Site web: http://www.longwood.edu/staff/edwardswa/courses.htm

Required Texts
*  Bernardin de Saint-Pierre.  Paul et Virginie.  Paris: Gallimard, 1984.
*  Marie de France.  Lais.   Paris: Gallimard, 2000.
*  Corneille, Pierre de.  Le Cid.  Paris: Larousse, 2003.
*  Racine, Jean.  Phèdre.  Paris: Larousse, 2003.
*  Photocopies containing supplemental readings will also be posted on electronic reserve.  The course password is gloire.
*  All students at this level should also own a substantial, hardback French-English dictionary, and may consider purchasing the Bescherelle 1: La Conjugaison Pour Tous, available at the bookstore. 

Course Description
An introductory survey of literature in French.  Students will study representative texts written between the12th and 18th centuries in order to highlight the principal literary, historical, and cultural currents of the period. This is a course conducted entirely in French.  For a list of useful classroom expressions, click here.

Course Objectives
1.  At the beginning of the semester students will learn a literary vocabulary which will allow them to discuss in a reflective and sophisticated way major writings of the period.  Students will review the elements of French versification and investigate the contemporary philosophies and movements that influenced the poets and writers of the period.

2.  Students will also study the art of explication de texte, a particularly French method for analyzing short literary passages.  To analyze a text is to look for connections in its different elements--its sounds, words, images, characters, functions, and underlying assumptions.  These connections ultimately lead to the text's structure, philosophy, and, we may presume, its potential meaning.

3.  Students will learn to read early French texts of varying complexity, clarity, and form.

4.  Students will learn to write professional and precise essays that critique the texts at hand.

5.  Students will practice speaking about French literature to others who are familiar with the texts under consideration.  Twice during the semester, students will present a poem or scene to the class, explain its interests and artistry, and open a discussion about its significance.

6.  Finally, the course will serve tangentially as an introduction to French cultural and political history of the the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Classical era, and the Enlightenment.

 Course Requirements
1. Attendance, preparation, and participation. Attendance and participation are mandatory and will account for 15% of the student’s final grade.  For purposes of notation, “participation” is defined as physical attendance, obvious preparation, active contribution to in-class discussions, and willingness to speak French.  Students who speak English will be penalized.  As stated in the student handbook, “Students are expected to attend all classes.  Failure to attend class regularly impairs academic performance.  [Moreover,] absences are disruptive to the educational process for others.  This is especially true when absences cause interruption for clarification of material previously covered, failure to assume assigned responsibilities for class presentations, or failure to adjust to changes in assigned material or due dates.”  If the student misses 10% of the scheduled class meetings for unexcused absences, the instructor reserves the right to lower that student’s course grade by no more than one letter grade.  The instructor also reserves the right to assign a course grade of “F” when a student has missed a total (excused and unexcused) of 25% of the scheduled class meetings.  Absences will be excused only for the following reasons: illness, participation in a university-sponsored activity, religious holiday, or recognizable emergency.  Absences will not be excused for court dates, transportation scheduling, or doctor’s appointments.  

2.  Reading questions.  It is critical that students prepare each reading thoroughly for class discussion.  Readings will inevitably contain several unfamiliar words.  Particularly when reading poetry, students should look up every unfamiliar word.  To reward and encourage close readings, students will turn in homework questions every week.  These assignments will be graded for completion and accuracy.   Missed assignments may not be made up.  

3.  Exposés.  Twice during the semester, students will be responsible for opening class discussion on the day's reading.  Students should present an assigned reading to the class by reading it aloud, discussing its interesting parts and its versification, situating it within its literary movement, and opening a debate about its meaning.  When discussing theater, students should be able to act out the scene under review.  Exposés should last about 12-15 minutes.  Students will be assigned a reading well in advance and graded according to specific guidelines.  Exposés must be delivered on the day assigned, and may serve, at the student's discretion, as a springboard for the writing assignments.  Click here for exposé guidelines.

4.  Essays.  Students will write 4 short papers of 500 words each.  Topics will be assigned for each paper.  Each will require an analysis of the recent readings, and will provide students the opportunity to connect various readings with the theme of the course: "Love, Honor, and the Art of Seduction."  Late papers will be penalized.

5.  Mid term and Final exam.  Both exams will require students to define key concepts and to identify specific passages and authors.  

6.  Honor code.  Students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the Longwood University Honor Code.  All work submitted for the class must be pledged.

Grading.  The student’s course grade will be determined by the following percentages:

Programme du cours