French

This course considers the emergence of the notion of post-modernity in cinema, and more broadly in the field of social sciences, since the end of the 1970s. It considers the multiple labels that have been attached to this movement (cinema of look, attraction, simulacrum, allusion) which bring together different and sometimes contradictory trends and which has experienced several eras over the last four decades, . From immersive cinema to a taste for recycling, from pastiche to the revisitation of genres, the course discusses works including those of Sofia Coppola, the Coen brothers, James Cameron, Ridley Scott, Paul Verhoeven, Brian De Palma, Quentin Tarantino, and Lana Wachovski.

This course explores the interconnectivity between the rapid evolution of media outlets and content, the contemporary “banalization” of terrorist and other types of violence, and their fallout over issues related to social justice in France and Europe. The course examines some recent forms of social confrontation and the way these confrontations are channeled on a grand scale through mass media, both old and new. Students interrogate the political, economic, cultural, and psychological implications, as well as the “spectatorship component,” related to the growing, constant sharing of violence over public platforms, and political agendas. Different cases of social controversies are studied and compared as we probe their relevance to some larger, technological, and globalized frames of analysis. The course examines the adjustments political institutions, social bodies, and media actors have practiced when faced with these forms of protest in moments of crisis. The course attempts to understand how, and to what extent, all these altered notions have impacted national, sectorial, and class-oriented identities.

This is a graduate level course that is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. Students who complete a research paper on a pre-approved topic are awarded 1 extra unit. Maximum units for this course are 8. The course has 2 parts: A & B. Students must take both parts. No partial credit is possible. Part A of the course focuses on the history and development of non-European literature in French, with particular attention to the relationship between literary texts and the historical, artistic, and linguistic context. Special attention is placed on the different methodologies useful for the analysis and interpretation of literary texts. Part B of the course focuses on the issues of diversity and inclusion in French-speaking migrant literatures with particular attention to Quebec, Lebanese, and Senegalese literatures. Special attention is placed on literature written  by migrant authors and literature written by those born in exile. Voluntary or forced mobility generates a literature with a dual focus: towards the country of origin and towards the country of adoption. Migrant writings, in a French-speaking context, give rise to a third space in which identity is renegotiated through writing, a space for the elaboration of diversity in search of similarities. Principal texts by Marco Micone, Antonio D'Alfonso, Fulvio Caccia, Amin Maalouf, and Wajdi Mouawad.

French 53C is the third 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 course explores the difference between the language of literature and the language of general communication. The course examines these topics by conducting close textual analyses from 17th to 20th century literary samples of poetry, novels, and theater.

This course is for absolute beginners. The course introduces students to the fundamentals of French grammar, reading, and writing while developing some basic communicative skills. The course teaches students simple structures, lexis and phrases which enable them to communicate in a limited number of common everyday situations in French-speaking countries.