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Courses in French
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French
Non-foreign language majors who wish to take one or two upper-level classes only need to complete FREN 202, 205 or equivalent.

FREN 101-102 Elementary French
Continuous courses; 5 lecture/recitation hours. 4-4 credits. Elementary grammar, reading and oral drill.


Course Descriptions: FREN 101   FREN 102


FREN 110 Intensive French I
Semester course; 10 lecture and laboratory hours. 8 credits. This intensive course combines FREN 101 and 102 into a single semester.

FREN 201 Intermediate French
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Continuation of the essentials of grammar with emphasis on achieving proficiency in aural comprehension, speaking, reading and writing skills. In order to complete French through the intermediate level, a student must take FREN 202.
Course Description: FREN 201

FREN 202 Intermediate French Readings
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 201 or the equivalent. Designed to increase the student’s proficiency through the study of selected cultural and literary texts.
Course Description: FREN 202

FREN 205 Intermediate Conversation
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 201 or the equivalent. In order to complete French through the intermediate level, a student may select FREN 202 or 205. Designed to increase the student's proficiency in the spoken language through audio-oral exercises, dialogues and free conversation.


FREN 210 Intensive French II
Semester course; 6 lecture and laboratory hours per week. 6 credits. Prerequisites: successful completion of FREN 101 and 102, or FREN 110. This intensive course combines FREN 201 and 202/205 into a single semester.


FREN 295 Gateway to the French Major/Minor
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 201 or permission of instructor. Non-foreign language majors who wish to take one or two upper-level classes only need to complete FREN 202, 205 or equivalent. This course is composed of three different areas: 1) writing and analytical skills: enhancement of grammatical and writing skills and development of analytical techniques using a variety of texts; 2) improving students' oral communication; 3) listening skills: extensive use of recorded material and Language Learning Center resources to improve and enhance listening skills in a variety of authentic contexts.


FREN 300, 301 Advanced Grammar and Writing
Semester courses; 3 lecture hours. 3, 3 credits. Prerequisites: French courses through the intermediate level or equivalent. Conducted in French. A systematic review of French grammar with emphasis on the elements of style and vocabulary building; translation and composition.


FREN 305 Advanced Conversation
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisites: French courses through the intermediate level or equivalent. Conducted in French. Development of advanced oral skills while conversing about topics on current French culture and society. Proficiency in listening comprehension is stressed through regular activities based on a variety of different situations of communication.


FREN 307 French Conversation and Film
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisite: French through the intermediate level or the equivalent. The course is designed to develop the student's conversational skills, oral comprehension ability and knowledge of contemporary culture through discussion of selected French films. Emphasis is also placed on vocabulary development and writing practice.


FREN 320 French Civilization and Culture I
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. Prerequisites: French courses through the intermediate level or equivalent. Conducted in French. A survey of French civilization and culture from its origins to the French Revolution. Introduction to and analysis of the most important aspects of Gallo-Roman society and of the Merovingian, Carolingian and Capetian dynasties which influenced the institutions of the Ancien Regime and still serve as cultural archetypes and icons in contemporary French culture.


FREN 330, 331 Survey of Literature
Semester courses; 3 lecture hours. 3, 3 credits. Prerequisites: French courses through the intermediate level or equivalent. Conducted in French. First semester: through the 18th century. Second semester: 19th and 20th centuries.


FREN 410 Explication de Textes
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisites: two French courses at the 300 level or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. This course provides an introduction to terms encountered in text analysis: prosody, versification, rhetorical language, narratology and genres. It presents traditional and current schools of literary criticism and applies them to an interdisciplinary selection of texts. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 420 French Regional Culture
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 320 or 321 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. Focuses on the culture and civilization specific to each of France's 22 regions. History, culture, architecture as well as sociopolitical, linguistic identities, artisanal trades and folklore are presented for each region. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 421 French Contemporary Culture
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 320 or 321 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. Focuses on the contemporary culture found in French society. The individuals and events shaping current French social, political, artistic and cultural life are examined. Each theme is illustrated by current audiovisual materials. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 422 French Cinema
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 320 or 321 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. Tracing French cinema from les Frores Lumiore and Georges Melius through the New Wave to new contemporary directors, this course focuses on the thematic selections and stylistic techniques particular to French cinematographic culture. The class is offered concurrently with the annual VCU French Film Festival, thereby permitting students to directly communicate with French actors and directors participating in the festival. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 425 French Media
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 305 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. Analysis of the French media: written press, radio and television. Advanced comprehension skills required and stressed through regular exercises pertaining to different journalistic discourses and styles. Proficiency in journalistic writing is developed in class through the creation of an electronic French newspaper on the Internet. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 426 Pop France
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or 301 or permission of the instructor. Conducted in French. Explores contemporary French popular culture, put in a wider historical context. Discusses mainstream media, new media, commercial cinema, comic strips, pulp fiction and food, while devoting several weeks to music. Investigates the complex sociolinguistics of argot (slang), with a special interest in the banlieues' (suburbs') multicultural subculture and multifaceted codes. Also questions the possibility of a "pop philosophy" in French thought.


FREN 430 The Middle Ages
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or 301 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. A contextualization and detailed study of a selection of texts representative of literary schools, genres and major works of the period: Chansons de geste, Litterature Courteous, Fabliaux and Poesie lyrique. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 431 The 16th Century
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or 301 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. A contextualization and detailed study of a selection of works representative of literary schools, genres and major works of the period: Rabelais, the Pleiade, Minting and the Baroque poets. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 432 The 17th Century
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or 301 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. A contextualization and detailed study of a selection of texts representative of literary schools, genres and major works of the period: Baroque and Classical readings including prose, poetry and drama of the authors of the reign of Louis XIV; Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, La Bruyure, Corneille, Racine and Moliere. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 433 The 18th Century
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or 301 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. A contextualization and detailed study of a selection of texts representative of literary schools, genres and major works of the period: the "philosophes" including Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau and readings from Marivaux, Provost and Vauvenargues. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 434 The 19th Century
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or 301 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. A contextualization and detailed study of a selection of texts representative of literary schools, genres and major works of the period: Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism and Symbolism. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 435 Contemporary French Literature
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or 301 or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. An overview of French literature from 1900 to the present. Discusses texts that have particular resonance in relation to contemporary issues, including literary works that have contributed most saliently to French culture over this time period.


FREN 440 Commercial French
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisite: At least one French course at the 300 level. This course introduces students to the cultural, economic and linguistic dimensions of the Francophone commercial sector. It builds the student's reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiencies through active engagement with business-related materials and activities. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 450/INTL 450 Francophone Literatures and Cultures
Semester course; 1-3 lecture hours. 1-3 credits. Course can be repeated with different topics up to a total of 6 credits. Prerequisites: FREN 300 or FREN 301, and at least one additional French course at the 300 level, or permission of instructor. Conducted in French. Introduces students to the literatures and cultures of the Francophone world. Provides an overview of the Francophone world and an in-depth study of literary works written in French from Africa, the Caribbean, North America, Asia and Europe. Also explores the impact of colonial history on Francophone literatures and cultures. See the Schedule of Classes for the specific topic to be offered each semester.


FREN 491 Topics in French
Semester course; variable hours. 1-3 credits. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credits. Prerequisite: Completion of six credits of French at the 300 level or equivalent. An in-depth study of selected topics in French. See the Schedule of Classes for specific topics to be offered each semester.


FREN 492 Independent Study
Semester course; variable hours. Variable credit. Maximum of 3 credits per semester; maximum total of 6 credits for all independent study courses in French. Open generally to students of only junior or senior standing who have six credits of upper-level French courses and/or have a demonstrated competency in the language. Determination of course content and permission of the instructor must be obtained prior to registration of the course. A course designed to give students an opportunity to become involved in independent study in a literary or linguistic area or subject in which they have an interest.


FREN 500 French for Graduate Students
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. This course is designed to prepare graduate students for the reading knowledge examination for higher degrees. Each graduate department will determine the nature and form of certifying examination.


FREN 501 French Communication
Semester course; 1-4 lecture hours. 1-4 credits. An intensive study of communication in French. Variable credits; primarily oral, written, and listening skills.


FREN 511 French Civilization
Semester course; 1-4 lecture hours. 1-4 credits. Prerequisite: Functional fluency in French since the class will be taught in French. A comprehensive study of the civilization and culture of France and its global expressions.