Intermediate French Literature & Culture Courses, taught in French
French 3002: Third-year French course. Civilization and Composition: From the Middle Ages to Classicism. An overview of medieval history in France, starting in 500 CE to 1500 CE. Focuses on reading historiography and some primary sources.
French 3002: Third-year French course. Civilization and Composition: Tools for Studying the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. Study Paris as the center of society, culture, religion, and literature from 1100-1300, while also refining the ability to write academic papers and engaging in academic discussions in French. Read primary texts about religion, mythology, and Classical epics that form the foundation of much of medieval French literature. Students complete an experiential project about the Middle Ages. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3011w: Reading and Analysis of Texts. Third-year French course. A survey of literature from France and from across the Francophone world. Study poetry, novels, theater, and film, and develop reading skills and methods of analysis. Writing-enriched course.
French 425: French Literature and Society. In this course we will read classics of French literature from the Middle Ages to today, with a particular focus on the relationship between literature and society. Readings include medieval tales of courtly love, comedies by Molière, Voltaires's famous Candide, poems by Baudelaire and Rimbaud, as well as short contemporary novels.
French 3002: Third-year French course. Civilization and Composition: Tools for Studying the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. Study Paris as the center of society, culture, religion, and literature from 1100-1300, while also refining the ability to write academic papers and engaging in academic discussions in French. Read primary texts about religion, mythology, and Classical epics that form the foundation of much of medieval French literature. Students complete an experiential project about the Middle Ages. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3011w: Reading and Analysis of Texts. Third-year French course. A survey of literature from France and from across the Francophone world. Study poetry, novels, theater, and film, and develop reading skills and methods of analysis. Writing-enriched course.
French 425: French Literature and Society. In this course we will read classics of French literature from the Middle Ages to today, with a particular focus on the relationship between literature and society. Readings include medieval tales of courtly love, comedies by Molière, Voltaires's famous Candide, poems by Baudelaire and Rimbaud, as well as short contemporary novels.
Advanced French Literature & Culture Courses, taught in French
French 3402: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: Pre-Enlightenment Culture in France: Preconception, Misconception, and the Way Things Were. This course traces the history of French culture in the Middle Ages and into the Early Modern Period; it examines the geography, language, and institutions of medieval and early modern France through literature. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3406: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: Representations of Suicide and the Death Wish in the Middle Ages and Today. (Also Emotional Extremes in Medieval and Early Modern Studies). Theories from cultural and religious studies, anthropology, history, psychology, and sociology combine to approach emotional expression in society and in literature. Readings: Durkheim, Freud, Laplanche, Bataille, Chretien's Lancelot, Partonopeus, Le Roman de Troie, troubadour lyric, Aucassin et Nicolette, Legenda Aurea, Saint Augustine, Ovid's Metamorphoses. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3407: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: The “East” and Its Marvels. A Medieval French course introducing cultural and literary aspects of the Middle Ages through marvelous figures and manifestations of the medieval French interpretation of the "East," including attention to exotic forms of clothing and food in romance, crusades, bestiaries, and fabliaux. Students read medieval interpretations of adventure stories such as the Iliad and Aeneid. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3408: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: Quests, Quails, and Custards: Food in Life and Literature. Spices, game, and chocolate trace the real and imagined movement of European people in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in literary and historical sources. Make authentic recipes and read authors, including Marco Polo, from many genres of literature. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3410: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: Troubadours and Old Occitan: Creative Writing in the Middle Ages. The Troubadours considered Occitan, at the crossroads of French, Spanish, and Italian, the best vernacular for lyric poetry. Poetic innovation flourished at the courts from Auvergne to Catalonia. Learn the grammar of this medieval language as you translate lyric texts and compose and workshop parallel modern poems in a variety of forms. Non-French students and students below French 3xxx write and workshop their poems in English, and French students above French 2002 wanting to count the course for the MEMS elective in the major write and translate in French. Language of instruction is English. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3411: Medieval and Renaissance Bodies. Through literature, students learn about the diversity of the understandings of the body in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. By studying fictional, religious, and historical portrayals of habits and customs alongside medical treatises, students analyze different conceptions of the body through a variety of primary and secondary sources.
French 3412: Making the Medieval Manuscript. This course will focus on the paleography, manuscript leaves, and facsimile collection in Briggs Library to teach students to touch, explore, and use every part that makes up a medieval book, whether arotulus, scroll, or codex. Students will work with color reproductions of medieval manuscripts in French, (Latin, Italian , Arabic, Spanish, and Hebrew) to learn about the linguistic, visual, and manual intricacies of thousand-year old texts. Students engage their language skills by reading and translating small parts of individual pages of thousand-year-old texts. They gain practical skills of safely manipulating authentic medieval artifacts. See the website, makingthemedievalbook.weebly.com, for this class. Some of my students made a page as part of their first manuscript-studying experience: manuscriptmelodiesofmorris.weebly.com.
French 4902: French Senior Seminar. Capstone research course for French majors. Students pursue their own research projects and present them to campus. The course is run as a research and writing workshop.
French 3406: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: Representations of Suicide and the Death Wish in the Middle Ages and Today. (Also Emotional Extremes in Medieval and Early Modern Studies). Theories from cultural and religious studies, anthropology, history, psychology, and sociology combine to approach emotional expression in society and in literature. Readings: Durkheim, Freud, Laplanche, Bataille, Chretien's Lancelot, Partonopeus, Le Roman de Troie, troubadour lyric, Aucassin et Nicolette, Legenda Aurea, Saint Augustine, Ovid's Metamorphoses. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3407: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: The “East” and Its Marvels. A Medieval French course introducing cultural and literary aspects of the Middle Ages through marvelous figures and manifestations of the medieval French interpretation of the "East," including attention to exotic forms of clothing and food in romance, crusades, bestiaries, and fabliaux. Students read medieval interpretations of adventure stories such as the Iliad and Aeneid. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3408: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: Quests, Quails, and Custards: Food in Life and Literature. Spices, game, and chocolate trace the real and imagined movement of European people in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in literary and historical sources. Make authentic recipes and read authors, including Marco Polo, from many genres of literature. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3410: Medieval and Early Modern Studies: Troubadours and Old Occitan: Creative Writing in the Middle Ages. The Troubadours considered Occitan, at the crossroads of French, Spanish, and Italian, the best vernacular for lyric poetry. Poetic innovation flourished at the courts from Auvergne to Catalonia. Learn the grammar of this medieval language as you translate lyric texts and compose and workshop parallel modern poems in a variety of forms. Non-French students and students below French 3xxx write and workshop their poems in English, and French students above French 2002 wanting to count the course for the MEMS elective in the major write and translate in French. Language of instruction is English. Meets Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) requirement in French major.
French 3411: Medieval and Renaissance Bodies. Through literature, students learn about the diversity of the understandings of the body in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. By studying fictional, religious, and historical portrayals of habits and customs alongside medical treatises, students analyze different conceptions of the body through a variety of primary and secondary sources.
French 3412: Making the Medieval Manuscript. This course will focus on the paleography, manuscript leaves, and facsimile collection in Briggs Library to teach students to touch, explore, and use every part that makes up a medieval book, whether arotulus, scroll, or codex. Students will work with color reproductions of medieval manuscripts in French, (Latin, Italian , Arabic, Spanish, and Hebrew) to learn about the linguistic, visual, and manual intricacies of thousand-year old texts. Students engage their language skills by reading and translating small parts of individual pages of thousand-year-old texts. They gain practical skills of safely manipulating authentic medieval artifacts. See the website, makingthemedievalbook.weebly.com, for this class. Some of my students made a page as part of their first manuscript-studying experience: manuscriptmelodiesofmorris.weebly.com.
French 4902: French Senior Seminar. Capstone research course for French majors. Students pursue their own research projects and present them to campus. The course is run as a research and writing workshop.
French and Medieval Literature & Culture courses, taught in English
French 1803: Intellectual Community: Fairies & Warriors: Medieval Legends and Fictions. Students learn about different primary and secondary sources in conjunction with various genres of medieval fiction. Introductions to various languages, library sources, and historical context inform the study of texts, as well as what made someone a fairy, a knight, or a warrior in literature between the 11th and 15th centuries.
French 1804: Medieval Myths, Religions, and Fantasy through Literature. (4-credit version of French 1803.) Students learn about different primary and secondary sources in conjunction with various genres of medieval fiction. Introductions to various languages, library sources, and historical context inform the study of texts, as well as what made someone a fairy, a knight, or a warrior in literature between the 11th and 15th centuries.
Humanities 3002: Civilization and Composition: Tools for Studying the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. Study Paris as the center of society, culture, religion, and literature from 1100-1300, while also refining the ability to write academic papers and engaging in academic discussions in French. Read primary texts about religion, mythology, and Classical epics that form the foundation of much of medieval French literature. Meets core requirement in Medieval and Ancient Studies Major.
Humanities 3402: Learning Languages for Reading: Theory and Practice of Reading Old Languages. Students will learn about language teaching and learning, the study of English grammar, the study of second-language grammar, and how to evaluate language teaching materials used to promote reading skills. Students will apply the skills they learn to one language that today exists only in text chosen in consultation with the professor.
Humanities 3412: Making the Medieval Manuscript. This course will focus on the paleography, manuscript leaves, and facsimile collection in Briggs Library to teach students to touch, explore, and use every part that makes up a medieval book, whether arotulus, scroll, or codex. Students will work with color reproductions of medieval manuscripts in French, (Latin, Italian , Arabic, Spanish, and Hebrew) to learn about the linguistic, visual, and manual intricacies of thousand-year old texts. Students engage their language skills by reading and translating small parts of individual pages of thousand-year-old texts. They gain practical skills of safely manipulating authentic medieval artifacts. Some of my students made a page as part of their first manuscript-studying experience: manuscriptmelodiesofmorris.weebly.com.
French 1804: Medieval Myths, Religions, and Fantasy through Literature. (4-credit version of French 1803.) Students learn about different primary and secondary sources in conjunction with various genres of medieval fiction. Introductions to various languages, library sources, and historical context inform the study of texts, as well as what made someone a fairy, a knight, or a warrior in literature between the 11th and 15th centuries.
Humanities 3002: Civilization and Composition: Tools for Studying the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. Study Paris as the center of society, culture, religion, and literature from 1100-1300, while also refining the ability to write academic papers and engaging in academic discussions in French. Read primary texts about religion, mythology, and Classical epics that form the foundation of much of medieval French literature. Meets core requirement in Medieval and Ancient Studies Major.
Humanities 3402: Learning Languages for Reading: Theory and Practice of Reading Old Languages. Students will learn about language teaching and learning, the study of English grammar, the study of second-language grammar, and how to evaluate language teaching materials used to promote reading skills. Students will apply the skills they learn to one language that today exists only in text chosen in consultation with the professor.
Humanities 3412: Making the Medieval Manuscript. This course will focus on the paleography, manuscript leaves, and facsimile collection in Briggs Library to teach students to touch, explore, and use every part that makes up a medieval book, whether arotulus, scroll, or codex. Students will work with color reproductions of medieval manuscripts in French, (Latin, Italian , Arabic, Spanish, and Hebrew) to learn about the linguistic, visual, and manual intricacies of thousand-year old texts. Students engage their language skills by reading and translating small parts of individual pages of thousand-year-old texts. They gain practical skills of safely manipulating authentic medieval artifacts. Some of my students made a page as part of their first manuscript-studying experience: manuscriptmelodiesofmorris.weebly.com.
French Courses Taught Abroad
For more literature and culture courses taught abroad, visit Study Abroad.
Paris, France
French 1021: July in Paris I: French Language and Culture in Paris.French 1023: July in Paris II: French Language and Culture in Paris.
French 3060: July in Paris III: French Language and Culture in Paris.
Paris, France
French 1021: July in Paris I: French Language and Culture in Paris.French 1023: July in Paris II: French Language and Culture in Paris.
French 3060: July in Paris III: French Language and Culture in Paris.
All text, content, and images are copyright Lisa Shugert Bevevino, except those copyrighted by others from whom I have borrowed. All rights reserved.
