Français 415
Littérature du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance

Professeur : D. Kress
Tel. 869-5252
Courriel: dkress@centenary.edu
Heures de bureau: 10-11 mardi, 3:30-4 mercredi
 

Prerequisite: Fr 202 or the equivalent (assessed by the instructor). Since instruction is given in French, the course is open to students who have advanced reading and listening command of the language. Students who are not majoring in French may do the assignments and exams in English.

Description: French 415 is an introduction to some of the major works in French literature of the 12th through 16th centuries. The objectives of the course are the following:

*to develop students' reading proficiency in French
*to develop knowledge of the medieval and Renaissance culture of France
*to provide instruction in literary research, criticism and textual analysis

Textbooks: Students will read and study the following works:

French Texts:

Le Roman de Tristan et Iseult, éd. Bédier. Editions 10/18.
La Chanson de Roland. Folio Classiques.
Romans de la Table Ronde, Chrétien de Troyes. Folio Classiques
La Farce de Maître Pathelin. NTC.

Some material will be photocopied.

English Texts:

The Lais of Marie de France. Penguin Classics.

Approach

  1. Lectures: presentation of authors, works, literary trends and schools (e.g.) la littérature courtoise, les Rhétoriqueurs, la littérature satirique, le pétrarquisme, la Pléiade); description of genres (epic, "roman", poetic forms), language and style; introduction to literary criticism
  2. Class activities: these activities are exercises in textual analysis and/or oral presentations. They will be supervised by the instructor and graded. There will be one or more weekly. Some exercises will require preparation and research in the library and on the web.

Assignments and exams

*readings: 30-50 pages assigned weekly (in French)

*Three papers: "études de texte" (2-3 pages maximum: Times 12, double spaced, standard margins).
*Class activities: "Travaux dirigés," (TD) i.e. workshops in text analysis, presentations, lecture, discussion
*Quizzes: There will be numerous quizes on readings and/or literary theory.
*One mid-term (Monday, March 15) and one final (TBA). Questions on the history of French literature, literary genre and forms, and identification of authors, doctrines and works.Written assignments and workshops are intended to provide practice in literary criticism, while exams and quizzes are designed to assess the student's proficiency in the subject. This semester we will study these works through the filters of Ecocriticism and feminist criticism.

Grading

*Participation in class activities: 20%
*Quizzes: 20%
*Papers: 30%
*Exams: 30%

In order to assess the students' progress in the subject, two surveys will be conducted--at the beginning and the end of the course. These questionnaires are not part of the grade.