Français 415--Littérature du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance

Français 415
Littérature du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance

Professeur : D. Kress
Tel. 869-5252
Courriel: dkress@centenary.edu
Heures de bureau: 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 12^th through 16^th 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
*to develop greater facility in students' spoken French

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 (Montaigne, Rabelais, poetry)

English Texts:

The Lais of Marie de France. Penguin Classics.

Approach

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
Class activities: these activities are exercises in textual analysis and discussion of the works you will be assigned.

Assignments and exams

*readings: 30-50 pages assigned weekly (in French)
*A major paper due the before the beginning of Study week. (Times 12, double spaced, standard margins). This semester we will study these works through the filters of Ecocriticism and feminist criticism.
*Class activities: "Travaux dirigés," (TD) i.e. workshops in text analysis, presentations, lecture, discussion. In addition, all students must participate in the production of La Farce de maître Pathelin. You will be expected to memorize your parts and be prepared to do an actual production of this work. A certain amount of class time will be devoted to rehearsal each week. The goal is to have a finished production of this play completed by April 1, 2009..
*Quizzes: There will be numerous quizes on the various readings.
*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. The production of the play is intended to improve your fluency in spoken French and to give you greater appreciation of this masterwork than would be possible by simply reading and discussing the text.

Grading

*Rehearsals and production of Maître Pathelin: 30%
*Quizzes: 20%
*Paper: 20%
*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. The first questionnaire will not count as part of the grade.