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French
A la Carte: A Menu of Courses for Spring 2008
CAS LF 111, 112, 211, 212
CAS LF 121, 122, 221, 222
For the first 4 semesters of language learning, the French Department offers 2 equivalent sequences of courses that differ in their approach but equally fulfill the CAS language requirement: LF 111, 112, 211, 212 (the Four-Skills Sequence) and LF 121, 122, 221, 222 (the Reading Sequence).
Courses in the Four-Skills Sequence are conducted in French and emphasize oral communication and develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. Students wishing to study in a French-speaking country or those who would like to pursue their study of French beyond LF212 should choose the Four-Skills Sequence.
Courses in the Reading Sequence are conducted in English and focus exclusively on learning to read in French. They were designed specifically for students who are particularly motivated to learn to read French and those students for whom the pressure of oral performance is an obstacle to successful language learning.
Both sequences contain civilization and culture components and neither is easier nor more difficult. Owing to the intrinsic differences between the two sequences however, students who wish to transfer from one sequence to the other may do so only with permission from the instructor. |
CAS LF 111
1st-Semester French
Four-skills sequence
LF111 is the first in a series of French language courses (LF111, 112, 211 and 212) that fulfill the CAS foreign language
requirement at Boston University. It is designed for students with no prior French experience and those who have studied French before and have placed into this level (see below). This course is a first step towards proficiency in all four language skills in French: speaking, understanding, reading and writing. LF111 closely follows the video-based Reflets text and workbook, supported and supplemented by the LF111 website, which provide the authentic and challenging context within which students work to acquire the vocabulary and grammar necessary to perform a variety of basic but essential communicative tasks in French. French is the primary language of instruction in the classroom.
Prereq: Placement test results
Class meets 4 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator
S. Dorff
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CAS LF 121
French Readings 1
Reading sequence
LF121 is the first in a series of French language courses (LF121, 122, 221 and 222) that fulfill the CAS foreign language requirement at Boston University. It is designed for students with no prior French experience and those who have studied French before and have placed into this level (see below). LF121 closely follows the grammar lessons and readings provided by the main text Reading French in the Arts and Sciences and students focus on acquiring the grammar and vocabulary necessary to read and translate texts from a variety of authentic sources as well. A traditional grammar - translation method is used. Although much of the emphasis in the course is on reading and understanding French in its written form, students also study the language, literature and culture through film and music clips. English is the primary language of instruction.
Prereq: Placement test results
Class meets 4 hrs/week; 4 credits
Not offered this semester
Course Coordinator
P. Hennessey
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CAS LF 112
2nd-Semester French
Four-skills sequence
LF112 is designed for students with some prior French experience (see below). LF112 follows LF111. Students work towards proficiency in all four language skills in French: speaking, understanding, reading and writing. LF112 closely follows the video-based Reflets text and workbook, supported and supplemented by the LF112 website. Students acquire the vocabulary and grammar necessary to perform a variety of more complex communicative tasks in French. French is the primary language of instruction in the classroom.
Prereq: LF111 or Placement test
Class meets 4 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator
N. Huckle
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CAS LF 122
French Readings 2
Reading sequence
LF122 is designed for students with some prior French experience. Either LF111 or 121 serve as prerequisites. Students increase both accuracy and fluency in reading by working with a variety of literary texts and articles from the press. A traditional grammar-translation method is used, with the study of 10 verb tenses and other grammatical structures covered in the main text: Reading French in the Arts and Sciences. Although much of the emphasis in the course is on reading and understanding French in its written form, students also study the language, literature and culture through film and music clips. English is the primary language of instruction.
Prereq: LF121 or 111 or
Placement test
Class meets 4 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator
P. Hennessey
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CAS LF 211
3rd-Semester French
Four-skills sequence
LF211 reinforces proficiency acquired in LF111 & 112 and introduces more complex structures. All four skills continue to be targeted. This course makes use of 2 essential sources: La Grammaire Progressive du Français and a mystery novel, Du lait au fiel, a story which provides a context for grammar and allows students to build on vocabulary. Films, role playing and online materials also add to the goal of further developing communication skills. Class is conducted in French and meets 3 hours weekly.
Prereq: LF112 or Placement test
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator
L. Hawkes |
CAS LF 221
French Readings 3
Reading sequence
In LF221 students develop and improve proficiency in reading and translating French through close readings of literary texts available on the course website. LF 221 begins with an intensive grammar review focusing on the identification and translation of 10 verb tenses as well as the study of idiomatic usage. During the second half of the semester, students read their first (mystery) novel in French. Although much of the emphasis in the course is on reading and understanding French in its written form, students also study the language, literature and culture through film and music clips. English is the primary language of instruction.
Prereq: LF122 or 112 or
Placement test
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator
P. Hennessey
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CAS LF 212
4th-Semester French
Four-skills sequence
LF212 continues to refine written and oral skills, through grammar review, reading and compositions. There is weekly discussion of the modern classic novel L’Etranger by Albert Camus, as well as newspaper articles, poems and film. The class is conducted in French and meets for three hours per week. Successful completion of LF 212 fulfills the basic CAS language requirement, and also prepares students for further study (LF 303).
Prereq: LF211 or Placement test
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator
S. Hadley
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CAS LF 222
French Readings 4
Reading sequence
In LF222,
students solidify their foundation in grammar and continue to develop their accuracy and fluency in reading and to refine their translation skills by working with a variety of texts including newspaper articles, a novel and a play. Students work with sophisticated sentence structures and contemporary idiomatic usage and learn to appreciate different writing styles. Although much of the emphasis in the course is on reading and understanding French in its written form, students also study the language, literature and culture through film and music clips. Successful completion of LF 222 fulfills the basic CAS language requirement.
Prereq: LF221 or 211 or
Placement test
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator
P. Hennessey
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CAS LF 286 - French Cinema (In English Translation)
Analysis of major films by Renoir, Clair, Vigo, Carne, Malle, Resnais, Bresson, Ophuls, Godard, Cocteau, and Truffaut. Weekly screenings, reading of criticism. Lectures and discussions in English.
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: J. Kline
CAS LF 303 - French Composition and Conversation I
This course aims to improve student understanding of grammar with a thorough review of basic concepts. Additionally, the focus is on improved spoken and written French and aural comprehension through reading and discussion of literary texts (including classic & contemporary writers such as Guy de Maupassant, Albert Camus, Annie Ernaux) and films
related to the themes discussed in class. Three hours of class meetings and one hour of viewing required at the lab weekly.
Prereq: LF212 or Placement test or equivalent
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator: A. Livni
CAS LF 304 - French Composition and Conversation II
This course enables students to develop a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding and use of spoken and written French by increasing language fluency and insight into French society. Course materials include contemporary French fiction and films, as well as articles on important issues in French society, both current and historical. Three hours of class meetings and one hour of viewing required at the lab weekly.
Prereq: LF303 or Placement test or equivalent
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator: A. Livni
CAS LF 305 - Advanced Written Expression
Intensive practice of academic and creative writing in French. Translation and transcription. Individual projects and conferences. Manuscripts read and discussed in class.
Prereq: LF304 or Placement test or equivalent
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: N. Huckle
CAS LF 306 - Advanced Oral Expression
Advanced training in rapid and idiomatic French speech. Oral reports. Role playing; vocabulary building; targeted work on pronunciation, intonation and aural comprehension. Lab required.
Prereq: LF304 or Placement test or equivalent
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructors: L. Hawkes and A. Livni
CAS LF 340 - France Past to Postmodern:
French Civilization Through Film
Examines France's classic cultural symbols and evolution from monarchy into the revolutionary nation that introduced notions of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Survey of events in today's post-modern and post-colonial state. Uses film, video, articles to explore contemporary culture and politics.
Prereq: LF303
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Coordinator: A. Livni
CAS LF 350 - Introduction to Analysis of French Texts
Offered Fall 2008. Development of techniques for reading and interpreting French literary texts. Special attention to the study of lyric poetry, drama, and short narrative
CAS LF 351 - Introduction to the French Novel
Offered Fall 2008. Close readings in the French novel from its origins to the nouveau roman. Attention to narration, themes, symbols, and schools. Investigation of the roman d'analyse, Romantic prose, realist fiction, and other types of narrative.
Prereq: LF350
CAS LF 356 - Le Cinéma Français
Offered Fall 2008. Introduction to the history and analysis of French film, including major films by Renoir, Clair, Vigo, Carné, Malle, Resnais, Bresson, Ophuls, Godard, Cocteau, Truffaut, and others. Weekly screenings, reading of criticism. Lectures and discussions in French.
Prereq: LF303
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: J. Kline
CAS LF 452 - The Age of Versailles
Offered Fall 2008. Seventeenth-century developments in classical theater, the novel, poetry, and fairy tales in relation to the vision of an all-powerful monarchy. Creative responses to a culture of constraint, as seen in works of Corneille, Racine, Molière, LaFayette, La Fontaine, Aulnoy.
Prereq: LF350
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: Goldsmith
CAS LF 475 - The Gaze in the French Novel
Offered Fall 2008. What role does the gaze play in literature? From La Princesse de Clèves to Proust, a study of texts in which the gaze plays an important dynamic role. Topics include: gender and the gaze; theories of looking in art, literature, and cinema. Review of the history of France and of French literature with the goal of synthesizing students' previous knowledge.
Prereq: LF350
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: D. Kelly
CAS LF 500 - Phonetics and Diction
Offered Fall 2008. Problems of articulation and intonation; special attention given to corrective phonetics. Readings of poetic and dramatic texts with emphasis on diction. Transcription based on International Phonetic Alphabet.
Prereq: LF304
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: C. Neidle
CAS LF 553 - Molière
Critical and historical study of theater of Molière. Early farces and minor comedies examined along with major plays.
Prereq: LF350 and one 400-level literature course
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: E. Goldsmith
CAS LF 558 - Colonial Fictions: Modern French Writing and the Colonies
Literary representations of the people, cultures, and places of the former colonies in works by Baudelaire, Camus, Céline, Duras, Gide, Leiris, and Robbe-Grillet. Attention to colonialist discourse in historical perspective, including exoticism, primitivism, and fetishism.
Prereq: LF350 and one 400-level literature course
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: O. Cazenave
CAS LF 569 - Writing New Identities: Postcolonial Literatures in France
This course examines through literature and films how the ethnic make up of contemporary French society challenges its republican ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Special attention paid to issues such as integration, identity, violence, race and class. Authors to be discussed: Beyala, Begag, Guene, Diome.
Prereq: LF350 and one 400-level literature course
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: TBA
CAS LF 570 - Masters of Twentieth Century French Poetry
Offered Fall 2008. A celebration of French at its most intense. Close readings of poems by Paul Valéry, Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Claudel, Saint-John Perse, René Char, Francis Ponge, Jules Supervielle, and Louis Aragon.
Prereq: LF350 and one 400-level literature course
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: J. Mehlman
GRS LF 621 - Reading French for Graduate Students
Designed for graduate degree candidates preparing for language reading examinations. Develops skills in interpreting written French with minimal phonological or cultural references. Practice in translating passages relating to the sciences and humanities. No previous knowledge of French required. Students will not receive graduate credit for this course and there is no tuition charge.
Class meets 3 hrs/week; 0 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: N. Huckle
GRS LF 860 - Seminar: Literature and Psychoanalysis
Topic for Fall 2008: French literary texts of the nineteenth century read in conjunction with psychoanalytic theory and criticism. Literary texts by Balzac, Chateaubriand, Flaubert, Zola, and Baudelaire. Critical and theoretical works by Freud, Lacan, Irigaray, and others.
Class meets 2 hrs/week; 4 credits
University class schedule
Course Instructor: D. Kelly
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