Spring 2018

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 French 001. Elementary French (5 units)
Supervisor: Prof. Julia Simon, jsimon@ucdavis.edu

 Section

 Instructor

 Days/Times

 Location

 CRN

  001

  Poonam Vaya

  MTWRF 9:00-9:50A

  103 Wellman Hall

  64093

  002

  Emeline Diolot

  MTWRF 10:00-10:50A

  103 Wellman Hall   64094

Description: Presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of French as well as cultural information about the French-speaking world (textbook chapters 1 to 6); in-class interactive exercises and out-of-class assignments for practice in using the language for listening and reading comprehension, writing, and speaking. French is the exclusive means of communication in class. The course meets five hours per week, with 20-25 students per section. Daily homework assignments are completed using iLrn, an online platform.  Additional materials are posted to Canvas.

Prerequisite: No previous study of French is assumed. Students who have never studied French (or who have had fewer than two years of French in high school and do not place into French 002) should enroll in French 001. Students with two or more years of French in high school may only take this course for a Pass/ No Pass grade.

Course Grade: The final grade for the course will be determined by daily preparation and participation (10%), homework (15%), quizzes (10%), written composition (10%), oral quizzes (5%), oral exam (10%), 6 chapter tests (30%), and comprehensive final exam (10%).

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and World Cultures.

Format: Discussion - 5 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Textbook:

  • Kimberly Jansma and Margaret Ann Kassen, Motifs: An Introduction to French Enhanced Package [6th Edition]  (Heinle Cengage, 2013)

French 002. Elementary French (5 units)
Supervisor: Prof. Julia Simon, jsimon@ucdavis.edu

 Section

 Instructor

 Days/Times

 Location

 CRN

  001

  Jai Apate

  MTWRF 9:00-9:50A

  1120 Hart Hall

  64095

  002

  Vanessa Brutsche

  MTWRF 11:00-11:50A

  103 Wellman Hall   64096

Description: Presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of French as well as cultural information about the French-speaking world (textbook chapters 7 to 11); in-class interactive exercises and out-of-class assignments for practice in using the language for listening and reading comprehension, writing, and speaking. French is the exclusive means of communication in class. The course meets five hours per week, with 20-25 students per section. Course materials (other than the textbook and workbook) and daily homework assignments are available through Canvas.

Course Grade: The final grade for the course will be determined by daily preparation and participation (10%), homework (15%), quizzes (10%), written composition (10%), oral quizzes (5%), oral exam (10%), 4 chapter tests (30%), and comprehensive final exam (10%).

Prerequisite: French 001 or Language Placement Exam (any student, regardless of previous experience studying French, may take this course for a letter or Pass/ No Pass grade.)

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and World Cultures.

Format: Discussion - 5 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Textbook:

  • Kimberly Jansma and Margaret Ann Kassen, Motifs: An Introduction to French Enhanced Package [6th Edition]  (Heinle Cengage, 2013)

French 003. Elementary French (5 units)
Supervisor: Prof. Julia Simon, jsimon@ucdavis.edu

 Section

 Instructor

 Days/Times

 Location

 CRN

  001

  Zack Scovel

  MTWRF 9:00-9:50A

  1006 Giedt Hall

  64097

  002

  Kirstie Zehring

  MTWRF 10:00-10:50A

  1006 Giedt Hall   64098

  003

  Kyle Patterson

  MTWRF 12:10-1:00P

  1060 Bainer Hall   64099

  004

  Kyrie Foster

  MTWRF 11:00-11:50A

  107 Wellman Hall   64100

Description: Presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of French as well as cultural information about the French-speaking world (textbook chapters 12 to 16); in-class interactive exercises and out-of-class assignments for practice in using the language for listening and reading comprehension, writing, and speaking. French is the exclusive means of communication in class. The course meets five hours per week, with 20-25 students per section. Course materials (other than the textbook and workbook) and daily homework assignments are available through Canvas.

Course Grade: The final grade for the course will be determined by daily preparation and participation (10%), homework (15%), quizzes (10%), written composition (10%), oral quizzes (5%), oral exam (10%), 4 chapter tests (30%), and comprehensive final exam (10%).

Prerequisite: French 002 or Language Placement Exam (any student, regardless of previous experience studying French, may take this course for a letter or Pass/ No Pass grade.)

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and World Cultures.

Format: Discussion - 5 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Textbook:

  • Kimberly Jansma and Margaret Ann Kassen, Motifs: An Introduction to French Enhanced Package [6th Edition]  (Heinle Cengage, 2013)

French 021. Intermediate French (5 units)
Supervisor: Prof. Julia Simon, jsimon@ucdavis.edu

Aubrey Gabel

MTWR 10:00-10:50A
1120 Hart Hall
CRN 64101

Description: Presentation and analysis of the cultures of the French-speaking world (Paris, Quebec, Tahiti, Lyon, Northern Africa) and comparison to home culture; review of the basic grammar presented in first-year French; expansion of vocabulary related to city living, history/geography, the arts, food/cooking, and family life (textbook chapters 1 to 5). In-class presentations and activities, as well as out-of-class assignments, are conducted solely in French and focus on the development of listening and reading comprehension, writing, and speaking skills. The course meets four hours per week, plus an additional hour of independent web-based work, with 20-25 students per section. Course materials (other than the textbook and workbook) and daily homework assignments are available through Canvas.

Course Grade: The final grade for the course will be determined by daily preparation and participation, homework, and one in-class composition per chapter (5 x 13% = 85%), an oral final exam (5%), and a written final exam (10%).

Prerequisite: French 001A or French 003 or Language Placement Exam (any student, regardless of previous experience studying French, may take this course for a letter or Pass/ No Pass grade.)

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, Oral Literacy, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture/Discussion - 4 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Textbook:

  • Jean Marie Schultz and Marie-Paul Tranvouez, Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections [2nd Edition] Package  (Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014)
     

French 022. Intermediate French (5 units)
Supervisor: Prof. Julia Simon, jsimon@ucdavis.edu

Aubrey Gabel

MTWR 11:00-11:50A
1120 Hart Hall
CRN 64102

Description: Presentation and analysis of the cultures of the French-speaking world (Senegal, Martinique, Geneva, Strasbourg, Brussels) and comparison to home culture; review of the basic grammar presented in first-year French; expansion of vocabulary related to commerce, tourism, sports and leisure, politics, and modern technology (textbook chapters 6 to 10). In-class presentations and activities, as well as out-of-class assignments, are conducted solely in French and focus on the development of listening and reading comprehension, writing, and speaking skills. The course meets four hours per week, plus an additional hour of independent web-based work, with 25 students per section. Course materials (other than the textbook and workbook) and daily homework assignments are available through Canvas.

Course Grade: The final grade for the course will be determined by daily preparation and participation, homework, and one in-class composition per chapter (5 x 13% = 85%), an oral final exam (5%), and a written final exam (10%).

Prerequisite: French 021 or Language Placement Exam (any student, regardless of previous experience studying French, may take this course for a letter or Pass/ No Pass grade.)

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, Oral Literacy, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture/Discussion - 4 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Textbook:

  • Jean Marie Schultz and Marie-Paul Tranvouez, Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections [2nd Edition] Package  (Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014)
     

French 023. Intermediate French (5 units)
Supervisor: Prof. Julia Simon, jsimon@ucdavis.edu

 Section

 Instructor

 Days/Times

 Location

 CRN

  001

  Vanessa Brutsche

  MTWR 9:00-9:50A

  107 Wellman Hall

  64103

  002

  Vanessa Brutsche

  MTWR 10:00-10:50A

  107 Wellman Hall   64104

Description: The goals in this course are to advance your comprehension and use of the French language, with a particular focus on writing skills. Structured reading, analysis, discussion and writing assignments will enable you to increase your vocabulary, improve your oral and aural proficiency, solidify your mastery of grammatical structures, and develop greater ease and sophistication in written and spoken expression.

Prerequisite: French 022 or Language Placement Exam (any student, regardless of previous experience studying French, may take this course for a letter or Pass/ No Pass grade.)

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, Oral Literacy, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture/Discussion - 4 hours; Laboratory - 1 hour.

Textbooks:

  • Jean Marie Schultz and Marie-Paul Tranvouez, Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections [2nd Edition] Package  (Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014)
  • Jean Anouilh, Antigone  (Table Ronde, 2008)

French 100. Composition in French (4 units)
Tobias Warner

TR 10:30-11:50A
233 Wellman Hall
CRN 64129

Course Description: The primary goal at this level is to introduce students to the study of literature in French, which consists of two related introductions: to literature written in French and also to the critical study of literature. This is where French class becomes a literature class (i.e., the focus will be on literature and thus its language, but not on the foreignness of the language). Together we will read and discuss a variety of works, including novels, poetry, comics, essays and films. Students will develop interpretative and analytical skills with broad applicability and practice writing in French in a clear and persuasive manner. We will encounter a variety of expository and analytical writing styles, and emphasize organization, correct syntax, and vocabulary building.

Prerequisite: French 023.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Term Paper.

Textbooks:

  • Samuel Beckett, En Attendant Godot  (Editions de Minuit, 1952)
  • Roland Barthes, Mythologies  (Points, 2014)
  • Mariama Bâ, Une si longue lettre  (Le Serpent à Plumes, 2001)
  • Marjane Satrapi, Broderies  (L'Association, 2003)

French 105. Advanced French Grammar (4 units)
Julia Simon

MWF 10:00-10:50A
7 Wellman Hall
CRN 81756

Course Description: Understanding of, and extensive practice with, various grammatical structures in French. Focus on writing in both exercises and short compositions.

Prerequisite: French 023 or equivalent.

GE credit (Old): None.
GE credit (New): Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture - 3 hours; Writing.

Textbooks:

  • TBA

French 124. Post-Colonial and Francophone Literature (4 units)
Tobias Warner

TR 1:40-3:00P
107 Wellman Hall
CRN 82569

Course Description: This course will serve as an introduction to francophone literature and film. Together we will explore a variety of 20th-century works (fiction, poetry, film) from different geographical locations (including the Caribbean, the Maghreb, and sub-Saharan Africa). How did francophone artists working in the colonial period try to imagine new forms of belonging, and make new claims on notions of rights, citizenship, and autonomy? How have francophone works engaged with the history of how non-European peoples have been depicted in French literature and art? How have postcolonial francophone texts and films sought to reopen the question of who can speak for the nation, and in what terms? The goal of this course is to familiarize students with some of the major authors, works and movements of francophone literature and film, while cultivating through a variety of assignments the necessary vocabulary for critical reading, viewing and writing.

Prerequisite: French 100 or consent of instructor (tdwarner@ucdavis.edu).

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities and Social-Cultural Diversity.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Format: Lecture/Discussion - 3 hours; Term Paper.

Textbooks:

  • Ferdinand Oyono, Une vie de boy  (Poche, 2006)
  • Aimé Césaire, The Collected Poetry, translated by Clayton Eshleman and Annette Smith  (University of California Press, 1984)
  • Fatou Diome, Le ventre de l'Atlantique  (Livre de Poche, 2005)

French 161. Linguistic Study of French - Form and Meaning (4 units)
Eric Russell

MWF 11:00-11:50A
7 Wellman Hall
CRN 81758

Description: This course is conceived of as the complement to French 109, which looks at phonetics and phonology (having taken French 109 is not required, though it is certainly beneficial). In French 161, we turn our attention to the ways meanings are created and structured in French: you will get an introduction to several foundational linguistic concepts, including:
  -  Morphology: form and structure of words
  -  Semantics: patterns and systems of meaning
  -  Syntax: the shape and logic of clauses and sentences
  -  Pragmatics: the regularities of language in contextual use, or “how to do things with language”

For each area, which is constructed as a unit within the quarter, you will learn basic terminology, engage with language data in different ways (comparison, fact finding, problem sets), and articulate reasoned answers to particular language questions (en français, des problèmes langagiers).

By the end of the quarter, you will have understood:
  -  Basic principles of linguistic description and explanation, as well as tenets of the discipline
  -  Fundamental linguistic terminology applicable to the four core areas of the course
  -  Key concepts pertaining to the form, structure and function of French morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics

By the end of the quarter, you will be able to:
  -  Describe, using pertinent terminology and giving useful examples, how French words are constructed, their patterns and characteristics
  -  Describe semantic regularities of French words and other concepts (e.g. phrasal expression), drawing comparisons in form and meaning to similar data in English [and perhaps another language you speak]
  -  Provide a basic analysis of French clauses and sentences, using appropriate terminology and models
  -  Critically evaluate and discuss French pragmatic structures, for example the interaction of lexical, morphological and syntactic forms/structures and context-specific, culturally-dependent meanings (e.g. conveying skepticism or politeness).

Unlike other courses, this is not a prescriptive one, i.e. the goal of the course is not that you emerge with a perfect or flawless mastery of French: of course, we will continue progress on your written/oral fluency, but this is not our intellectual target. Rather, I hope you will come to understand more of how French works as a logical, coherent system, including those components of French that are not standard, even if they are used by all/nearly all French speakers. Note also that we will proceed comparatively at points, demonstrating how French functions distinctly from English, as well as other languages (notably Spanish).

Prerequisite: French 100 or Linguistics 001/001Y.

GE credit (Old): Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences.
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences.

Format: Seminar - 3 hours; Term Paper.

Textbooks:

  • Readings will be made available online

GRADUATE COURSES


French 214. Women on Top and Bossy Bottoms (4 units)
Noah Guynn

R 2:10-5:00P
522 Sproul Hall
CRN 81759

Course Description: Since 1975, when Natalie Zemon Davis published her landmark essay “Women on Top,” feminists have focused a great deal of attention on the many abrasive, defiant, self-assertive female characters to be found in outwardly sexist forms of literary, theatrical, visual, and ritual culture. There has been good reason for them to do so, as these Women on Top offer a privileged vantage point from which we may observe the contested, dynamic nature of patriarchy.  While aesthetic depictions of shrews, scolds, gossips, and fishwives were clearly used to legitimize the subjection of real women, they also alert us to the fact that patriarchy is not an absolute, inflexible, or unchanging system of hegemonic control but is instead a moving equilibrium structured around a variety of negotiated, oppositional relations. Unfortunately, in our rush to revalue these Women on Top and bring to light the cultural and political tensions surrounding them, we have tended to neglect their more obedient but equally provocative sisters: Bossy Bottoms who manage to unsettle patriarchal ideologies by deliberately and ostentatiously choosing to subordinate themselves to a masculinist agenda. This seminar will focus on both of these character types, perceiving them as manifestations of the transactional and unstable nature of medieval and early modern marriage.  Readings for the course will include a range of medieval and early modern works in French, English, and Italian, including short fiction, romances, saints’ lives, conduct books, and comedies. All materials will be available in translation, and seminar discussions will be conducted in English. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor when different topic is studied.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing, consent of instructor (ndguynn@ucdavis.edu).

Format: Seminar - 3 hours.

Readings will include:

  • Marie de France, Les lais
  • Henri d’Andeli, Le lai d’Aristote
  • Chrétien de Troyes, Erec et Enide and Le chevalier de la charrette
  • A selection of Old French saints’ lives
  • Le mesnagier de Paris
  • Chaucer, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale and The Clerk’s Prologue and Tale
  • A selection of French farces
  • Machiavelli, La mandragola
  • Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

French 251. Discourses of Domination and Submission (4 units)
Eric Rusell

M 2:10-5:00P
522 Sproul Hall
CRN 81760

Course Description: This course will investigate so-called discourses of hate, specifically those that project their targets into positions of submission, while situating their authors in one of dominance. The messages of these discourse practices – whether targeting sexual and ethnic minorities, women, immigrants, or any other of a possibly infinite list of groups – are often easily felt, but pinned down only with difficulty, as their authors do not always resort to a list of words, but to much more sophisticated linguistic tools.

In this seminar, we will explore how one can begin to deconstruct such practices, calling on investigative methods and analytical constructs used in discourse analysis, cultural studies, and queer theory, among much else. Central to our journey will be the following questions:
  -  What is “hate speech” and how might this be understood or defined in different academic fields, including linguistics, sociolinguistics, cultural studies, and anthropology?
  -  How can we understand language, in the broadest sense, and these communicative acts, more specifically, as a force that harms or otherwise negatively affects others?
  -  How can we describe specific acts and their interpretation within linguistic, cognitive, and anthropological frameworks, among others?

Although we will be focusing on language, rather than other forms of animus, our approach will be eclectic, drawing on scholarship at the intersection of sociolinguistics, queer and feminist theories, discourse analysis, philosophy, and more.

Goals and Outcomes
By the end of the quarter, you are expected to have developed a critical understanding of:
  -  Different meanings and conceptualizations of discourse;
  -  The difficulties inherent to labeling discourse (or other language acts) as hate or hateful, as well as the imperatives associated to this;
  -  The complexity of both description and explanation of these acts, as well as the importance of such for their disruption;
  -  And the ways in which meta-linguistic discourse mediates description, explanation, and (eventual) disruption.

You will also be expected to be able to accomplish the following:
  -  Synthetically describe and analyze particular instances of hate speech;
  -  Succinctly articulate a grounded critique of different analyses/explanations of hate speech;
  -  Develop and refine, through writing practice, critical analytical postures.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of instructor (erussell@ucdavis.edu).

Format: Seminar - 3 hours; Term Paper.

Textbooks:

  • Readings will be made available online and chapter readings will be available on reserve at the library