French Language & Literature
The French program at New College offers courses at all levels of French language and courses and tutorials on French and Francophone literature, both in English translation and in the original. Literature course offerings change each year and include surveys and studies of a particular author, genre, or theme, from medieval chansons through twenty-first-century fiction. Recently offered courses include Double Stories: Historic/Heuristic Fictions; World War II France in Film and Fiction; Proust's Remembrance of Things Past; The Twentieth-Century French Novel; The French Renaissance: Humanism and Humor; Twentieth-Century Drama; Literary Movements of the Nineteenth Century; Giving Voice to Identity: Francophone Literatures from the Americas; Beyond the Hexagon: the Politics of Francophone Literature; L’ amour interdit; Le rire à travers les siècles; and Contes et Conteurs.
Students who complete an Area of Concentration in French with a literary focus are required to have a high level of proficiency in spoken and written French, as demonstrated by the completion of Advanced French or the equivalent, and strongly satisfactory evaluations in courses conducted in French. Students are strongly encouraged to arrange an Independent Study Project or off-campus semester in a French-speaking country or region. For a concentration in French Literature, students: 1) need to demonstrate, by means of courses and tutorials, familiarity with literature of different genres and historic periods; 2) must complete one course or tutorial in literary theory; 3) are encouraged to undertake relevant course work in related fields, such as history, art history, music, philosophy, or political science. While each student's course of study will reflect his or her own interests and talents, an Area of Concentration in French will generally comprise eight to ten semester-long courses or tutorials and a thesis with a French focus, although it may be written in English or French.
