French 419 — FLNG 473
French Literature of the Nineteenth Century

Professeur : D. Kress
Tel. 869-5252
Courriel: dkress@centenary.edu
Heures de bureau: 12-1 jeudi, 3:30-4 mercredi

Printer Friendly Version

Required texts:

Rachilde, Monsieur Vénus
Georges Sand, La Mare au diable
Gustave Flaubert, Salammbô
Emile Zola, Nana
Théophile de Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

Required films:

Cyrano, Edmond Rostand.
La reine Margot, Dumas.
Madame Bovary, Flaubert
Les Miserables, Hugo
Le Colonel Chaubert, Balzac

Much of the material will be provided online.

Welcome to one of the richest, most complex, and most rewarding periods of world literature! This course in nineteenth-century French literature is being offered for students who plan to major or minor in French. All of the readings will be in French and the assignments will be quite heavy. Do not take this course unless you are willing to do the work!. The goal of this course is to examine the literature of the major writers of the period; with this in mind, you should be prepared for a challenge.

Remember, for some of you, this is your senior seminar; I regard it as the crowning achievement of all you have undertaken at Centenary and expect for you to consider it your number one priority this semester.

*All classroom discussion will be conducted in French. If you have difficulty asking questions in class, formulate them at home. Be ready with questions when I call on you! I will give you a grade for class participation every day and I expect for you to contribute aggressively. Your questions or comments should reflect the work and thought that you have put into the day’s assignment and should show that you have made an effort to read and understand the material.

*Papers. There will be a paper due in this class of a minimum length of seven typed pages. Each student will prepare an explication de texte.. Double-space the lines and use MLA guidelines for notes (if you have any). You should choose a poem no longer than twenty lines. Students who have already written an explication will write a research paper instead.

  • Oral presentations. Each student will choose two of the authors we are reading in class and will give short presentations (7-10 minutes) in French on those writers. You are advised to practice your reports out loud before coming to class. Grammar mistakes, reports that are too short, and weak presentations will all have very negative impacts on your grade.
  • * N.B. Attendance. This is an upper-division course for students who attain to the highest levels of competence. Accordingly, absences and tardiness will have serious consequences on your grade. One point will be subtracted from your final average for every unexcused absence. A half point will be subtracted for students who arrive after the class begins. Excused absences are those cleared in advance or due to an illness which requires medical care.

*Special project for students enrolled in this class as a Senior Seminar (FLNG 473):

Theater: Each person enrolled in this class for Senior Seminar will choose one of the following works and prepare a 15-20 minute exposé (in French). Your presentation should include a summery of the work and a discussion of its place in literary history. (Why is it important?) N.B. Works which you have already read are not possible choices.

Romantic Theater:

Vigny: Chatterton
Hugo: La Préface de Cromwell
Hugo: Hernani
Musset: Fantasio or Les Caprices de Marianne

Realistic and Naturalist Theater:

Becque: Les Corbeaux
Dumas fils: La Dame aux Camélias

Psychological, Lyric, and Symbolist Treater:

Jarry: Ubu Roi
Maeterlinck: Pelléas et Mélisande
Villers de l’Isle-Adam: Axel
Curel: La Nouvelle Idole
 
Grading scale for French 419:

Oral Presentation(s) 15%
Paper 15%
Quizzes and written assignments 50%
Final exam 20%

Grading scale for FLNG 473:

Oral presentations 20
Paper 20
Quizzes and written assignments 40
Final exam 20
Exposé 10

99-110=A
88-98= B
2077-87= C
66-76= D
Below 65=F

 

EMPLOI DU TEMPS:  SEMESTRE D’AUTOMNE 2003

I. Semaine du 9 au 13 janvier

lundi:

Introduction Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, « Un arc de triomphe », « Qu’en avez-vous fait ? » ; Lamartine, « Le Lac » ; Hugo, « Océano nox »

mercredi:

Musset, « La Nuit d’août » ; Nerval, « El Desdichado »,

II. Semaine du 16 au 20 janvier

III. Semaine du 23 au 27 janvier

IV. Semaine du 30 janvier au 3 février

lundi:

Mérimée, « La Vénus d’Ille »

mercredi:

Barbey d’Aurveilly, « La Vengeance d’une femme ».

V. Semaine du 6 au 10 février

lundi: Barbey d’Aurveilly, « La Vengeance d’une femme ».

mercredi:

Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

VI. Semaine du 13 au 17 février

lundi:

Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

mercredi:

Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

VII. Semaine du 20 au 24 février

lundi:

Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

mercredi:

Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

VIII. Semaine du 27 février au 3 mars, Mardi Gras !

lundi:

Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

mercredi:

La Mare au diable, Georges Sand

IX. Semaine du 6 au 10 mars

lundi:

La Mare au diable, Georges Sand

mercredi:

Flaubert, Salammbô

X. Semaine 13 au 17 mars

lundi:

Flaubert, Salammbô

mercredi:

Flaubert, Salammbô

XI. Semaine 20 au 24 mars

lundi:

Flaubert, Salammbô

mercredi:

Flaubert, Salammbô

XII. Semaine du 27 au 31 mars

lundi:

Flaubert, Salammbô

mercredi:

Zola, Nana

XIII. Semaine du 3 au 7 avril

lundi:

Zola, Nana

mercredi:

Zola, Nana

XIV. Semaine du 10 au 14 avril

lundi:

Zola, Nana

mercredi:

Zola, Nana

XV. Semaine du 17 au 21 avril

lundi:

Pâques

mercredi:

 Monsieur Vénus

XVI. Semaine du 24 au 28 avril

lundi:

Monsieur Vénus

mercredi:

 Monsieur Vénus