Automne 2007

French 301 - French Conversation.
TTH 1:45-3:00. 3 credits.
Maria Adamowicz-Hariasz.

Your writing skills in French are already good and your reading comprehension is excellent. You can follow and participate in a simple conversation in French but you still struggle to express yourself clearly in more complex situations. This course will help you to develop confidence in speaking; improve your listening skills; enrich and refine your vocabulary, including idiomatic expressions; discover strategies to ‘buy time’ or to ‘keep the floor’; go beyond simple description and narration; become more confident in handling unknown situations and topics, hypothesize, and defend/support opinions.

Prerequisite: Intermediate French 202 or equivalent.

French 305 - Introduction to French Literature : "Original Sin: Lust and Lamentation."
TTH . 3 credits. Jeanne-Hélène Roy.

This class will focus on representations of sexuality in texts from the Middle Ages through the Eighteenth Century. As we examine French works of the Medieval, Renaissance, Classical, and Enlightenment eras, we shall consider the ways in which each author paints his or her portrait of human desire. Is sex something that is "natural" and therefore sanctioned by society? The result of original sin and therefore evil and inadmissible--or at least not to be discussed at the dinner table? Were male and female desire viewed and/or represented in similar fashions? What criteria--if any--were imposed by the Church, the State, and the public at large to distinguish between so-called "normal" sexuality and its "aberrant" counterparts. How do these boundaries compare with those placed by today's society, both in France and the United States? If certain sexual notions or practices were deemed inappropriate, how were they punished? Authors read will include, but not be limited to, Louise Labé, Racine, Mme. de Lafayette, Voltaire, Diderot, and the Marquis de Sade. Class time will consist of both lectures and student presentations. Outside work will involve reading, short writing assignments, occasional quizzes, and a final paper.

Prerequisite: 301 or equivalent.

French 352 - Business Translation.
MWF 12:05-12:55. Robert Jeantet.

The simple act of translating a word or phrase from one language to another does not constitute translation, which must address not only vocabulary but also conventional forms and cultural context as well as linguistic connotations. The phrase "la carte des vins ne laisse rien à désirer" translates directly into an expression of despair, whereas its true meaning conveys quite the opposite. This example shows the importance of understanding and translating not only the words, but also of interpreting the deeper meaning conveyed by the entire phrase within its cultural and semantic context.

The course will address different aspects of translation, from working techniques ( use of the dictionary, exercises in enrichment of vocabulary, rephrasing...) to interpretation of texts in both a form-based and a cultural context. We will learn conventional phrases and textual forms used in business correspondence as well as promotional materials, tourist brochures, websites, etc. We will also look at the shortcomings of machine translation which will not, for the foreseeable future, replace a thinking human brain.

Prerequisite: 301 or equivalent.