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French Language and Literature

FREN E-1a Elementary French I
Workshop. 2 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $575. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (10115) (Syllabus) (Print View): Susan E. Bécam, PhD. Tuesday, Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 306.

Fall term, section 2 (11372) (Syllabus) (Print View): Christine Hérot, EdD. Wednesday, Sept. 22, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 206.

An introduction to French with an emphasis on communication. Extensive practice in all four skills--listening, speaking, reading, and writing--and a thorough review of the grammar necessary to support those skills. Students are encouraged to communicate in French through role-play and other interpersonal activities. They also read brief selections on French and Francophone culture, and write short dialogues and descriptions. For students with no knowledge of French.
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FREN E-1b Elementary French I (20108)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Susan E. Bécam, PhD.
Workshop. 2 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $575. Limited enrollment.
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 306. Spring term

This course, conducted largely in French, develops the basic communicative skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing with an emphasis on speaking the language. Students improve their conversational French through individual and group activities. They are introduced to French and Francophone culture through readings, and write compositions of personal interest. Prerequisite: FREN E-1a or equivalent.
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FREN E-1x Reading for Information (10120)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Louise Marie Wills, PhD, Development Associate, Phillips Brooks House Association, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780. Limited enrollment.
Monday, Sept. 20 and Wednesday, 7:35-9:35 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 323. Fall term

A systematic approach to written French involving grammar and usage. Differences between French and English are pointed out and illustrated by reading simple French texts. Students gradually become familiar with French ways of expression. Conducted in English. Prerequisite: a basic knowledge of English grammar.
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FREN E-1y Reading and Translation (20112)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Louise Marie Wills, PhD, Development Associate, Phillips Brooks House Association, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780. Limited enrollment.
Monday, Jan. 31 and Wednesday, 7:35-9:35 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 219. Spring term

Students read French texts of moderate difficulty and translate them into English. Differences between French and English ways of written expression are pointed out and emphasis given to translations that read not as literally translated French but as English originals. Conducted in English. Prerequisite: a basic knowledge of French and English grammar.
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FREN E-1 Intensive Elementary French I
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (11846) (Syllabus) (Print View): Ellen Moloney Detwiller, MA, Lecturer in Romance Languages, Tufts University. Monday, Sept. 20 and Wednesday, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 306.

Fall term, section 2 (10119) (Syllabus) (Print View): Mahalia C. Gayle, AM, Teaching Fellow in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University. Tuesday, Sept. 21 and Thursday, 7:35-9:35 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 105.

Spring term (21691) (Syllabus) (Print View): Christine Hérot, EdD. Tuesday, Feb. 1 and Thursday, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 110.

An introduction to oral and written French for students with little or no background in the language, this course encourages students to communicate with each other and the instructor in simple language using role-play and other interpersonal activities. Students read short pieces on modern French culture, see a modern French film, and write compositions on subjects of personal interest. Grammar includes present and near future tenses and passé composé.
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FREN E-2 Intensive Elementary French II
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780. Limited enrollment.

Fall term (11813) (Syllabus) (Print View): Wayne Ishikawa, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University. Monday, Sept. 20 and Thursday, 5:30-7:30 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 105.

Spring term, section 1 (20115) (Syllabus) (Print View): Ellen Moloney Detwiller, MA, Lecturer in Romance Languages, Tufts University. Monday, Jan. 31 and Wednesday, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 106.

Spring term, section 2 (22133) (Syllabus) (Print View): Mahalia C. Gayle, AM, Teaching Fellow in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University. Tuesday, Feb. 1 and Thursday, 7:35-9:35 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 105.

This course emphasizes oral and written communication using language structures that include the imperfect, future, and conditional tenses and the subjunctive mood. Students communicate using role-play and other interpersonal activities. They also read short pieces on modern French culture and write compositions on topics of personal interest. Prerequisite: FREN E-1b, E-1, or equivalent.
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FREN E-3 Intensive Intermediate French I: Grammar Review and French Literature (11331)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Raymond F. Comeau, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780. Limited enrollment.
Tuesday, Sept. 21 and Thursday, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 308. Fall term

Students review and extend first-year grammar points. They also read short literary selections by French-speaking writers and participate in a variety of activities in order to improve listening comprehension, pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, reading, and writing. Writers include Molière, La Fontaine, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Hugo, Verlaine, Maupassant, Camara Laye, and Gabrielle Roy. Prerequisite: two semesters of college French or equivalent.
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FREN E-4 Intensive Intermediate French II: Francophone Cultures (22221)
(Website) (Print View)
Carole Bergin, MA, Teaching Assistant in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780. Limited enrollment.
Tuesday, Feb. 1 and Thursday, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 308. Spring term

Students read and discuss a variety of modern texts dealing with French and Francophone regions and cultures, including Africa, the Antilles, Canada, and Belgium. The two main readings are a novella by Gisèle Pinèau, from Guadeloupe, and a play by Amadou Koné, from the Ivory Coast. Although the course will focus on reading and discussion, there is some review of grammar. Prerequisite: three semesters of college French or equivalent.
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FREN E-5 Oral Expression: Le Français parlé (21982)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Wayne Ishikawa, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780. Limited enrollment.
Monday, Jan. 31 and Thursday, 5:30-7:30 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 103. Spring term

For the French, discussion is often an art. This course emphasizes communication strategies that make it easier for students to communicate convincingly in a French context. Through creative classroom activities and exercises, students learn how the French interact while speaking, for example, discussing ideas, exchanging opinions, giving advice, and expressing criticism. Spoken vocabulary and grammar are stressed. For students wishing to learn the art of French communication for its own sake or those planning to travel to France or a French-speaking country. Prerequisite: three semesters of college French or equivalent.
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FREN E-10 Contemporary French Society (12405)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Marie-France Bunting, MA, Senior Preceptor in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780, graduate credit $1,400. Limited enrollment.
Wednesday, Sept. 22, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 109. Fall term

Designed to develop greater linguistic fluency while introducing students to some major debates in French society today. Themes explored include family, gender, the education system, urban problems, social stratification, immigration, and politics. Discussions are based on readings from the French press as well as from sociological and literary sources. Prerequisite: three years of college French or permission of instructor.
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FREN E-18 Baudelaire and His Artistic Legacy (22222)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Raymond F. Comeau, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $780, graduate credit $1,400. Limited enrollment.
Thursday, Feb. 3, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 109. Spring term

Writers, painters, musicians, and translators have been inspired by Baudelaire's writings and ideas on art since Les Fleurs du mal appeared in 1857. Students read Baudelaire's poetry and prose poetry, some of his translations of Poe, and critical writings on art, music, and literature. They then explore various interpretations of Baudelaire's aesthetic by poets such as Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, Lautréamont, and Valéry; by musicians such as Fauré and Debussy; by artists such as Matisse and Rouault; and by poet-translators such as Roy Campbell and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Students also try their hand at producing their own artistic interpretations and translations of Baudelaire. Prerequisite: a good command of spoken and written French.
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FREN E-21 African Orality and the Francophone Novel (12404)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Samba Diop, PhD, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $525, graduate credit $1,400.
Thursday, Sept. 23, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 101. Fall term

In this course we read a selected number of African epics and tales: Soundjata, El Hadj Omar Tall, The Mwindo Epic, Njaajaan Njaay. We alternate these epics and tales with novels by M. Diabaté, M. Beti, C. A. Ndao, A. Kourouma, and A. Sadji to see how orality informs the modern African narrative in French. The class discusses the many ways in which the modern African Francophone writer re-creates and adapts the rich, timeless, and immemorial cultural and linguistic heritage from precolonial Africa. Prerequisite: a good command of spoken and written French.
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