Language Courses | R&C Courses | Undergraduate Courses
Language
Elementary French, first semester (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
1
Summer 2023
Class No: 13696
179 Dwinelle Hall
M-F
10:00 AM - 11:59 AM
Readings:
Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, 5th Edition; MyLab, Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, 5th Edition, or Student Activities Manual, 5th Edition.
Course Description:
Elementary French is a whirlwind introduction to French language and culture. It assumes no prior study of the language. In this class, you’ll learn to navigate simple interactions in a French-speaking environment; to converse informally on familiar topics; to express thoughts simply and clearly in essentially-correct French prose; and to read and understand a variety of texts, from menus to poems. We’ll develop these skills through a sustained engagement with various aspects of Francophone cultures from around the world—including art, music, film, and of course, food! We’ll learn how to think about these cultures with a critical and historical perspective. This class is conducted entirely in French.
Prerequisites/Placement:
No previous French experience required. This course is also appropriate for students with one quarter of college-level French, 2 years of high school French, or less. For additional placement information please see Lower Division Placement Guidelines.
Additional information:
All sections are conducted entirely in French.
**Please note that time conflicts are incompatible with the demands on this course.**
Elementary French (off campus/Paris)
French 1
Summer 2023
Class No: 13499
M-F
Readings:
Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, 5th Edition; MyLab, Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, 5th Edition, or Student Activities Manual, 5th Edition.
Course Description:
Elementary French is a whirlwind introduction to French language and culture. It assumes no prior study of the language. In this class, you’ll learn to navigate simple interactions in a French-speaking environment; to converse informally on familiar topics; to express thoughts simply and clearly in essentially-correct French prose; and to read and understand a variety of texts, from menus to poems. We’ll develop these skills through a sustained engagement with various aspects of Francophone cultures from around the world—including art, music, film, and of course, food! We’ll learn how to think about these cultures with a critical and historical perspective. This class is conducted entirely in French.
Prerequisites/Placement:
No previous French experience required. This course is also appropriate for students with one quarter of college-level French, 2 years of high school French, or less. For additional placement information please see Lower Division Placement Guidelines.
Additional information:
All sections are conducted entirely in French.
**Please note that time conflicts are incompatible with the demands on this course.**
Elementary French, second semester (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
French 2
Summer 2023
Class No: 13697
183 Dwinelle Hall
M-F
10:00 AM - 11:59 AM
Texts:
Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, 4th Edition; Student Activities Manual, 4th Edition; Answer Key, SAM, 4th Edition.
Course Description:
This is a second-semester course on French language and culture. It assumes prior engagement with the language: either French 1 at UC Berkeley or three years of high school French with the consent of the instructor. In this class, you’ll develop your ability to interact in a French-speaking environment; to read and understand a variety of texts, from menus to poems; and to converse on topics of increasing complexity. We’ll develop these skills through a sustained engagement with various aspects of Francophone cultures from around the world: art, music, film, and of course, food! We’ll learn to think about these cultures with a critical and historical perspective. This class is conducted strictly and entirely in French.
Prerequisites:
French 1 at UC Berkeley or 1 semester (or 2 quarters) of college-level French at another university or 3 years of high school French or consent of the instructor.
For additional placement information please see Lower Division Placement Guidelines.
Additional information:
**Please note that time conflicts are incompatible with the demands on this course.**
Course not open to native or heritage speakers of French.
Intermediate French (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
French 3
Summer 2023
Class No: 13908
187 Dwinelle Hall
M-F
10:00 AM - 11:59 AM
Readings:
Required: Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections, 2nd Edition, Pearson (Textbook, Student activities manual, and Answer key, access to My French Lab, and complimentary Oxford New French Dictionary); select outside readings
Please note: The program uses the second edition only. All of the required materials (textbook, student activities manual, answer key and MyFrenchLab) will be available in package form at the Cal Student Store. In most cases, purchasing a package turns out to be cheaper than buying the components separately. Oxford New French Dictionary is included in package.
ISBN for package: 9780134669281
Recommended: Morton, English Grammar for Students of French
Course Description:
Conducted in French, this is an intermediate language and culture class that aims to consolidate and expand the skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing in French while introducing students to texts from the French and Francophone cultures. The course aims to promote cross-cultural understanding through the use of authentic materials such as literary works and journalistic texts, multimedia, film, pop songs, and television/radio broadcasts, and other cultural artifacts. The study of these materials will be supported by several technological tools.
Topics covered include family, education, gender roles, urban and suburban life, environmental sustainability, politics, individual and national identities and cultural icons. The course invites comparisons between American and other cultures and those of the French and Francophone worlds through individual reflection, class discussion, work in small groups, and other collaborative formats. In addition to a review and refinement of grammar and vocabulary in a culturally rich context, students also experiment with their written expression through a variety of formats, including journals, creative writing and independent projects using the Internet, as well as textual analysis in French.
Prerequisites/Placement:
For students with one of the following: 4 years of high school French; a passing grade in French 2 at UC Berkeley; 2nd or 3rd semester college French; 3rd or 4th-quarter college French; a 3 on the AP French exam. Students who have lived for an extended time in a French-speaking environment should consult with Vesna Rodic, the Second Year Coordinator. For additional placement information please see Lower Division Placement Guidelines.
Additional information:
Course not open to native or heritage speakers of French. All sections are conducted entirely in French
**Please note that time conflicts are incompatible with the demands on this course.**
Advanced Intermediate FrencH
French 4
Summer 2023
Class No: 15191
228 Dwinelle Hall
M-F
10:00 AM - 11:59 AM
Readings:
Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections, 2nd Edition, Pearson (Textbook, Student activities manual, and Answer key); Jean-Paul Sartre, Huis-clos, (Gallimard, 2000). selected outside readings
Recommended: My French Lab access; Morton, English Grammar for Students of French
The program uses the second edition only. All of the required materials (textbook, student activities manual, answer key and MyFrenchLab) will be available in package form at the Cal Student Store. In most cases, purchasing a package turns out to be cheaper than buying the components separately. Oxford New French Dictionary is included in package.
ISBN for package: 9780134669281
ISBN for Huis clos: 9782070368075
Recommended: Morton, English Grammar for Students of French
Course Description:
This course is conducted entirely in French. French 4 is an advanced intermediate language and culture class that aims to refine the skills acquired in French 3 or equivalent courses and to enhance students’ familiarity with French and Francophone literature. Emphasis is placed on the strengthening of oral and written expression in order to promote linguistic and cultural competences through an extensive grammar review and exploration of texts, visual and audio sources, multi-media, and other cultural artifacts. The study of these materials will be supported by several technological tools.
Topics covered include immigration and multiculturalism, France’s relations with other countries in Europe and around the world, Francophone cultures, identity, politics, the arts, and film. Various genres and visual and written forms are covered, including short stories, plays, poems, and films, studied in their literary and cultural contexts (history, philosophy, music, art). Throughout the semester, students share ideas in collaborative small groups and whole class discussion, continue to work on independent projects using the Internet, and explore new formats for writing in French, including expository writing, journalistic and creative writing activities, as well as visual and textual analysis in French.
Prerequisites/Placement:
For students with one of the following: a passing grade in French 3 at UC Berkeley; 4th-semester or 5th-quarter college French; a 4 or 5 on the AP French exam. Students who have lived in a French-speaking environment should take the French 102 Placement Exam and consult with Vesna Rodic, the Second Year Coordinator. For additional placement information please see Lower Division Placement Guidelines.
Additional information:
Course not open to native or heritage speakers of French. All sections are conducted entirely in French.
**Please note that time conflicts are incompatible with the demands on this course.**
Intermediate Conversation (off campus/Paris)
French 13
Summer 2023
Class No: French 13
Readings:
Selected Readings.
Course Description:
This course develops students’ ability to speak and understand French in both conversational and formal contexts, enlarges vocabulary, and enhances familiarity with contemporary French culture. Activities include oral presentations, debates, collaborative projects, language journals. Class conducted entirely in French.
Prerequisites/Placement:
A passing grade in French 2 at UC Berkeley or four years of high school French. If you have questions about placement, see the Lower Division Placement Guidelines.
Additional information:
Enrollment is limited to 18 students. Course not open to native or heritage French speakers.
Advanced Conversation (off campus/Paris)
French 14
Summer 2023
Class No: 13526
Readings:
Selected Readings.
Course Description:
Listening, reading, and discussion about French sociocultural realities including economics, politics, popular culture, and family life at the beginning of the 21st century. Oral presentations, debates, collaborative projects, regular journal entries, and assignments. Class conducted entirely in French.
Prerequisites/Placement:
A passing grade in French 3 at UC Berkeley or AP French, with score of 4. If you have questions about placement, see the Lower Division Placement Guidelines.
Additional information:
Enrollment is limited to 18 students. Course not open to native or heritage French speakers. If you have questions regarding French 14 enrollment, see our FAQs (frequently asked questions).
Reading and Composition (R&C)
Women, Marriage, and the Gendering of Enlightened Reason
R1B : English Composition through French Literature in Translation
Summer 2023
Class No: 14244
31 Evans Hall
M-Th
Alexis Stanley
10:00 AM - 11:59 AM
This course will focus on literary depictions of the marriage bond in early modern European literature in order to examine relationships male and female authors drew between women protagonists and "Enlightened" procedures of reason, thought, and social emancipation. The early modern idea of Enlightened reason traditionally excluded women due to what was considered to be their innate feminine characteristics. Yet certain authors challenged or engaged with this gendered dynamic, offering not only novel interpretations of eligible or married women's place in the social fabric, but also criticism of the types of behavior women assumed in order to maintain autonomy.
We will read and analyze a selection of texts from the French and British traditions that explore the following themes and questions: Did feminism exist in the early modern period? How did authors articulate the dynamic between marriage, consent, and social power? By what means were reason and the emotions gendered? Why did women writers appear to prefer the epistolary genre? How were women socially "othered"? What was the role of female sexuality in conceptions of pleasure and freedom?
Required texts:
- Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew
- Lafayette, The Princesse de Clèves
- Graffigny, Letters from a Peruvian Woman
- Charrière, Letters of Mistress Henley Published by her Friend
- Fielding, Shamela
- Additional short readings, available on bCourses
English Composition through French Literature in Translation
R1A
Summer 2023
Class No: 14464
41 Evans Hall
M-Th
2:00 PM - 3:59 PM
Undergraduate Courses
Aspects of French Culture
43A
Summer 2023
Class No: 13527
Daniel Hoffmann
Elles: Solidarity, Desire and Conflict between Women
121A : Literary Themes, Genres, Structures
Summer 2023
Class No: 14285
250 Dwinelle Hall
M-Th
Will Burton
10:00 AM - 11:59 AM
N.B.: The syllabus is written in English to ensure your full comprehension, but the course will take place entirely in French.
The feminist and lesbian movements of the 1970s imagined a utopia of solidarity between all women. But by the 1980s, many activists across the French– and English-speaking world determined that the mainstream movements’ treatment of decolonisation, language, race, and sexuality was inadequate and they founded their own groups. For the former, feminism represented the common will of womankind. But for the latter, the intersections between womanhood and other political issues sapped the viability of any singular definition of “woman.” Both this utopian drive and critiques of it inspired innovative literary and cinematic depictions of women’s relationships to each other: in solidarity and conflict, in friendship and love, and across generations. In this course, we will study an international selection of such works and the urgent personal and political questions they raise. What do women owe one another? Where is the line between friendship and love? Is there a historical women’s and/or lesbian tradition? How does a heterosexual woman live a feminist life? Is lesbianism “the feminist solution”? How can white women and Black and Indigenous women work together? How to reconcile the demands of feminism and other ideologies (nationalism, socialism)?
Students must acquire a copy of the following books. Digitised copies will be made available by the library.
Condé, Maryse. Moi, Tituba sorcière... Noire de Salem. Collection Folio 1929. Paris: Mercure de France, 1986. 978-2-07-037929-3.
Fontaine, Naomi. Shuni: Ce que tu dois savoir, Julie. Collection Chronique. Montréal: Mémoire d’encrier, 2019. 978-2-89712-654-4.
Wittig, Monique. Virgile, non. Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1985. 978-2-7073-1021-7.
The rest of the course materials (below) will be provided via Canvas or through the Libraries. We will also watch several films during the semester, which will be made available for streaming via the Library’s Lumière service.
Brossard, Nicole. Amantes. Collection Réelles. Montréal: Quinze, 1980.
Pool, Léa. Anne Trister, 1986.
Sciamma, Céline. Bande de filles. Strand Releasing Home Video, 2015.
Prerequisites:
Students must have either previously completed French 102 or its equivalent, or be concurrently enrolled in French 102.