FREN 212 - Cross-cultural Perspectives on the Francophone World

Credits: (3)
Prerequisite(s): FREN 202 or FREN 206 or placement by Achievement Test score or by department
College Curriculum: COLL 300
Domain (Anchored): ALV
This course provides an introduction to Francophone studies through an examination of the colonial and postcolonial francophone world. Organized thematically rather than geographically, the course will investigate how French colonization, along with the French language, impacted the former French colonies and how artists (writers, filmmakers, singers) were affected by the changes and sometimes embraced them in a complex and creative way. In the second segment of the course, we will also examine the role colonization played in the make-up of French culture and identity. Our analysis will be based on a number of short readings drawn from a variety of non-literary and literary sources. This course is also intended to prepare students for upper-level coursework in French by offering practice in reading, writing, listening and speaking skills and in critical analysis. While not primarily focused on grammar, the course will include a review of key grammatical points and introduce students to more complex sentence structures. The course is exclusively taught in French.