FRENCH
Department of Modern Foreign Languages
Leonard R. Koos, Chair
Marie A. Wellington, Career Advisor
Faculty
Professors
James F. Gaines
Marie A. Wellington
Associate Professor
Leonard R. Koos
Assistant Professors
Brooke E. Donaldson
Scott M. Powers
The French Program
Through courses in French, students gain linguistic proficiency, as well as understanding of the literatures and cultures of the French-speaking world. Laboratory facilities are used extensively to supplement classroom instruction. Upper-level classes are conducted in French.
Double majors are possible, and non-majors may also take advantage of the language program. Students have the opportunity to reside in a campus residence area in which French is spoken and which sponsors various inter-cultural programs each year. The resident language director of this area is a native speaker of French.
The Department of Modern Foreign Languages cooperates with a variety of overseas study programs, advises and encourages students wishing to study abroad, and helps in planning their foreign study programs. Credits can be accepted from abroad to fulfill major requirements. The French program offers a four-week, UMW faculty-led summer study abroad program in Paris, France offers French language and culture courses incooperation with the Institut Catholique.
Graduates in French may pursue careers in government or in private fields in which the knowledge of this language and culture is essential, including interpreting, translating, research, social services, education, or international business.
*For information regarding General Education language requirements for students not currently majoring in Modern Foreign Languages, please see page 53 in this Catalog.
Requirements for the French Major
Thirty-six (36) credits, including French 311, 312, 326, 327, 328, 411, 412, and 481; two courses chosen from French 313, 315, or 316; two additional French literature courses.
French Course Offerings
101, 102 – Beginning French (3, 3)
Prerequisite for 102: French 101 or equivalent. Grammar, composition, conversation, reading, laboratory use.
105 – Intensive Beginning French (6)
Grammar, composition, conversation, reading, laboratory use.
201, 202 – Intermediate French (3, 3)
Prerequisite for 201: French 102, or equivalent. Prerequisite for 202: French 201, or equivalent. Grammar review, reading, composition, laboratory use, oral work.
205 – Intensive Intermediate French (6)
Prerequisite: French 102 or equivalent. Grammar review, reading, composition, laboratory use, oral work
311 – Composition (3)
Prerequisite: French 202. Advanced grammar, composition, reading.
312 – Oral Communication and Phonetics (3)
Prerequisite: French 202. Oral skills, phonetics, listening comprehension, conversation.
313 – Business French (3)
Prerequisite: French 311 or 312. Especially designed for those who may be connected with businesses dealing in France or French-speaking countries.
315 – French Culture I: From Medieval to Modern France (3)
Prerequisite: French 311 or 312, or permission of the instructor. The intellectual, political, economic, and social developments of France from the medieval to the modern periods.
316 – French Culture II: Contemporary Issues (3)
Prerequisite: French 311 or 312, or permission of the instructor. France’s intellectual, political, economic, and social developments since World War II.
326, 327, 328 – Survey of French Literature I, II, III (3, 3, 3)
Prerequisite: 311 or 312. A chronological study of French literature from the medieval period through the late 20th century.
342 – Medieval and Renaissance Literature (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey, or permission of the instructor. Selections from such genres as the medieval courtly lai and popular fabliau through the sixteenth century nouvelle.
351 – Seventeenth-Century Literature (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey, or permission of the instructor. Corneille, Moliere, Racine, and other representative works.
361 – Eighteenth-Century Literature (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey, or permission of the instructor. Philosophy, fiction, and theatre.
371 – Novel of the Nineteenth Century (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey, or permission of the instructor. Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, and short stories.
372 – Nineteenth-Century Poetry and Theater (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey, or permission of the instructor. Poetry from all periods of the century and some representative theater.
381 – The Novel of the Twentieth Century (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey, or permission of the instructor. Proust, Robbe-Grillet, Sarraute, Camus, and other representative works.
382 – Twentieth-Century Theater (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey, or permission of the instructor. Artaud, Ionesco, Jarry, Beckett, and other representative works.
383 – Francophone Literature (3)
Prerequisites: Two segments of the literature survey or permission of the instructor. Representative works from the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and French Beur literature.
411 – Stylistics (3)
Prerequisites: French 311, 312, and two segments of the literature survey. Analysis and practice of written French styles.
412 – Translation (3)
Prerequisites: French 311, 312, and two segments of the literature survey. Translation theories and techniques.
481 – Senior Seminar (3)
Selected topics. Required of and limited to senior majors.
491, 492 – Individual Study (3, 3)
Intensive study of one or more authors selected in consultation with instructor. By permission of the department.
499 – Internship (Credits variable)
Supervised off-campus experience, developed in consultation with the department. No credit toward major