Course Description

 This semester's introduction to narrative focuses on stories concerning the human experience of nature as it ranges from adventure, discovery, and contemplation to isolation, mystery, and indifference.  From these experiences come harmony or conflict, surrender or conquest and the realization that nature can be our mirror as well as our nemesis.  Nature helps us understand and represent, through fiction, our own human nature as well as our hopes and fears.  With these ideas in mind, our class discussions will help us see the rich and complex relationship between stories of nature and the nature of storytelling.  In addition, this course will allow students to begin exploring the world of French fiction through works that span the full history and geography of French literature, from French-speaking Britain in the twelfth century to nineteenth-century Paris and on to Francophone Africa in our own century.

 Open to majors, prospective majors and interested non-majors, this course fulfills one of the 300-level requirements for the French major and will prepare students for 400-level courses in literature and culture.  Conducted in French.
Prerequisites: CCR or 4 years of high school French.

Goals and Objectives

 This course is designed to help students with a good background in French to progress to the next level.  Students in this course will continue to solidify their mastery of French grammar through structural exercises tied to the readings as well as through discussion and written analysis of selected short stories, novels, and narrative film.  The stories have been chosen and presented to allow students to progress substantially both in their basic reading skills in French and in their awareness of critical aspects of storytelling such as narrative voice, point of view, and plot structure.  Guided compositions will help students gain precision and sophistication in their written French and in their writing in general.

Required Texts

Barson, La grammaire à l'úuvre.  Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 5th edition.

Bold, Mostefai & Bruckner, Contes français anciens et modernes: Nature (humaine) contre Nature .  Course packet.

Chateaubriand, René.  Classiques Larousse.

Flaubert, Trois Contes.  Librio.

Alain Fournier, Le Grand Meaulnes.  Livre de Poche.
 

Recommended Reference Texts

French Dictionary (Petit Robert or Petit Larousse)§ o

Verb Book (Bescherelle or Larousse de la conjugaison)o

Bilingual Dictionary (Robert & Collins; Harraps New Standard in 4 volumes)§ o

§ Available in O'Neill Library; o Available in Language Lab, Lyons 313

N.B. Le Petit and Le Grand Robert are now also available in electronic format: please inquire at the Media Center to use it
 

Course Requirements

Compositions  50%
Written Questions on literary texts 15%
Grammar exercises (Barson) & Participation 15%
Quizzes 20%

o The four compositions and questions on the texts in the course packet (marked **) must be typed, double-spaced, with accents. Use of the Macintosh computers at the O'Neill Computing Facilities is very strongly recommended.

o Grammar exercises must be written down and ready to hand in on the date indicated on the syllabus.

o Class attendance and participation are required.  Unexcused absences will result in a lower final grade.

o Short quizzes will focus on verbs: conjugations, tenses and syntactic structures.  See Barson, Appendices, pp. 326-350.

o In the course of the semester, students are required to participate in a minimum of two events at the Maison Française (open choice).

Academic Integrity

All students are expected to abide by the university's standards of integrity. This means, above all, that the work submitted must be that of the student.  In particular, students must not collaborate in any way except as directed by the professor.  For further details, consult the university catalog.
 

Programme

mardi 16 jan: Présentation du cours et de ses objectifs

jeudi 18 jan Perspective narrative et analyse des débuts de roman.
 Course packet, pp. iii, 1-4.

mardi 23 jan La Parure
 Barson 2.iv: présentation du passé simple

jeudi 25 jan La Parure (suite)
 Barson 2.i-ii: les temps du passé et le système narratif
 Quiz 1

mardi 30 jan Le rossignol
 Discussion de la première composition

jeudi 1 fév Le Chèvrefeuille
 Barson 2.v: le plus-que-parfait et le futur du passé et
 "Constructions" i et iv (pp. 44-47)
 Quiz 2

mardi 6 fév Le Petit Chaperon rouge
Barson, Ex. I, p. 53
 Composition 1: Narration (Barson 2.I ou II, p. 58)

jeudi 8 fév Sarzan
Barson 2.iii: l'imparfait et le passé composé
Quiz 3

mardi 13 fév Flaubert, La légende de saint Julien l'hospitalier, ch. 1.
Barson, Ex. II, début pp. 53-54  vocab et questions

jeudi 15 fév La légende de saint Julien l'hospitalier, ch. 2.
 Barson, Ex. II, fin p. 55
 Quiz 4

mardi 20 fév La légende de saint Julien l'hospitalier, ch. 3.
 "Aspect verbal" (photocopie)

jeudi 22 fév René (pp. 31-46)
 Présentation de l'explication de texte.
 Barson, Ex. III, p. 56

mardi 27 fév René (pp. 47-66)
Barson 2 "Constructions" ii-iii (p. 45)
 Quiz 5

jeudi 1 mars René (pp. 67-81)
 Barson, Ex. V, p. 57
 Quiz 6

vacances de printemps

mardi 13 mars René (pp. 22-30)
Barson 7.i-iv: les verbes pronominaux
Ex. I et II (1 et 3), pp. 185-86

jeudi 15 mars Le Grand Meaulnes, I.i
 Composition 2: Explication de texte

mardi 20 mars Le Grand Meaulnes, I.ii-v
Barson 7. "Constructions": le passif

jeudi 22 mars Le Grand Meaulnes, I.vi-x.
Barson, Ex. IV, V et VII, pp. 187-88
 Quiz 7

mardi 27 mars Film: Les Enfants du Paradis. O'Neill 211
 Présentation du compte rendu critique.
Le Grand Meaulnes, I.xi-xv.

jeudi 29 mars Film: Les Enfants du Paradis. O'Neill 211
Le Grand Meaulnes, I.xvi-II.i.
 Quiz 8

mardi 3 avril Film: Les Enfants du Paradis. O'Neill 211
Le Grand Meaulnes, II.ii-iv.

jeudi 5 avril Le Grand Meaulnes, II.v-viii.
Barson 12.i-iii: le discours indirect
 Discussion du film.

mardi 10 avril Le Grand Meaulnes, II.ix-xii.
 Barson 12.iv-v: le discours indirect (suite)
 Ex. I, p. 137, en classe seulement
 Quiz 9

vacances de Pâques

mardi 17 avril Le Grand Meaulnes, III.i-iii.
 Barson 12. "Etude de verbes" (pp. 309-13)
 Ex. VII,VIII et IX, p. 321.

jeudi 19 avril Le Grand Meaulnes, III.iv-vii.
 Composition 3: Compte rendu du film

mardi 24 avril Le Grand Meaulnes, III.viii-xii.
 Barson 11.i-ii.
 Ex. I (1-7), pp. 294-95.

jeudi 26 avril Le Grand Meaulnes, III.xiii-fin.
 Discussion des sujets possibles pour la dernière composition.
 Barson 11.iii-iv.
 Ex. I (8-10), p. 295, en classe seulement.

mardi 1 mai Présentation des sujets choisis pour la dernière composition.
 Barson, Ex. II (1-7), p. 295
 Quiz 10