pages) compositions. 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.