French Course Descriptions
Lower-Division | Upper-Division | Courses for Undergrad or Grad Credit | French Home
Lower-Division Courses
FREN 104. Introductory French (3) - Students develop basic listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in the target language and gain awareness of the diversity of Francophone cultures. Besides work in the classroom, computer-based assignments to be completed outside of class are required. Intended for students with no previous formal instruction in French. Anyone with previous instruction must take the placement exam and are admitted to 104 only if the placement score does not qualify the student for FREN 105. Course includes diversity content.
FREN 105. Elementary French I (3) - Students continue to develop the four fundamental skills in the target language (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and gain cultural awareness and communicative skills in a range of social situations. Besides work in the classroom, computer-based assignments to be completed outside of class are required. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): FREN 104 or qualifying score on departmental placement exam.
FREN 105H Elementary French I Honors (3) - Students continue to develop the four fundamental skills in the target language (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and gain cultural awareness and communicative skills in a range of social situations. Besides work in the classroom, computer-based assignments to be completed outside of class are required. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): FREN 104 or qualifying score on departmental placement exam.
FREN 106. Elementary French II (3) - Students engage in culturally appropriate communicative tasks in different registers and situations to further develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Besides work in the classroom, computer-based assignments to be completed outside of class are required. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): FREN 105 or qualifying score on departmental placement exam.
FREN 106H Elementary French II Honors (3) - Students engage in culturally appropriate communicative tasks in different registers and situations to further develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Besides work in the classroom, computer-based assignments to be completed outside of class are required. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): FREN 105 or qualifying score on departmental placement exam.
FREN 150. Workshop in French (2-4) Repeatable for credit.
FREN 204. Intermediate French (3) General education humanities course. Students expand their knowledge of the Francophone world and enhance proficiency in expressing personal meaning in culturally appropriate language. Grammatical elements and practical vocabulary coalesce through pair work and group conversation; routine complications are resolved with greater ease in the target language. Besides work in the classroom, computer-based assignments to be completed outside of class are required. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): FREN 106 or qualifying score on departmental placement exam.
FREN 204H. Intermediate French Honors (3) General education humanities course. Students expand their knowledge of the Francophone world and enhance proficiency in expressing personal meaning in culturally appropriate language. Grammatical elements and practical vocabulary coalesce through pair work and group conversation; routine complications are resolved with greater ease in the target language. Besides work in the classroom, computer-based assignments to be completed outside of class are required. Course includes diversity content. Prerequisite(s): FREN 106 or qualifying score on departmental placement exam.
FREN 215. French Study Abroad (3-6) - Transfer of credit from a French-speaking university in (A) grammar, (B) conversation, (C) reading.
FREN 223. Intermediate French Readings I (3) General education humanities course. Intensive reading of diverse literary works in French. Course satisfies the LAS literature requirement. Prerequisite(s): FREN 210, FREN 204 or equivalent.
Upper-Division Courses
Upper-division courses are given on a rotating basis. FREN 300 is a prerequisite for all upper-division literature and civilization courses, unless otherwise indicated. All literature courses, including FREN 223 and 300, may fulfill the LAS literature requirement.
FREN 300. Intermediate French Readings II (3) General education advanced further study course. - Intensive reading and analysis of French literary works of all periods. Course
satisfies the LAS literature requirement.
Prerequisite: FREN 223 or equivalent.
FREN 324. Intermediate Conversation and Composition (3) - Improves oral and written proficiency through vocabulary acquisition and interactive
grammar exercises.
Prerequisite: FREN 210, FREN 204 or equivalent.
FREN 398. Travel Seminar in French (1-4) - An interdisciplinary travel seminar that allows a student to gain credit for the
study of one of the following: culture, art, literature, architecture, politics, society,
science and economics, while visiting historic places of interest.
Prerequisite; departmental consent.
Courses for Graduate/Undergraduate Credit
FREN 501. French for Business (3) - Designed for French speakers at the intermediate level seeking to communicate accurately in professional situations and especially for those pursuing parallel studies in business or management. Prerequisite(s): FREN 324 or departmental consent.
FREN 505. Advanced French Phonetics (3) - Cross-listed as LING 505A. Includes articulatory phonetics, phonemics, sound/symbol correspondences, dialectal and stylistic variations. Required for future French teachers. This course has a lab component. Prerequisite(s): any 200-level FREN course or departmental consent.
FREN 515. Major Topics in French (1-4) - Special Studies in (A) language, (B) literature, (C) commercial French, (D) the
language laboratory, (E) music, (F) composition, (I) problems in teaching French,
(J) civilization, (L) translation, (K) conversation, and (M) phonetics. Repeatable
for credit.
Prerequisite: departmental consent.
FREN 520. Novel and Film (3) - Analyzes and discusses celebrated French novels together with major film versions of the same. Focuses on the status of the image in relation to the works' historical and cultural contexts. Prerequisite(s): FREN 300.
FREN 525. Advanced French Conversation (3) - Designed to increase proficiency in spoken French. Assignments include oral reports, dialogs and work in the language laboratory. Prerequisite: FREN 324 or departmental consent.
FREN 526. Advanced French Composition and Grammar (3) - Emphasizes theme writing, original compositions and detailed study of modern French
grammar.
Prerequisite: FREN 324 or departmental consent.
FREN 551. French Civilization: The Middle Ages to the Restoration (3) - Emphasizes key aspects of the civilization of France as seen in its art, architecture, political structure, social evolution and intellectual traditions. Interdisciplinary course complements studies in French language and literature. Classwork and required readings are in French. Pre- or corequisite(s): FREN 300.
FREN 552. Contemporary French Civilization (3) - Emphasizes the major events, themes, ideas, trends and movements in French civilization since the Revolution. Interdisciplinary course complements French language and literature courses. Classwork and readings are in French. Pre- or corequisite: FREN 300.
FREN 623. Seminar in French (3) - Seminar in French literature, language or civilization. Repeatable for credit.
Prerequisite: FREN 300.
FREN 629. Medieval French Literature (3) - Analysis and discussion of major French works from 900 to 1500, the literary movements to which they pertain, and the place of individual authors in the overall tradition. Prerequisite: FREN 300.
FREN 631. 17th Century French Literature (3) - Analysis and discussion of major French works from 1600 to 1700, the literary movements to which they pertain, and the place of individual authors in the overall tradition. Prerequisite(s): FREN 300.
FREN 632. 18th Century French Literature (3) - Analysis and discussion of poetry, plays, narrative and philosophical prose by prominent French authors of the 18th century from the standpoint of their historical significance. There is further emphasis on the correlations between form and content that define each genre. Prerequisite(s): FREN 300.
FREN 633. 19th Century French Literature (3) - Advanced critical analysis of lyric poetry, short narrative prose, one complete novel and excerpts from other novels by prominent French authors of the 19th century, highlighting the historical significance of the works as well as the correlations between form and content that define each genre. Prerequisite(s): FREN 300.
FREN 635. Introduction to Romance Linguistics (3) - Cross-listed as LING 635 and SPAN 635. Provides a contrastive examination of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the major contemporary Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan and Romanian). Introduces students to the sound and writing system and basic grammar of Latin, and contrasts the phonological and grammatical systems of the contemporary Romance languages (French and Spanish in particular) with those of Latin. It compares specific features of the modern Romance languages synchronically (i.e., part from Latin) as well. Students are advised to have a solid grounding in at least one Romance language (preferably French or Spanish) and a familiarity with at least one other (French, Spanish, Latin, Italian or Portuguese). Prerequisite: departmental or instructor's consent.
FREN 750. Workshop in French (2-4) - Repeatable for credit.