Summer/Fall 2021 French course descriptions

Online, synchronous MTWR 10:30-1:55

Online, synchronous MTWR 10:00-12:30

Online, asynchronous

FREN 518-41: Sixteenth Century Seminar: “Performance Culture of Renaissance France” [30987]

This course will focus on the Performance Culture of Renaissance France (late fifteenth to early seventeenth century). Through our study of storytelling, theatrical, musical, and dance traditions, we will come to an appreciation of the visual, aural, textual, and performative culture of early modern France. From Carnaval and Fêtes des fous to royal entries and courtly ceremonies, this course will examine the intersections of the official and the unofficial; the “popular” and the courtly; the Parisian and the provincial; the oral and the textual; the secular and the religious. Conducted in French. Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students.

Online, asynchronous

Elective for MA French Studies or MA French Translation; does not count for Post-BA Certificate in Translation

This course will help students master French speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing skills by capitalizing on the anticipated release of Season 2 of French television series Lupin (and the Arsene Lupin detective novels on which it was based) and incorporating virtual visits of some of the places the character travels. We will examine articles and short works from different registers of written and spoken genres: magazines, novels, cinema, literature, and podcasts. Each type of text will allow us to discuss and review in context particular elements of grammar and style. Possible “virtual study abroad” experience with students in France.

Pre-requisite: FREN121 or placement test score of “Advanced.” Formerly called “French Stylistics & Composition.”

The main objective of this course is to develop students’ reading and writing skills in French while providing insights into socio-cultural aspects of French and Francophone society through a variety of texts. The course will help students think more clearly and creatively about how to organize and present their thoughts, both syntactically and stylistically, and will encourage them to adopt the techniques of different genres of writing into their own.

Students will meet in person every other week; the remainder will be asynchronous online.

The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of French history and cultural development from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. We will proceed chronologically, examining historical, political, cultural, artistic, literary, and philosophical movements of each period in their interrelationship with each other.

How can a play have a cast of characters none of whom is alive? Jean-Paul Sartre’s Huis Clos is such a play. What is meant by “Absurd” in the context of plays grouped together as Theater of the Absurd? How can a play be but one-minute long and feature no characters? Or only a mouth on the stage? Such are Samuel Beckett’s Breath and Pas Moi. What are the primary preoccupations of modern French playwrights and why are they so significant? These are among the questions to be explored in this course in view of the challenge posed to traditional theatrical values by the entrance of philosophy onto the 20th century stage.

This class will involve the theory and practice of French-English and English-French translation in the following four disciplines: journalism, politics, literature, and economics/business. Our study will involve an examination of vocabulary, comparative sentence structure, grammar, and syntax, and how best to communicate ideas and imagery in both languages. We will also begin our study of translation theory and how to apply it to specific translation problems, exploring such concepts as: translation units; context; cognates; borrowing; calque; literal translation; degrees of freedom; translation loss; cultural issues; compensation; and genre.

This course will explore methods for teaching World Languages at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels. Students specializing in a variety of languages (French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Latin) will begin the semester together and focus on the best methods for implementing the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. Students will become familiar with all the modes of communication–interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational–and learn strategies for developing lesson plans and curriculum units that bring these modes to life. We will also consider the relationship between language and culture and how we as educators can foster connections both inside and outside the classroom. Other topics will include evaluating and choosing teaching materials; strategies for addressing the needs of different types of learners; classroom dynamics and management; and recent developments in technology and online instruction/remote learning. The final weeks of the course will be devoted to projects mentored by instructors in the individual target languages so students can see firsthand the practical implementation of the theoretical concepts.

This Translation Workshop course is geared towards the development of specific technical and practical skills in such specialized areas as business, marketing, and media translation between French and English, with special emphasis on the various skills needed in the handling of translation projects in today’s multi-mediatized and globalized economy. Students co-sitting the class in both FREN 452 and FREN 522 will be exposed to a variety of texts in both English and French that will reflect the types of contents and challenges likely to be encountered in real world practice, and will be given the analytical, cultural, and linguistic tools that should help them overcome such challenges and thrive as professional translators in the areas of business, marketing, and the media.

Are you interested in mediating between communities, cultures and systems? Do you think something gets “lost in translation”? Are you interested in what is gained by translation and interpreting? Who translates, what kinds of questions do they ask, what decisions do they make and why? Would you like to learn some of the skills and theories of the art and science of translating? If any of these questions pertain or appeal to you, register for FREN 503. All language pairings welcome! Questions? Write trubianom@montclair.edu

Delivered in English.

This course will explore methods for teaching World Languages at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels. Students from a wide variety of languages (French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Latin) will begin the semester together and focus on the best methods for implementing the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. Students will become familiar with all the modes of communication–interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational–and learn strategies for developing lesson plans and curriculum units that bring these modes to life. We will also consider the relationship between language and culture and how we as educators can foster connections both inside and outside the classroom. Other topics will include evaluating and choosing teaching materials; strategies for addressing the needs of different types of learners; classroom dynamics and management; and recent developments in technology and online instruction/remote learning. The final weeks of the course will be devoted to projects mentored by instructors in the individual target languages so students can see firsthand the practical implementation of the theoretical concepts.

This Translation Workshop course is geared toward the development of specific technical and practical skills in such specialized areas as business, marketing, and media translation between French and English, with special emphasis on the various skills needed in the handling of translation projects in today’s multi-mediatized and globalized economy. Students co-sitting the class in both FREN 452 and FREN 522 will be exposed to a variety of texts in both English and French that will reflect the types of contents and challenges likely to be encountered in real world practice, and will be given the analytical, cultural, and linguistic tools that should help them overcome such challenges and thrive as professional translators in the areas of business, marketing, and the media.

How can a play have a cast of characters none of whom is alive? Jean-Paul Sartre’s Huis Clos is such a play. What is meant by “Absurd” in the context of plays grouped together as Theater of the Absurd? How can a play be but one-minute long and feature no characters? Or only a mouth on the stage? Such are Samuel Beckett’s Breath and Pas Moi. What are the primary preoccupations of modern French playwrights and why are they so significant? These are among the questions to be explored in this course in view of the challenge posed to traditional theatrical values by the entrance of philosophy onto the 20th century stage.

Because this class is devoted to research and writing, emphasis will be placed on the skills that help students develop and refine their research skills such as searching scholarly information; understanding and using library and electronic resources; evaluating primary and secondary sources; developing research questions; conducting comprehensive literature reviews; learning and comprehending literary and critical methodologies, and more. These skills will be enhanced as each student develops an independent research project and produces at the end of the course a substantial research seminar paper.

Students will meet in person only every other week; the rest will be asynchronous online.

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