French 421
Literature of Francophone
Louisiana
Professeur : D.
Kress
Tel. 869-5252
Courriel: dkress@centenary.edu
Heures de bureau: 12-1 jeudi, 3:30-4 mercredi
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Required texts:
Testut, Charles. Le Vieux Salomon. Les Cahiers du
Tintamarre.
Mercier, Alfred. L’Habitation
St. Ybars. Les Cahiers du Tintamarre.
Paroles d’honneur : Écrits de Créoles de couleur
néo-orléanais. Éd. Chris Michaelides. Éditions
Tintamarre
La Houssaye, Sidonie de. Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans.
Éd. Christian Hommel. Éditions Tintamarre.
Contes et Récits de la Louisiane créole. Texte
établie par Ashley Owens. Les Cahiers du Tintamarre.
There will be two class-packs
for this class—one for poetry and one for short fiction.
N.B. While most of the material you READ will date from the 19th century,
expect to spend a great deal of classtime listenting to works produced
during the 20th century. This material, part of Louisiana's rich oral
tradition, will be available only in class. With this in mind your regular
attendance in this class is of the utmost importance.
In this course we will
focus on the literature of Francophone Louisiana. This domain of French
literature, little studied until recently, produced rich prose and verse.
We will attempt to arrive at an understanding of the ideas that shaped
the literature of colonial Louisiana so that we may more justly appreciate
the writings produced during the 300 years of Louisiana history. Historically
the thrust of French studies has tended to minimize the importance of
the literature produced in former French colonies; today the 150,000
Louisiana French-speakers are discovering their proud and vital heritage.
Grading for
FLNG 473
Short biography of a Louisiana author (poet) and presentation 20
Quizzes 30
Major project (to be determined individually) 20
Final exam 30
Grading for French 421
Short biography of a Louisiana author (poet) and presentation 30
Quizzes 40
Final exam
30
N.B.
French minors will not be expected to show the same mastery of the material
as French majors. In a similar way, those who are enrolled in this course
as a senior seminar will be graded more rigorously than other students.
Biography of a Louisiana
author, presentation and book:
Each student will write a short biography in French on one of the poets
studied in this course. While the biography will be short (one page),
it must be well researched and written in flawless French. The ultimate
goal of this assignment is to prepare an edition of 19th century Creole
poetry to be published by either the Editions Tintamarre or Les Cahiers
du Tintamarre. In addition to your biography, the entire class will
be responsible--as a group project--for the completion of a short introduction
(10 pages), as well as all bibliographic material and list of sources
for the edition. Seniors in the class are expected to play a major leadership
role in all aspects of this endeavor and, in addition to the above,
will be reponsible for book design, page layout, permissions--when applicable--and
organization of the project. At the end of the course each student will
turn in a report stating in detail how they they contributed to the
project.
Oral presentation for
FLNG 473
Students enrolled in this course for Senior Seminar will give a thirty
minute oral presentation.
You are expected to come to class prepared every day. Study the material
specified on the syllabus or in class! There may be a quiz even though
there is not a written assignment.
A language course is different from other courses at the college because
you work on oral communication skills. The only place you can work on
these skills is in class. Other classes may not require your attendance
because you can learn the material from the book; however, there is
no substitute for the dynamic interaction that takes place between you
and your teacher--a trained language acquisition specialist. For this
reason this course has a strong policy on absences.
Students who have 3 absences will have their final grade lowered
one full letter. For additional absences there will be a penalty of
2 points per day before the letter grade is dropped.
EMPLOI
DU TEMPS:
I. Semaine du 27 au 31 août
| lundi: |
Introduction au cours, Testut,
« La Langue française en Louisiane ». Allard, « Épigrammes ». |
| mercredi: |
Colastin Rousseau, Le Bouquet funéraire. Populus, « À
mon ami P... » |
| vendredi: |
Intro, Paroles d’honneur.
Pierre L’Hermite, « Au Père Chocarne. »
|
II. Semaine du 3 au 7
septembre
| lundi: |
Labor Day.
|
| mercredi: |
Séjour,
« Le
Mulâtre ».
Naudin,
« La
Marseillaise Noire ».
|
| vendredi: |
Lanusse,
« Un
mariage de conscience ».
« Elegie
d’affranchi ». |
III. Semaine du 10 au
14 septembre
| lundi: |
Questi, « Monsieur Paul ». |
| mercredi: |
La poésie
d’A. P. Desdunes. |
| vendredi: |
Thierry, Poésies,
Rillieux, Poésies |
IV. Semaine du 17 au
21 septembre
| lundi: |
Culture and history of Louisiana. This day will be spent
discussing the various forces that shaped Louisiana’s
francophone heritage. Expect to read approximately 100 pages (in
English). The discussion on this day will be in English. The goal
of this assignment is to help you understand the meaning of terms
such as Creole, Cajun, Cadien, Acadien, Créole
de couleur, etc. |
| mercredi: |
A. Rouquette,
« Le Génie ». Latil, « Poésies ».
Dessommes, « Poésies ».
|
| vendredi: |
Film:
Contre vents, contre marées.
|
V. Semaine du 24 au 28
septembre
| lundi: |
Sidonie de La Houssaye,
« Les Petits Soldats ».
Bernard, « Distribution Septennale de l’Homme ».
Biographies due!!
|
| mercredi: |
Dessommes, « Mon premier amour à la
Nouvelle-Orléans ». |
| vendredi: |
Garreau, « Un
nègre marron ».
Maltrait, « Fable ». |
VI. Semaine du 1er au
5 octobre
| lundi: |
Garreau, « Bras
Coupé ». |
| mercredi: |
Petite
Rose, « Un domino noir ».
Déjacque, « Le Huître et la perle ». |
| vendredi: |
Sidonie de La
Houssaye, Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans--Octavia. |
VII. Semaine du 8 au 12 octobre
| lundi: |
Octavia, Completed
and corrected Biographies due! |
| mercredi: |
Octavia |
| vendredi: |
Octavia |
VIII. Semaine du 15 au 19 octobre
| lundi: |
Octavia |
| mercredi: |
Octavia |
| vendredi: |
Fall Break |
IX. Semaine du 22 au 26 octobre
| lundi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. Introductory
essay due! |
| mercredi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. |
| vendredi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. |
X. Semaine du 29 octobre au 2 novembre
| lundi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. Completed
cover design due. |
| mercredi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. |
| vendredi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. |
XI. Semaine du 5 au 9 novembre
| lundi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. |
| mercredi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. |
| vendredi: |
Alfred Mercier,
L’Habitation Saint-Ybars. |
XII. Semaine du 12 au 16 novembre
| lundi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
| mercredi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
| vendredi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
Semaine du 19 au 23 novembre : Thanksgiving Break
XIII. Semaine du 26 au 30 novembre
| lundi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
| mercredi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
| vendredi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. Completed
and corrected essay due! |
XIV. Semaine du 3 au 7 décembre
| lundi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
| mercredi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
| vendredi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
XV. Semaine du 10 au 14 décembre
| lundi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. |
| mercredi: |
Charles Testut, Le Vieux Salomon. Completed
book files due! |
| vendredi: |
Final Exam Week Begins |
|
