FREN-BA - French

The mission of the French/Francophone program is to prepare our students to navigate successfully in French in a global, linguistic and cultural context, in France and in a French-speaking country. First, the French Program strives to teach students to speak, read, and write a language other than English and to use that language to apprehend and respond to the cultures appertaining to these languages. Our students are trained to identify, discuss, and analyze the foundations of the French and Francophone literatures and to attain a deeper understanding of different literary periods, their most representative works and their authors. Additionally, the program strives to make the students understand the historical development of one or more non-US societies, the historical evolution of the French language, its culture, and its society and establish a connection with today's global societies. The French Program also aims to equip the students with the grammatical, linguistic, and cultural knowledge required for their professional careers through a variety of courses. Our students are introduced to an enriching, challenging intellectual and cultural life and are encouraged to spend a semester in France or a French speaking country through the Study Abroad Program to improve their linguistic, cultural and oral skills as well as their understanding and appreciation of the literature and civilization particular to French.

French Program Goals

1. Obtain general knowledge of main French literature periods and movements through a given historical period, its most representative masterpieces and their authors.

2. Obtain general knowledge of key authors and works of literature from the Caribbean, North African and Sub-Saharan Francophone countries.

3. Understand the orthography, morphology, and syntax, and literary forms used in a variety of French and Creole texts and popular cultural resources.

4. Analyze the role of history and colonialism in the emergence of a literature written in French, outside of France.

5. Develop communication skills in both speaking and writing in French as well as in Creole.

The French Discipline offers a two-track sequence of three courses at the intermediate level, one for native speakers of French and one for non-native speakers of French. The goal of this sequence (French 103, 104 and 105) is to provide students with the instruction and practice they require in order to be successful in French 106 and the advanced courses, where native speakers and non-native speakers will study together. Placement in the appropriate course level and track will be determined by the Discipline through its placement procedures.

The French major has been designed to reflect recent literary scholarship. Our program prepares students for graduate school as well and for various careers. Students may prepare for careers in Childhood Education 1-6; Childhood education 1-6, with Bilingual Extension; and Adolescence Education 7-12. French majors can also design a program that will allow them to pursue careers in public service and business.