Course Catalog 2007-2008
Professor J. Eduardo Jaramillo, Chair
Professors Judy Cochran, Charles O'Keefe; Associate Professor Christine Armstrong; Visiting Instructor/Assistant Professor Olivier Marteau; Academic Secretary Kim Kaiser
Educated people spend their lives trying to grow in political, social and intellectual freedom. One kind of intellectual freedom requires us to break away from the notion that our native language is the most natural and apt means of expressing the full range of human experience. An education can start with the discovery that all words are purely conventional devices. They are nonetheless tools that stir emotions, articulate ideas, and establish relationships with others. Learning a foreign language contributes to our education by providing an intimate exercise in cultural and linguistic concepts that open up new vistas on what it can mean to be human. Furthermore, foreign-language courses allow entry into the subjectivity of the target language on its own cultural and linguistic grounds, thus making possible a different and more profound redefinition of our own culture.
Our basic courses offer the opportunity to start acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary for the eventual mastery of a foreign language. When students take full advantage of that opportunity, they can use the target language in subsequent courses dealing with the foreign culture. The Department emphasizes the use of a foreign language in most of its courses because it believes that students can best appreciate a foreign culture from within its own mode of expression.
With a view toward career opportunities, the Department encourages integrating foreign language study with a variety of other academic areas, such as history, philosophy, international studies, environmental studies, biology, economics, political science, and English. Courses in cultural studies and literature, aside from their intrinsic worth, also present multiple perspectives on other cultures and areas of intellectual experience.
A student wishing to spend a summer, a semester, or a year abroad with programs approved by Denison should consult members of the Department and the Office of Off-Campus Studies (see Off Campus Programs ). Opportunities for students to improve their command of the language are provided on the campus by the language tables, foreign films, club meetings, field trips, and similar activities sponsored by the Department.
In July 2006, and every other year, the French Program offers an intensive summer program in Besançon, France. Students receive 6 credit hours for this 4-week program. Students are enrolled in a culture seminar taught by the director of the program (a Denison faculty member), and an intensive language course taught by experienced professors from the Centre de Linguistique Appliquée de Besançon (CLAB). This teaching and linguistic institute, affiliated with the Université de Franche-Comté specializes in the teaching of French as a foreign language. Participants live with local families.
Students majoring in French must take a minimum of nine courses beyond FREN 211. The first six courses required for the major are FREN 213 (Conversation and Phonetics), FREN 214 (Area Studies: France), FREN 215 (Intermediate French Readings and Grammar) or FREN 305 (Advanced French Readings and Grammar), FREN 311 and FREN 312 (Surveys of French Literature), and FREN 418 (the Senior Seminar, to be taken during the senior year). The three other required courses will be literature, culture, or language courses (at the upper-level), preferably taken in France.
Students minoring in French must take six courses beyond FREN 211: FREN 213, FREN 214, FREN 215 or FREN 305, and three advanced courses in literature, culture, or language, at least one of which must be either FREN 311 or FREN 312.
General Department Regulations. Students planning to major in the Department are advised to begin course work in the first year. Those wishing to fulfill the basic requirement in language by continuing the one begun in secondary school will find it advantageous to begin their course work in the first year. The language requirement should be completed by the end of the junior year.
Multimedia Language Learning Center. An important asset of the Department is the Multimedia Language Learning Center with its 27 Macs, zone-free DVD player and a multi-standard VCR. The MLLC provides support for learning activities outside and inside the classroom, ranging from grammar drills to research, as well as discussions on authentic materials published on the web. The area is designed not only for individualized instruction but also for group work and small seminars that use multimedia materials for class discussion.
Cultural Enrichment. Each semester the Department offers students exceptional opportunities for cultural enrichment in foreign languages. These opportunities include, for example, off-campus trips to target-culture plays, movies and performances, as well as campus visits by native scholars and performers. In that way, experiences in target cultures become more readily available to our students. These opportunities are made possible through a most generous endowment bestowed on the Department of Modern Languages by the Patty Foresman Fund.
Fellows 103. The Modern Languages Virtual Lounge in Fellows 103 offers the Denison community a wide range of technological devices with which to enrich their learning experiences. This room is equipped with a 52 inch flat screen TV which is connected to three satellite dishes. One dish allows us to receive French TV5, and one to receive Chinese TV9. The third dish provides us with SCOLA television services from around the world. The TV is also connected to a multi-standard VCR and a zone-free DVD player. The lounge has a ceiling-mounted data projector which connects to a networked Apple computer, the DVD player and the VCR. This area also has a Polycom videoconferencing unit which allows us to connect with students at other universities and chat with them about their perspectives on various issues.
Beginning French I (FREN-111). A comprehensive introductory course in French through the four basic skills: aural comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. Does not count as credit toward a major or minor. Conducted in French. Staff. 4
Beginning French II (FREN-112). A continuation in the development of the four basic skills: aural comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. Does not count as credit toward a major or minor. Conducted in French. Staff. 4
Introductory Topics in French (FREN-199). A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit. Staff. 1-4
Intermediate French (FREN-211). A completion of an overview of the structure of French. Emphasis placed on developing skills in speaking, writing, listening, and reading. Prerequisite: 112 or placement. Does not count as credit toward a major or minor. Conducted in French. Staff. 4
Conversation and Phonetics (FREN-213). Training and refining of all skills, with an emphasis on pronunciation and oral communication. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: 211 or placement. Staff. 4
Area Study - France (FREN-214). The course deals with the question: "What makes the French French?" by examining several aspects of French culture, such as child rearing and the process of socialization, the structure of the family and society and symbolic behavior. The approach compares American and French cultures. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: 213 or equivalent. Staff. 4
Intermediate French Readings and Grammar (FREN-215). Students will read extensively from French literary works and works of general culture while reviewing French grammar in detail. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: 213. May be taken concurrently with 213 or equivalent. Staff. 4
Topics in Intermediate French (FREN-299). A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit. Staff. 1-4
Advanced French Readings and Grammar (FREN-305). Approaches to comprehension and appreciation of literary texts through grammatical analysis and writing. Recommended as preparation for advanced work in French. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: 215, or equivalent. Staff. 4
Survey of French Literature I: From the Middle Ages Through the 18th Century (FREN-311). Introduction to major literary and cultural movements and figures with readings from representative authors. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: 215 or 305 or equivalent. Staff. 4
Survey of French Literature II: 19th and 20th Centuries (FREN-312). Introduction to major literary and cultural movements and figures with readings from representative authors. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: 215 or 305 or equivalent. (Not offered 2006-2007) Staff. 4
Texts in French: Themes (FREN-330). This course proposes the study of French and Francophone texts (taken in the broad definition, including the written text, film, music) through a theme such as the Romantic Hero, the Epic Hero, Emergence of Aesthetics, the Portrayal of Women, Dada and the Surrealists, Gide, etc. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: 311 or 312. Staff. 4
Texts in French: Genres (FREN-331). In this course, students will discuss and analyze French and Francophone texts (taken in the broad definition, including the written text, film, music) through the common thread of genre such as Novels, Theatre, Film, Short Stories, Poetry and Opera. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: 311 or 312. Staff. 4
Directed Study (FREN-361). Staff. 1-4
Directed Study (FREN-362). Staff. 1-4
Independent Study (FREN-363). Staff. 1-4
Independent Study (FREN-364). Staff. 1-4
Advanced Topics in French (FREN-399). A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit. Staff. 1-4
Seminar in French (FREN-418). Advanced study of special topics in language, literature or culture. Conducted in French. Prerequisite: one advanced course beyond 311-312. Must be taken in senior year. Staff. 4
Senior Research (FREN-451). Staff. 4
Senior Research (FREN-452). Staff. 4