ELEMENTARY FRENCH I
The aim of the beginning French sequence (French 1101 and French 1102) is to help you to develop an active command of the language. Emphasis is placed on acquiring the four language skills--listening, speaking, reading and writing--within a cultural context, in order to achieve basic communicative proficiency.
- MWR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
- MTWR 10:10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
- MTWR 11:40 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
- MTWR 1:10 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
- TRF 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
- TRF 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
- 4 points
ELEMENTARY FRENCH II
The aim of the beginning French sequence (French 1101 and French 1102) is to help you to develop an active command of the language. Emphasis is placed on acquiring the four language skills--listening, speaking, reading and writing--within a cultural context, in order to achieve basic communicative proficiency.
- MTWR 8:50 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
- TRF 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
- TRF 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
- MTWR 1:10 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
- TRF 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
- MWR 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
- MWR 6:10 p.m.-7:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Pascale Crepon
CULPA: 10
Info
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Instructor:
Samuel Skippon
CULPA: 13
Info
- 4 points
INTERMEDIATE FRENCH I
This course will further your awareness and understanding of the French language, culture and literature, provide a comprehensive review of fundamental grammar points while introducing more advanced ones, as well as improve your mastery of oral, reading, and writing skills. By the end of the course, you will be able to read short to medium-length literary and non-literary texts, and analyze and comment on varied documents and topics, both orally and in writing.
- MTWR 11:10 a.m.-noon
- MTWR 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
- TRF 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
- TRF 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Hayet Sellami
CULPA: 3
Info
- 4 points
INTERMEDIATE FRENCH II
Prerequisites: FREN UN2121 Intermediate Conversation is a suggested, not required, corequisite Prepares students for advanced French language and culture. Develops skills in speaking, reading, and writing French. Emphasizes cross-cultural awareness through the study of short stories, films, and passages from novels. Fosters the ability to write about and discuss a variety of topics using relatively complex structures.
- MWR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
- TRF 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
- TRF 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
- MTWR 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
- TRF 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
- MWR 6:10 p.m.-7:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Come B Bernier
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Instructor:
Eric T Matheis
CULPA: 4
Info
- 4 points
RAPID READING AND TRANSLATION
The course focuses on reading comprehension and translation into English and includes a grammar and vocabulary overview. It also addresses the differences between English and French syntax and raises questions of idiomatic versus literal translations.
- TR 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Sophie Queuniet
CULPA: 7
Info
- 3 points
INTERMED CONVERSATN FRENCH I
We will be working on pronunciation, vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, and oral expression. Activities will include listening comprehension exercises, skits, debates, and oral presentations, as well as discussions of films, songs, short films, plays, news, articles, short stories or other short written documents. Although grammar will not be the focus of the course, some exercises will occasionally aim at reviewing particular points. The themes and topics covered will be chosen according to students’ interests.
- MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Hayet Sellami
CULPA: 3
Info
- 2 points
INTERMED CONVERSATN FRENCH II
We will be working on pronunciation, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and oral expression. Activities will include listening comprehension exercises, skits, debates, and oral presentations, as well as discussions of films, songs, short films, news, articles, short stories or other short written documents. Although grammar will not be the focus of the course, some exercises will occasionally aim at reviewing particular points.
- TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Victor Sainsot
Info - 2 points
THIRD-YEAR CONVERSATION FR II
Prerequisites: completion of the language requirement in French or the equivalent. Conversation on contemporary French subjects based on readings in current popular French periodicals.
- TR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
- TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
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Instructor:
Alexandra Borer
CULPA: 4 Info - 2 points
Read, Think, Write in French
UN3405 enables students to hone and perfect their reading and writing skills while improving their ability to express and organize thoughts in French. In this engaging advanced language class, students are exposed to major texts in fields as diverse as journalism, sociology, anthropology, politics, literature, philosophy and history. Stimulating class discussions, targeted reviews of key grammatical points in context, and an array of diverse writing exercises all contribute to strengthen students’ mastery of the French language. This course also works as a bridge class between Intermediate French II and courses that focus on French and Francophone cultures, history and literature (such as 3409 and 3410). Students who take this class will be fully prepared to take advanced content classes or spend a semester in a Francophone country. This class is required for the French major and minor.
- MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
- TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Pascale Crepon
CULPA: 10
Info
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Instructor:
Sophie Queuniet
CULPA: 7
Info
- 3 points
INTRO TO FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE HISTORY
INTRO FREN FRANCOPHONE HI
Who were the Gauls and when was Paris the "capital of modernity"? What caused the French and Haitian Revolutions? Why do the French care so much about religion, nation, empire or, for that matter, food and fashion? This class surveys the history of France and the Francophone world from the Middle Ages to the present. It provides an introduction to major events and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions of people in France and across the world, in its former colonies. From feudalism and absolutism to imperialism, capitalism, and republicanism, we explore how questions of identity and difference play out in politics, culture and society. The class is based in lecture and discussion and relies on close readings of primary sources. The course is taught entirely in French and is one of two core courses for the major and minor in French. Students are encouraged to take FREN 3405 prior to this course.
- TR 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Emmanuelle Saada
CULPA: 13
Info
- 3 points
Intro French & Francophone Literature
Intro French Francophone
This class offers students an introduction to major works that have marked the history of literature in French from the Middle Ages to the present. Our focus will be on close reading and discussion, but works will also be placed in historical context. We will look at a variety of literary genres (sonnet, short story, comedy, autobiography, narrative poetry, novel), and our readings will be complemented by visual materials such as paintings and films. The course is taught entirely in French and is one of two core courses for the major and minor in French. Students are encouraged to take FREN 3405 prior to this course.
- MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Joanna R Stalnaker
CULPA: 18
Info
- 3 points
Contemporary French and Francophone Lite
US Goncourt Prize Selecti
This contemporary French and Francophone literature course designed for undergraduate students is part of the “
Choix Goncourt USA
” (US Goncourt Prize Selection), an initiative led by the Goncourt Academy in France and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy (Villa Albertine) in the United States.
The course provides students with the unique opportunity to read the latest French contemporary fiction through the lens of critical literary tools, to experience being part of a selecting literary committee, to interview outstanding contemporary writers, and to practice writing book reviews, in addition to the more traditional essays and close readings. This course is entirely conducted in French (readings, discussions, and writing).
- TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
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Instructor:
Laurence Marie
CULPA: 3 Info - 3 points
Contemporary Environmental Issues in Fre
This course explores the intersection of the French language, culture, and environmental issues, using readings, discussions, multimedia resources, and projects to enhance language skills. Students will study and debate topics such as climate change, sustainability, and conservation within the Francophone world, while expanding their vocabulary and improving their ability to analyze and discuss complex issues in French.
Students will apply their knowledge through hands-on assignments and projects, engaging with practical environmental challenges. They will also interact directly with environmental professionals through guest speakers, deepening their understanding of these issues and gaining valuable connections. Additionally, the Department of French is exploring the possibility of offering internships in New York during Spring 2026, related to environmental studies, as an extension of the course.
- TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
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Instructor:
Alexandra Borer
CULPA: 4 Info - 3 points
French Algeria, 1830-1962
This course provides an introduction to the colonial history of Algeria and France in the 19th and 20th centuries, at the high point of European imperial expansion. It covers the violent conquest of the Regency of Algiers starting in 1830, followed by population removal and settlement by the French; successive political regimes, forms of legal discrimination, and attempts at turning this North African territory into an integral part of the French Republic; and finally the emergence of Algerian nationalism, leading up to the war of liberation and independence in 1962. Algeria was the jewel of the French Empire, its only real settler colony; its independence became a beacon of post-colonial struggles, inaugurating an era of entangled memories and forgetting that continues today.
- T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
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Instructor:
Thomas Dodman
CULPA: 2 Info - 3 points
Gender Trouble in French and Francophone
French and francophone literature from past centuries is replete with queer and feminist literary utopias. While some French-language authors have imagined fictional places where patriarchal structures have been weakened or reversed, others have imagined worlds in which the category of gender itself has been problematized or done away with. This course introduces students to the rich and long history of such texts from the middle ages to the present. Authors and filmmakers will include Christine de Pizan, George Sand, Alice Guy, Monique Wittig, Hélène Cixous, Léonora Miano, Mati Diop, Céline Sciamma and Paul Preciado. Class taught entirely in French.
- MW 6:10 p.m.-7:25 p.m.
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Instructor:
Anna P Langewiesche
Info - 3 points
SENIOR SEMINAR
Prerequisites: completion of either FREN UN3333-FREN UN3334 or FREN UN3420-FREN UN3421, and FREN UN3405, or the director of undergraduate studies' or the instructor's permission. Required of all French and French & Francophone Studies majors. Usually taken by majors during the fall term of their senior year. Critical discussion of a few major literary works along with some classic commentaries on those works. Students critically assess and practice diverse methods of literary analysis.
- W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
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Instructor:
Elisabeth A Ladenson
CULPA: 13 Info - 3 points
French Film Aesthetics
The seminar prioritizes a particular branch of French-language film theory and criticism that broadly deals with aesthetics, at the expense of reception and apparatus theories. We follow its history from the silent film-era writings of Germaine Dulac and Jean Epstein to the intersection of film aesthetics and French theory in the work of Barthes, Deleuze, Lyotard, and Rancière, to the most recent inquiries into such notions as montage, découpage, and mise en scène (Aumont, Barnard, Kessler). Weekly films will accompany the readings in order to put pressure on theory, but also to help dissipate its excessive maleness. Because French film aesthetics has been influential around the world and—vice versa—because world cinema has been crucial for the development of French film aesthetics, we will also see American, Italian, Soviet, Japanese, Iranian, Malian, and Taiwanese films, in addition to French films.
All films will be presented with English subtitles. There are no prerequisites for the course, but students wanting to enroll must be committed to attending the Tuesday night 6–9pm screenings, in addition to the 12:10–2pm seminars on Wednesdays.
- R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
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Instructor:
Tadas Bugnevicius
Info - 3 points
FRENCH LIT OF THE 17TH CENTURY
A one-semester survey of seventeenth-century French literature, with an emphasis on the relationship between literature and the major cultural, philosophical, and religious developments of the period.
- T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
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Instructor:
Pierre Force
CULPA: 12 h-index: 11 Info - 3 points
The Maghreb in Transition: Society & Cul
This course explores the production of culture in the contemporary Maghreb. We consider how important dimensions of social and political life are explored in literature and film and, correspondingly, the role that these and other media play in shaping social and political dynamics. The focus is on Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, but these nations are also situated in broader regional and global contexts. Former French colonies, these three nations have in common a multilingual cultural environment in which French coexists with Arabic and Amazigh languages.
The course begins in roughly 1990, a time of disenchantment when the political regimes established at Independence were challenged and in some cases replaced. We explore the dynamics of Algeria’s ‘Black Decade’ and Morocco’s emergence from the ‘Years of lead,’ then turn to more recent social and political dynamics, notably the ‘Arab spring’ of 2011-2012 and the ongoing Algerian
hirak
. Throughout the course we consider how the arts have responded to and contributed to change while also revisiting the past and reframing national narratives.
The course is interdisciplinary, combining historical, sociological and anthropological approaches with close reading of texts and films. The syllabus is organized both historically and thematically. We explore questions including the representation and memory of violence, the geographies and sociology of migration and globalization, and the changing landscape of media and publication. Several sessions explore the meaning of ‘modernity’ in conjunction with explorations of subjectivity and spirituality, gender and sexuality.
- W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
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Instructor:
Madeleine Dobie
CULPA: 14
Info
- 3 points
Narratives of Return
This course combines history, literature and film to explore the complex question of return — as fantasy, policy, horizon, paradox, temporary practice or new departure. Drawing largely on Francophone and Arab perspectives, we will delve into the history of displacement and migrations, nostalgia and hauntings, to explore the many figures of return: the exile, the soldier, the transfuge, the impostor… We will range widely in time and space, from the Odyssey to Dahomey, from Martin Guerre to Ghassan Kanafani. We will study the shifting politics and affects that have attended ideas of return, from ancient arcadias to immigrant communities and repatriated works of art. Co-taught by a historian and a poet and featuring guest speakers and practitioners, this seminar offers a truly interdisciplinary approach to one of the most vexed questions of our time.
- R 10:10 a.m.-noon
- 3 points
The Politics of Memory. Remembrance, Eth
This seminar will explore the multidimensional interplay between collective memory, politics, and history in France since 1945. We will examine the process of memorializing key historical events and periods – the Vichy regime, the Algerian War, the slave trade – and the critical role they played in shaping and dividing French collective identity. This exploration will focus on multiple forms of narratives – official history, victims’ accounts, literary fiction – and will examine the tensions and contradictions that oppose them. The seminar will discuss the political uses of memory, the influence of commemorations on French collective identity, and the role played by contested monuments, statues and other “
lieux de mémoire
” (“sites of memory”). We will ask how these claims on historical consciousness play out in the legal space through an exploration of French “memorial laws”, which criminalize genocide denial and recognize slave trade as a crime against humanity. These reflections will pave the way to retracing the genesis of the “
devoir de mémoire
” (“duty to remember”), a notion that attempts to confer an ethical dimension to collective memory. The seminar will examine the multiple uses of the French injunction to remember – as a response to narratives of denial, as an act of justice towards the victims, and as an antidote to the recurrence of mass crimes and persecutions. We will examine how amnesty is used to reconcile conflicting collective memories and will evaluate the claim that the transmission
- M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
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Instructor:
Emmanuel Kattan
Info - 3 points
Reading the City: Episodes in Parisian d
At least from the early moments of the European enlightenment the tension between the vision of an ideal functioning city and the reality of cities growing beyond easy surveillance at any level from the political to the experiential might be said to have led to a new epoch in the very consciousness of the urban. The idea of the legible city emerged even as the very possibility of obtaining the vantage point for such comprehensive seemed more and more elusive. The seminar will offer a meander through the landscape of this tension juxtaposing theoretical and technical literature from the discourse on the planned city that emerged in the mid-18th century – we might say in the aftermath of the dismantling under Louis XIV of the city’s walls that defined its limits and form – and which led to the formation of the modern profession of urban planning in the final years of the 19th century with the rise of a new urban literature. In the novel in particular, the urban setting became ever more a frame, a presence, and even a character and protagonist, for instance in Victor Hugo’s
Notre Dame de Paris.
Our aim will to be read across a rising professional literature and a growing presence of the city in literature. It is hoped that seminar participants themselves will develop a great agility in “reading” architectural and urban space.
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Instructor:
Barry G Bergdoll
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
Kant with Arendt
This course will provide an introduction to Immanuel Kant’s aesthetics in conjunction with his philosophical anthropology and philosophy of history. Our readings will be guided by Hannah Arendt’s approach to Kant’s aesthetics as the foundation of a political philosophy in her posthumously published lectures on Kant. Both Kant’s and Arendt’s texts will not only be discussed in dialogue with each other, but also in view of their responses to Burke, Nietzsche, and Benjamin. Finally, particular attention will be given to forms of philosophical writing, such as the essay and the aphorism.
The course is intended for graduate students. There are no pre-requisites. All texts are available in English translation.
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Instructor:
Dorothea von Muecke
Info - 3 points
RESEARCH SEMINAR IN HIST
This seminar is a step-by-step introduction to scholarly research in the field of History and Literature. In the course of the seminar, students will carry out the initial research and draft the prospectus for their MA thesis.
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Instructor:
Barry G Bergdoll
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points