Current Course Offerings
Upper-division offerings:
FREN 4534 – Contemporary Quebec Society in Film
TIn this course, the focus is on films that reflect (on) Québec society: its individual and collective identities, its history, its contemporary issues and its cultural vitality. Students will view and discuss feature films that are seldom seen in the United States, by directors including Jeff Barnaby, Tracey Deer, Sophie Deraspe, Mathieu Denis, Xavier Dolan, Christian Fournier, Catherine Martin, Léa Pool, Jean-Marc Vallée, and Denis Villeneuve. The specific theme for this semester will focus on the symbolic role of young protagonists (children, adolescents, young adults) as prisms for social unrest and as harbingers of change. By examining the art of cinema for its social, political and aesthetic contributions to human understanding, and by engaging with difference through the diverse perspectives presented by the films we will study, this seminar satisfies the HALC requirement. Methodologically, attention will be paid to the specialized vocabulary of cinema, and to various critical approaches to film analysis. In all instances, films will be analyzed in the context of Québec society, as both expressions of and contributors to their specific culture as well as “works of art” in their own right.
FREN 4536 – Albert Camus and His Times
This course explores the work of Albert Camus in a historical, cultural, and political context. As one of the world’s preeminent literary figures and public intellectuals, Camus was profoundly engaged in political events and debates before, during, and after the Second World War. Through his career and work, we can gain a deeper understanding of the interwar period, the Nazi occupation of France, the early Cold War period, and the Algerian War. We will read a broad selection of Camus’s texts, covering the novel, the short story, essays, speeches, and journalism. We will analyze these works in relation to historical events and phenomena, in addition to the work of Camus’s contemporaries, including Jean-Paul Sartre, George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, and Arthur Koestler.
FREN 4543 – Ambition, Fate, & Self in 19th-Century Literature
Over the course of the nineteenth century, France saw seismic evolutions in understandings of the human self and, more precisely, of what sort of control people could exert over their own lives. Secular and scientific modes of reasoning came to replace religion, which diminished as a form of social organization and control diminished. At the same time, the rise of bourgeois capitalism introduced paths to financial and social mobility that had previously not existed. Along with these elements, massive political upheavals and abrupt reversals in discourses and ideologies gave people a sense of constant volatility. Broad opportunity combined with looming meaninglessness. Through study of the major works of nineteenth-century French realism (Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola), we will analyze the development of the self as a modern idea, as well as the parameters of individual agency. Topics will broadly include: the role of political ideologies in individual understandings of the self; the weaponization of religion and its decline, the role of the narrator in creating impressions of fate and arbitrariness; social definitions of femininity and endeavors to surmount them; marriage as aspiration and as limitation; the rise of industrial production and capitalism; the growth of consumerism; genetics, psychiatry, and medical notions of destiny. The course assumes no prior familiarity with these topics or with nineteenth-century French literature. It will be conducted entirely in French, and all written work will be composed in French. Prerequisites: Either FREN 3350 or FREN 3351 must be completed prior to taking this class.
Learning Goals: Students will develop a broad understanding of the self as a psychological, moral, political and economic phenomenon, one developed and shaped through nineteenth-century narrative. Students will also become familiar with the best-known writers and novels of the French nineteenth century. Through close reading work and through analytical practice both in class discussions and presentations and through a variety of written assignments, students will improve both their fluency in French and their skills in literary interpretation and critical thinking.
Fall 2025 Courses
FREN 1001 Introductory French I
A. Emmitte, S. Cohen-Scali, P. Janssens
FREN 1002 Introductory French II
A. Emmitte, M. Santoro
FREN 1009 French for Spanish Speakers
J. Sanderson
FREN 1011 Intensive Basic French
S. Cohen-Scali
FREN 1501 Intermediate French I
S. Cohen-Scali, N. Erradi, L. Iber, Z. Mirsharif
FREN 1502 Intermediate French II
H. Anaye, G. Daumas, N. Erradi, L. Iber
FREN 1511 Intensive Intermediate French
S. A Madjlessi, I. Smorodinsky
FREN 2001 Advanced French I
G. Daumas, T. Din
FREN 2002 Advanced French II
T. Din, N. Erradi, J. Johnson
FREN 2011 Intensive Advanced French
I. Smorodinsky & E. Twohig
FREN 2551 Composition & Style
J. Boum Make, J. Johnson, A. O’Neil-Henry
FREN 2761 Topics for Oral Proficiency
J. Le Guelte, A. Sobanet
FREN 2762 Topics for French Oral Proficiency: Francophone Africa
J. Le Guelte
FREN 3001 Coffee, News, & Conversation
N. Erradi
FREN 3350 Gateway: Text, Image, Culture
J. Boum Make, A. O’Neil-Henry, E. Twohig
FREN 3701 Business French
O. Dat
FREN 3703 French Phonetics
I. Smorodinsky
FREN 4534 Contemp Quebec Society in Film
M. Santoro
FREN 4536 Albert Camus and His Times
A. Sobanet
FREN 4543 Ambition, Fate & Self: 19C Lit
S. Lee