Language Courses | R&C Courses | Upper-Division Courses
Language
Elementary French, first semester (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
1 (two sections)
Summer 2014
S. Chavdarian
Readings:
Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, 4th edition; Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, Student activities manual, 4th edition; Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, Answer Key, 4th edition; Recommended: Morton, English Grammar for Students of French
Course Description:
Introduction to Francophone cultures through speaking, listening, reading, and writing in French, with French as the exclusive means of communication. Emphasis is placed on developing student ability to create and to communicate with basic French structures and vocabulary. Linguistic and cultural competency is developed through oral exercises, individual and collaborative reports, class discussions, and the use of various media resources. Reading and writing are developed through both in-class and independent reading projects using the French Department Library, as well as through compositions and other written assignments. The program integrates all aspects of foreign language study through a process-oriented approach in compliance with ACTFL‘s Oral Proficiency and the 5Cs of the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning for the 21st Century. Cultural competency is also reinforced by exposure to French and Francophone worlds through various oral/aural exercises, written assignments, film clips and various media resources. The students will gain a historical perspective on French and Francophone cultures.
Prerequisites:
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:
Course not open to native or heritage speakers of French. All sections are conducted entirely in French.
Elementary French, second semester (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
2
Summer 2014
Readings:
Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, 4th edition; Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, Student activities manual, 4th edition; Chez nous: Branché sur le monde francophone, Answer Key, 4th edition; Recommended: Morton, English Grammar for Students of French
Course Description:
Continuing development of students’ knowledge of fundamental structures of French, awareness of Francophone cultures, and their appropriate socio-linguistic application in both spoken and written communication. Class conducted entirely in French. Speaking ability is developed through oral exercises, individual and collaborative reports, class discussions and debates. Reading and writing are developed through both in-class and independent reading projects using the French Department Library, compositions and various written assignments. Students are introduced to French analytical writing through an exploration of various topics relating to contemporary French and Francophone societies. The course also includes the reading of authentic literature in the form of a modern play. The program integrates all aspects of foreign language study through a process-oriented approach in compliance with ACTFL‘s Oral Proficiency and the 5Cs of the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning for the 21st Century. Cultural competency is also reinforced through individual oral reports, class debates on issues affecting contemporary world societies, and the use of appropriate media resources including radio and television news, film clips, and cultural programs. Students will have the opportunity to do comparative studies on French and American cultures in terms of both personal and national identity. The class meets five days a week; it is conducted entirely in French; plan on daily oral and written exercises.
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.
Additional information:
Course not open to native or heritage speakers of French. All sections are conducted entirely in French.
Intermediate French (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
3
Summer 2014
D. Pries
Readings:
Required: Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections, 1st 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: All of the required material (textbook, student activities manual, answer key and MyFrenchLab) will be available in package form at the Cal Student Store and Ned’s. In most cases, purchasing a package turns out to be cheaper than buying the components separately. Oxford New French Dictionary included in package.
Recommended: Morton, English Grammar for Students of French
Course Description:
This course is 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. The course aims to promote cross-cultural understanding through the use of authentic materials such as literary and journalistic texts, multimedia, film, pop songs, and television/radio broadcasts, and other cultural artifacts. We will explore various topics such as self and family, education, human relationships, traditions, politics, and national identities, and compare American and other perceptions to those of the French and francophone world in whole class discussion, 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 different formats, including analytical essays, journals, creative writing and independent projects using the Internet.
Prerequisites:
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.
Additional information:
Course not open to native or heritage speakers of French. Satisfies the College of Letters & Science breadth requirement in International Studies (IS). All sections are conducted entirely in French, with 25 students per section.
Advanced Intermediate French (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
4
Summer 2014
D. Pries
Readings:
Réseau: Communication, Intégration, Intersections, 1st Edition, Pearson (Textbook, Student activities manual, and Answer key), selected outside readings
Recommended: My French Lab access ;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 introduce students to French and francophone literature. Emphasis is placed on the development of oral and written expression to promote linguistic and cultural competences through an extensive grammar review and exploration of spoken and written texts, as well as film, multi-media, and other cultural artifacts. We will read short stories, plays, poems and discuss their literary and cultural contexts (music, art, history, philosophy). Throughout the semester, students will share ideas in collaborative, small-group and whole class discussion, explore new formats for expository prose, continue journalistic and creative writing activities in French, and work on independent projects using the Internet.
Prerequisites:
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 on the AP French exam. Students who have lived in a French speaking environment should take the French 102 Placement Exam and consult with Désirée Pries, 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. Satisfies the College of Letters & Science breadth requirement in International Studies (IS). Course is conducted entirely in French, with no more than 25 students per section. See the Schedule of Classes to obtain the course control number (CCN) for enrollment.
Intensive French Workshop (Summer Session B -- 10 weeks)
12
Summer 2014
D. Boucher
Readings:
Jian & Hester, Découverte et Création, Cahier d’exercices, 5th edition; Recommended: Morton, English Grammar for Students of French; Additional Course Materials TBA
Course Description:
Introduction to speaking, listening, reading, and writing in French, with French as the exclusive means of communication. This intensive course offers students a thorough grounding in basic French grammar, with particular emphasis on oral expression. The content of the course is equivalent to one year of French study at Berkeley (French 1 and 2). Graduate students as well as undergraduates are encouraged to enroll. This is strictly an introductory-level course, and no previous knowledge of French is required or assumed.
Prerequisites:
no previous French required. Additional placement questions should be directed to course instructor.
Additional Information:
Course starts at 10 am on first day of session. After first day, course commences at 9 am.
Practical Phonetics and Listening Comprehension (Summer Session C -- 8 weeks)
35
Summer 2014
R. Kern
Readings:
Abry and Chalandon, 350 exercices; course materials
Course Description:
This multimedia web-assisted course concentrates on pronunciation and listening comprehension skills. Because it concentrates on the first task confronted upon arrival in a French-speaking country (to understand and be understood), it has traditionally been considered very helpful before going to France for study, work, or travel. Training in Practical Phonetics focuses on the traditionally more difficult areas for speakers of English, with priority given to errors that affect comprehensibility by natives. Training in Listening Comprehension includes both global comprehension activities and attention to discrete points –such as sound elisions or consonant assimilation– which make French difficult to understand. Use of a wide variety of text, audio and video documents, including radio and television. Students learn the International Phonetic Alphabet for reading purposes. Theoretical concepts are introduced as necessary. This course is conducted entirely in French.
Prerequisites: A passing grade in French 3 at UC Berkeley, or the equivalent. If you have questions about placement, see the Placement Guidelines on French Department website.
Additional information: Course not open to native or heritage speakers of French. This course is a requirement for the French major.
Reading and Composition (R&C)
The Multi-Accented Life
R1B (Section 1) : English Composition through French Literature in Translation (Summer Session D -- 6 weeks)
Summer 2014
W. Heidenfeldt
Readings:
Selected Readings
Course Description:
In this course, we will examine biographical writings as well as songs from different genres and in different languages in order to understand how accent can play a role in speakers’ identities. We will work with the sociolinguistic definition of accent as a way of a speaker’s pronunciation that shares characteristics with other speakers in specific communities. How and why do speakers develop, use, or lose their accents over the course of their lifetimes? (How) can shifts in speakers’ accents point to shifts in their subject positions and relationships to themselves and others?
Additional information:
This course fulfills the second half of the Reading and Composition Requirement in the College of Letters and Science. Class conducted in ENGLISH.
Upper-Division Courses
Love Poetry in a Time of War
116A : Sixteenth-Century French Literature (Session D -- second 6-week session)
Summer 2014
V. Rodic
Course Description:
In the sixteenth century, France was shaken by religious wars. At the same time, the country witnessed the birth of a distinctly national literature and the triumph of numerous poetic schools. Why is that, at a time of political and religious turmoil, the French letters experienced a proliferation of poetic forms? In this course, we will study France’s literary Renaissance (or rebirth) through the key representatives of its poetic expression. We will study poetry in context, tracing its ability to both reflect and shape the key aesthetic and cultural tendencies of the time. The following questions will be relevant for us: Why did the Renaissance writers turn to poetry in particular? In what ways did the diverse poetic forms such as a sonnet, an ode, a hymn, a ballad, or a rondeau account for such range of attitudes and experiences as love, marriage, imperial power, national pride, war, religious freedom, one’s reflections on the past and the passage of time? Which roles did women hold, not only as sources of inspiration, but as poets themselves, or as political figures and art patrons?
Readings will include texts by Clément Marot, Ronsard, Du Bellay, d’Aubigné, Louise Labé. We will also screen one film: Patrice Chéreau’s La Reine Margot (1994).
Course conducted in French.
Readings:
See Description
Prerequisites: French 102 or consent of Instructor.
Additional information: This course satisfies one “Literature of a Century” or one “Elective” course requirement in the French major. Course also satisfies one Historical Period Requirement in French Major. Satisfies College of Letters and Science breadth in Arts and Literature.
The Cultures of Franco-America (Summer Session A -- first six week session)
142AC
Summer 2014
L. Yoshioka-Maxwell
Course Description:
Since the 17th century, when the French established their first stable settlements in North America, there has been a long history of productive encounters between the French and Americans. In this course, we will read a broad range of literary works that showcase these encounters as they open up questions of racial, cultural, and linguistic identities. By observing how these identities shift and interact over 400 years, as well as how they are bound up with sexual, gender, and national identities, we will work to understand how categories of race have been shaped and contested over time, and the role that literature plays in those processes. We will read literary texts from five distinct historical encounters: early encounters between the French and Native Americans in North America; French treatments of American democracy in the 19th century; the complex relations of Franco- and Anglo-Americans in 19th-century Louisiana; the travel of African-American writers in France following World War I; the bi-directional travel of French and American feminist writers across the Atlantic in the mid-20thcentury. To pursue this inquiry, we will read a broad range of literary texts, including poetry, fiction, travel writing, and essays. We will also consult supplementary readings that provide historical and literary-critical context, and students will enrich our contextual understanding through group presentations. As this is a literature course, our discussions will consider not only the history presented by the texts we read, but also the significance of their form. Students will complete weekly, written homework assignments; one in-class presentation; and one final exam (prepared at home and written in class).
This course satisfies the American Cultures requirement. This course will be conducted in English; reading knowledge of French is not required.
Additional Information:
Course conducted in English. Satisfies campus American Cultures requirement. Satisfies one “outside elective” in French major. By exception for summer session 2014, satisfies one course in the French minor. COURSE CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH