SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS

 

  

FRE 250L111: French Culture and Thought                                                    Claire Keith

              Monday, Thursday: 9:30 AM -10:45AM                                                      Fall 2009

 

OFFICE HOURS:         Monday:  3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

                                    Wednesday: 4:00 PM – 5:00PM

                        Thursday:   1:00 AM - 2:00 PM

                                    Other days: by appointment only

                                                

TELEPHONE:  Office: ext 2267

                   Home: (845) 679 71 40

E-MAIL:          claire.keith@marist.edu

 

COURSE WEBPAGE: http://mlc.la.marist.edu (Click “Learning resources” and select course as needed)  .

Note:  The Workplan with updated assignments is on the course webpage and should be consulted for every session.

 

COMMUNICATIONS: Students must use their Marist Foxmail account (http://www.marist.edu/it/resnet/foxmail.html) for exchanges with the instructor,

and check it once a day. Given the poor identification of personalized email addresses, I cannot accommodate them in my address book.

 

Required texts:

    -  Steele & StOnge. La Civilisation française en évolution. Thomson-Heinle.

    -  A good French-English dictionary, such as Larousse, Cassell or Robert.

The online dictionary www.wordreference.com is also accepted.

-          A reference grammar of your choice. The online grammar http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/ is also accepted.

-           Supplemental photocopies, distributed in class.

 

Objectives of the course:

The course is designed as an interdisciplinary survey of France’s past from its origins to the beginning of the XXth century.  Our textbook is therefore structured thematically, to draw attention to the parallel evolution of thought, social life, political frames, art and architecture that make France what it is today.   While we will maintain overall a chronological view, our primary objective is to bring to light the manner in which the past has shaped, and is still strongly influencing the modern French consciousness:  We will thus, at the end of each section of our historical study, consolidate this understanding by creating together a short, two-column reference chart called “Hier, Aujourd’hui”.  Landscape, architecture, cultural traditions, major political upheavals and artistic legacies will all be studied with the help of readings, sound and visual documents, and contemporary Internet resources. 

Like all courses in our department, French Culture and Thought also supports the continued study of the French language. We will regularly select small passages in our readings for close linguistic review and will secure our gains with small quizzes on vocabulary, syntax and finer points of grammar.

 

Outcomes Assessments.

Our specific objectives, over which we will measure and grade your progress are:

I – COURSE CONTENT

-          evidence that you have become familiar with the timeline of France’s essential historical periods and pivotal moments.  We will test your knowledge of some dates and your ability to associate without hesitation various periods with a comprehensive set of cultural and historical references.

-          - evidence that you have acquired for the long term and in depth a knowledge of some events, historical figures, and  literary works that have gained a iconic value in French culture.

-          Evidence that you can analyze the relation between past events and current French practices, and recognize how a nation constantly  “recycles” its past history to meet the demands of contemporary time.

-          II – LANGUAGE STUDY

-          Evidence that you have assimilated the vocabulary encountered in our reading and our class discussions.

-           Evidence that you have improved your ability to read complex texts in French.

 

We will test and grade these as follows:

- Notes on regular readings, including occasional vocabulary quizzes, that support your class participation (25%):

- three tests (30%)

- one individual research to be conducted over the second half of the semester, and presented in a multimedia format (Web or Power Point, audio and video excerpts if desired) with an accompanying written report. (20%)

- one take-home final examination (25%).

 

Class policies:

 

Attendance: Please attend all classes unless you are seriously ill or have a justified emergency.  The instructor must be notified before the class in question by E.mail or phonemail.  Should a student miss a class, it is his/her responsibility to get the notes they missed, as well as the assignments for next class. More than three absences in the semester, save for exceptional cases, will affect permanently the final grade and may result in a failing grade.

 

Plagiarism and use of computer translation: Please see the Marist College Handbook for the College’s policy on plagiarism. Students are expected to perform all written work on their own and not to use computer translation services such as Google’s Systran for written assignments unless specifically assigned by the instructor. It is easily apparent to any instructor if a student has relied on machine translation to write the bulk of a composition. If that should be the case, the assigned grade will be an F. 

Note: The use of good online dictionaries, such as www.wordreference.com   is not only permitted but encouraged.

 

Writing: All assignments should be edited at least to the point of readability. Work that is difficult to read because of unverified spelling, basic grammar errors or poor handwriting will have to be rewritten within 24 hours after being returned by the instructor.

 

Extra points: An extra half letter point can be earned by dedicated class participation (participation in each class).

 

Snow Policy/Class Cancellation Procedure: The college’s decision to cancel day classes because of inclement weather will be made by 7 AM. In addition to checking Marist’s homepage or calling Marist’s “weather hot-line” at 575-5500 for class cancellations, please consult your email and the course page at http://mlc.la.marist.edu , where I will inform you of any delay that I may also have encountered, as I live far away from campus..  

 

 

BON SEMESTRE!