Spring Quarter 2025

For day, time, room, and TA information, see our PDF Schedule or the class search tool https://registrar-apps.ucdavis.edu/courses/search/index.cfm.
For all courses not described here, please refer to the General Catalog course descriptions: https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/courses-subject-code/fre

Language Courses

FRE 001Y-003Y: Elementary French
FRE 021Y-023Y: Intermediate French
See Placement Guide or Catalog Descriptions

Undergraduate Courses

FRE 100 Composition in French
Julia Simon (CRN 41608)

FRE 128 The Terror, the Guillotine, and the Undead
Zack Scovel (CRN 55431)
It’s September 1793, and King Louis XVI has already been guillotined. The Committee of Public Safety has already taken charge of government, and the Reign of Terror commences with the guillotine as a symbol of fear that lasts well into the following century. Through a variety of readings, we will discuss the ways in which the Terror’s use of the guillotine infiltrated the French imaginary on a psychic, social and political level––so far as to creep its way into the literary scene through depictions of the undead in the nineteenth century. Prerequisite: FRE 100 or permission of the instructor
GE: AH, WC, WE

A flyer for FRE 128, with black and white art of a guillotine and a floating head

FRE 130 From Page to Stage: Theatre and Theatricality
Zack Scovel (CRN 55342)

In this course, students will gain the experience of rehearsing and performing a French play for a live audience. We will discuss all basic aspects required for such an endeavor and students will be able to fill a variety of roles from acting to technical theatre based on preference and need of the chosen play. Class time will be devoted to the discussion of theatre practicum and rehearsal for the final performance. Don’t miss out on putting your French to use in a new and exciting way!
Prerequisite FRE 100 or permission of the instructor
GE: AH, WC, WE

A flyer for 130, a classic painting of a crowded theater with many box seats and an elaborate set

FRE 141 Epistolary Fictions
Tobias Warner (CRN 41611)

In this course we will read four short novels that are written like letters. Together, we will explore how authors from the 18th to the 21st centuries have used the form of the epistolary novel to experiment with public and private identities, speak out on various forms of injustice, and question the terms in which marginalized voices can be heard. Alongside in-class discussion and a few short papers, we will discover letter writing as a practice from the inside with several creative writing assignments. Readings by Abdellah Taïa, Mariama Bâ, Françoise de Graffigny, and David Diop.
FRE 141 may be retaken for credit if you have taken this number previously with a different topic. Prerequisite FRE 100 or permission of the instructor. GE: AH, WC, WE.

A flyer for FRE 141. A hand holding a long pen, and a painting of a woman writing a letter, thinking.

Graduate Courses

FRE 215 Topics in French & Francophone Film
Tobias Warner (CRN 55433)