MINOR IN FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE STUDIES

The Minor in French and Francophone Studies consists of a total of 15 credits. The student will take four required courses (12 credits) and one elective course (3 credits). Total credit hours: 15. No minimum grade but overall 2.0 in courses must be obtained.

Our goal with the Minor in French and Francophone Studies is to give you a broad knowledge of French language, history, and culture while strengthening your language skills (speaking, reading, writing, listening comprehension, and grammar.) You can start your minor after FRE 2200 or an equivalent. The required courses of the Minor cover the fundamental aspects of French culture and language: civilization, literature, conversation and cinema, and composition. All courses are taught in French. See below for a full description of courses.

For your elective, you may choose any other FRE 3000, 4000 or 5000 course. For instance, you may choose to learn about the Francophone World, deepen your knowledge of French literature or take a course in French business. You can also choose to study abroad in France, which will provide you with a firsthand experience of French life, culture, and language!

A minor in French and Francophone studies at USF Saint Petersburg will give you a strong foundation for your career, your life, or any major.

REQUIRED COURSES (12)

FRE 2201 French IV (3) Prerequisite: FRE 2200 or equivalent.

Textbook: Moments littéraires: An Anthology for Intermediate French,2nd Edition, Bette G. Hirsch, Chantal P. Thompson. ISBN-10: 0618527737, ISBN-13: 978-0618527731, 2006.

French IV is an introduction to French and Francophone literature. In this course you will read texts from the Middle Ages to the 21st century and you will have an overview of literary movements and periods. You will strengthen your reading, writing, analytical, and speaking skills in this course as well as enrich your vocabulary. Why study French and Francophone literature? Apart from being one of the world literatures, French literature is also at the core of “Frenchness” or French and Francophone identity for various historical, cultural, and political reasons (nation and empire building, educational system). You will better grasp French and Francophone cultures when you learn about canonical authors and their masterpieces and literary movements. If you have never heard of Rabelais, Descartes, La Fontaine, Molière, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Ionesco, Sartre, Césaire, Chamoiseau, Senghor, Ben Jelloun, this course if for you. Literature is probably one of the most fascinating and fundamental aspect of French culture.

FRE 2241 Conversation I (3) Prerequisite: FRE 1121 or equivalent.

Textbook: Septième Art,1st Edition,David Aldstadt, Jean-Louis Hippolyte, ISBN-10:1413016448, ISBN-13:9781413016444, 2008.

French cinema is internationally recognized. You probably know French actors Gérard Depardieu and Audrey Tautou, but have you heard about Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani, Louis de Funès, Jean Gabin, Emmanuel Béart? French conversation will give you practical strategies and vocabulary to drastically improve your fluency in speaking French and will introduce you to the history of French cinema from the Frères Lumière scenes (1897) to "Amélie Poulain" (2001). Selected French films will expose you to various cultural and historical contexts and will be the basis of conversation practice. You will learn about well-known French directors such as Renoir (30’s); Cocteau, Carné (40’s); Godard, Resnais, Truffaut (50-60’s);  Besson, Malle,  Kassovitz, Jeunet, Klapisch (80-90’s); and you will be introduced to African directors such as Sembène Ousmane and French-Algerian Yamina Benguigui.

FRE 3420 Composition I (3) Prerequisite: FRE 2200 or equivalent.

Textbook: Tâches d'encre: French Composition,2nd Edition, ISBN-10: 0618230475, ISBN-13: 9780618230471, 2004.

This course will strengthen your writing skills in a variety of genres and styles such as description, portrait, narration, essay, and letter, while introducing you to various French authors (Michel Tournier, Simone de Beauvoir, Camus, Apollinaire, etc.). It will provide a review of stylistic and linguistic notions to help you vary or nuance your expression. You will also learn about and practice traditional French writing genres such as dissertation (French argumentative essay), compte-rendu (report), explication de texte (text analysis). These genres form the core requirements of French in the Baccalauréat, the high school final exam. This course will enrich your vocabulary and writing techniques, while giving you an insider’s look at the French’s rhetorical formation.

FRE 3500 French Civilization (3) Prerequisite: FRE 2200 or equivalent.

Textbook: La France contemporaine, William Edmiston, Annie Duménil, ISBN-10:1428231234, ISBN-13:9781428231238, 4thEdition,2010.

In this course you will learn about many cultural aspects of contemporary France: Paris, regions and regional languages, the European Union, France’s social system, political and social life, religions, immigration, business and technology, media, and education. Frequent incursions will be made into the history of France’s civilization (Gaul, French kings, religious wars, the French revolution, Napoleon, colonization, etc.) to better understand French society today.

ELECTIVES (3)

Any FRE or FRW 3000, 4000, or 5000 level course not listed above. Example of courses students may take (the list is not comprehensive):

FRE 3502 The Francophone World (3) Prerequisite: FRE 2200 or equivalent.

Textbook: Civilisation progressive de la francophonie avec 500 activités, Noutchié Njiké, Jackson. Paris: CLE International, 2003. ISBN-10: 2090339454, ISBN-13: 978-2090339451.

This course offers a cultural overview of the main French speaking cultures throughout the world, outside of France: French Canada, the Caribbean, Belgium, Switzerland, the Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Louisiana.In this course you will learn about geography, politics, history, as well as social, cultural, and linguistic aspects of these Francophone regions. For instance, you will learn about:  African griots; Cajun history and culture; Malian emperor Soundiata Keita;  world famous singers such as Salif Keïta, Umm Kulthum, Khaled, Zachary Richard; writers (Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, etc.); political figures (Lumumba, Mohammed VI, Toussaint Louverture, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot, etc.); music genres (Zouglou, Zouk, Raï, etc.); wars and conflicts (Algerian war, Indochina war, Rwandan genocide, etc.); as well as economical and religious issues (Nana-Benz, Imragen fishers, Touba city, marabouts). This course will also offer an overview of the history of French (post)colonialism and the development of Francophonie as a world institution with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

FRE 3470 Overseas Study (1-6) Departmental approval required.

This course is a wonderful opportunity for you to go to France with your instructor, consolidate your knowledge, and put into practice what you have learned in real life situations while visiting some of the most beautiful monuments and museums in the world.

FRE 3234 Reading in French Literature and Culture (3) Prerequisite: FRE 2201 or equivalent.

This course will be organized thematically to introduce you to fundamental issues in French culture. Selected writings (novels, theater, and/or poetry) and/or films will constitute the basis for discussion and writing. Course content may vary from year to year. Issues include the following: Immigration writing in France, women writers, autobiographies, love narratives, novels into/and film, (post)colonial writing, French theater, historical novels, French science fiction, etc.

FRE 3440 French For Business (3) Prerequisite: FRE 2200 or equivalent.

Textbook: Parlons affaires!: Initiation au français économique et commercial, 2nd Edition, Berg,  ISBN-10: 1-4130-0588-8, ISBN-13: 978-1-4130-0588-2, 2006.

This course will introduce you to le monde des affaires, the business world in France. It will introduce professional practices and develop your vocabulary. It will also give you the cultural background you need to conduct successful transactions by helping you avoid cultural faux pas in a commercial situation. Additional information on Québec will help you understand French business practices in North America.