French

In contemporary literature, the African city appears as a space in permanent flux, capable of taking on very diverse, complex and sometimes difficult to define forms. The course on the relationship between the colonial city and the post-colonial city is part of a general reflection on urban space in Africa. It aims to examine its history, architecture, sociology and representations. In the vast repertoire of representations, there is one constant that is the fruit of the continent's history, the trace of its colonial heritage. Today's African metropolises were often yesterday's small colonial towns. Modelled on European models, colonial cities, far from remaining pure "European enclaves", were transformed from the outset into mixed-race spaces, places of encounter, cross-fertilization and confrontation between Western and indigenous societies and cultures, but also places of cultural syncretism. Based on readings and analyses of texts from Nocky Djedanoum's collection Amours de villes, villes africaines (2001) and Léonora Miano's Contours du jour qui vient (2006), this course explores the ways in which cities are represented in African literature, and the different conceptions of the city as a place of rupture and negotiation between past and present.

This course covers learning the French language at an intermediate level and introduces basic grammar and vocabulary. To enhance the effectiveness of learning French, this course encourages students to develop an interest in the French language and culture. Students learn the structure of French sentences, how to express French tenses, and practice writing skills by focusing on vocabulary and phrases used in daily life. 

Prerequisite: FRENCH(1) 

This course focuses on contemporary theater creation (theater and society, theater and music, theater about theater, etc.). It considers theater and modernity in the 20th and 21st centuries, and how to make theater today. The course starts with Brecht and the French theater of the 20th century, to consider the stage mutations and teeming directions of contemporary creation. It then studies the New Theater (50s and after), theater and society, the question of feminicide, and authentic theater from Othello to the present day.

This course produces a project combining text productions and creative productions in different forms (drawings, photos, paintings, collages, etc.), exploring the theme of the memory of cities. Students first analyze various documents and works on the theme of the “grande mémoire” (the big memory) to inspire personal expression. This creative process allows students to develop their language skills in French by deepening their knowledge of French culture and discovering French history, as well as the culture of others. The course provides an opportunity for cooperative work between students through a group project that is ultimately displayed in an exhibition. 

This course examines the surrealist movement in the 1920s in France. It studies the history of the movement as well as the lives of the main creators, along with surrealist films and art, to give context to the poetry of the movement which focused on the idea of “l’amour fou,” or how love had the ability to change life. The course also examines the role of women in surrealist poetry and whether they were celebrated or objectified. It focuses on the works of André Breton, Robert Desnos, and Paul Éluard.

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director or Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. The internship may be taken during one or more terms but the units cannot exceed a total of 12.0 for the year.

This course explores the French-language crime novel from an eco-critical approach. It studies the crime and resolution as means that lead to a thematic and stylistic analysis of texts in which societal transformations and ecological and environmental issues become the fulcrums of a critical reflection of modernity, tradition, and community. The course discusses the works of three French-language authors: Désiré Boyla Baenga's LA POLYANDRE (1998), Modibo Sounkalo Keita's L'ARCHER BASSARI (1984), and Moussa Konaté's L'ASSASSIN DU BANCONI (2002) and L'EMPREINTE DU RENARD (2006). From a historical and theoretical reflection on the detective novel in general, it considers, on the one hand, the different ways of representing "ecological crimes" and, on the other hand, the way the detective novel focuses on place and ecology. Finally, the course examines how the Francophone detective novel reports on the environmental crisis.

This course provides an exploration of French language and civilization through several cultural facets: literature, music, news, politics, ecology, media, and cultural traditions. It analyzes various media in France throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and discusses their linguistic, social, and cultural significance.

This course centers around medieval literary texts and traditions: pastoral tales, lyric dialogues, the characters of the berger and her lover, the intervening and often violent interests of the chevalier. Texts are studied as social as well as literary documents; they are treated in the original Old French as well as modern translations. Manuscripts are consulted online as primary source material. Themes covered include the role and the voice of the female characters, their sexuality, as well as the treatment of sexual violence and the implication of this cultural dialogue.