Spring Semester Courses

Undergraduate Spring Semester 2020 Courses

French courses
Italian courses
Cross-listed courses

French courses

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FRIT F225 — A&H GCC
TR, 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

This course explores the rich cultural life and history of the south of France, with particular focus on Provence. We will consider how cultural artifacts depict Provençal landscapes, traditions, and perspectives. Our emphasis on a specific region within metropolitan France will allow us to reflect on French regionalism and the way Provençal identity has been shaped by political, religious, and linguistic conflict in addition to its celebrated literary and artistic heritage. 

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FRIT F227 — A&H GCC
TR, 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Through the lens of French food and fashion, we will explore the 17th century of Louis XIV, and meet some of the most important culinary and fashion experts throughout French history.

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FRIT F300 — A&H
MWF, 10:10 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

This course examines different representations of femininity, the female body and feminine identity as depicted in film and a wide range of literary genres (essay, poetry, theater, fiction) from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. 

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FRIT F300 — A&H
TR, 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

By examining various modes of lifewriting [écriture (auto) biographique] in prose, poetry, film and music, this course highlights how individuals from a wide range of racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds—Moroccan-born cleaning lady / single mother Fatima El-Ayoubi; Black bank robber-turned-rapper / actor MC Jean Gab’1; devout Muslim rapper and filmmaker Abd al Malik; the white, upper-class, wheelchair-bound former editor-in-chief of Elle magazine, Jean-Philippe Bauby; junior-high teacher turned writer François Bégaudeau—narrate their lives and offer unique perspectives on identity construction in contemporary French society. 

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FRIT F300 — A&H
TR, 9:30a.m. - 10:45a.m.

Exploration historique et culturelle de l’Afrique de l'Ouest à travers les contes, les sculptures, les tableaux, les livres, les bandes dessinées, les films, etc., qui décrivent la vie en français. 

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FRIT F306 — A&H
TR, 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

The fascination for the unknown place has always played a prominent role in literature. At least since Ulysses’ peregrinations in his attempt to go back to Ithaca, as they are recounted by Homer in the Odyssey, the remote place has never ceased to provide writers with themes to unfold in their works.

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FRIT F313
MWF, 1:25 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

This course is designed to build upon the intermediate students existing knowledge of major French grammar points through intensive study and develop a more sophisticated mastery of advanced structures.

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FRIT F313
MWF, 10:10 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

F313 builds students' understanding of advanced aspects of French grammar and their facility in applying this understanding to written and oral expression. We will supplement the text Contrastes (Rochat) with exercises (online and others) and compositions based on various materials from French and francophone everyday society, including e.g. cross-cultural studies, journalism, and film.

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FRIT F316

Recent and classic award-winning feature-length French films (comedies, dramas, thrillers) provide the basis for vocabulary expansion, in-class discussion and debates, and an increased understanding of various French cultural and historical issues, including immigration, WWII, regional differences, and religious conflict.

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FRIT F317 — S&H
TR, 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Introduction to the language of business activities in France and to the structure and functioning of various aspects of contemporary French economic life. Awareness of the general cultural context within which business activities take place in France will also be an important dimension of the course.

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FRIT F363 — A&H GCC
TR, 9:30 p.m. - 10:45 a.m.

This course is a topical introduction to French cultural, political, and social history from the early nineteenth century to the present, organized around the core democratic value of égalité, the lynchpin of the national motto liberté, égalité, fraternité, formally adopted for the first time in 1848, some fifty years after the end of the (first) French Revolution. We will trace the ever-unfinished struggle for equality in the fields of race, class, and religion, taking a diachronic approach that links key episodes of persecution and resistance at different historical moments. 

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FRIT F401 — S&H
TR, 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

This course provides an overview of the structure of present day French, a perspective on its historical development, and an analysis of some of the current language-related issues in the French-speaking world.

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FRIT F451 — A&H
TR, 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

This interdisciplinary course uses literature, music, and painting to study the life of, in, and around this stone and timber giant, witness to more than 850 years of Parisian history: as a perfect example of medieval high gothic architecture and sculpture and as a contemporary tourist destination; as the site of musical, liturgical, and theological innovation and the heart of the medieval University of Paris, and as a focus of violent anticlerical sentiment during the Revolution; as a muse for painters, poets, and writers, and as a work of art that has undergone numerous restoration projects; as a symbol—of the church, of empire, of the past, of Paris, and perhaps, as we saw in the fire in April 2019, of Western culture writ large. 

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FRIT F467 — A&H
TR, 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

We will examine how the recent “migrant crisis”, which some have called a “crisis of hospitality”, has been reflected in the media, literature (novels and comics), and cinema (documentaries and motion pictures) by artists, intellectuals, participants, and witnesses from France and the French-speaking world. How has France responded to this situation? What role does the country’s colonial past play in this response? And how has the current global context transformed the Mediterranean from a cradle of civilization into a graveyard of humanity? 

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Italian courses

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FRIT M100

Introduction to contemporary Italian language, geography, and culture. Involves a broad variety of assignments and activities that develop grammatical competency and proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

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FRIT-M115
11:15A-12:05P MTWR

This intensive beginning course covers the material of two semesters in one (M100 and M150). The course meets four times a week and also involves independent work by students, a portion of which will be performed online. During the semester students are involved in a variety of tasks practicing speaking, writing, listening and reading in a cultural context.

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FRIT M150

Continued introduction to contemporary Italian language, geography, and culture. Involves a broad variety of assignments and activities that build grammatical competency and proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

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FRIT M215
MTWR, 1:25 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

The course builds upon the first three semesters of beginning Italian (or equivalent) adding the unique feature of short films as the first stimulus for learning intermediate-level vocabulary, grammar, and cultural concepts.

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FRIT M301
MTWRF, 10:10 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

In this course, we will consider both historical and recent events by analyzing newspaper articles, short stories, music, film, art, and social media. Our goal is to explore political events and their effect on Italian society, culture, and pop-culture. Our approach will be all-inclusive: no meme left behind! 

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FRIT M311 — A&H GCC
TR 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Students will study women’s roles and representations in mafia stories on screen, from the time of the Italian Unification to the present. Through various socio-historical and psychological lenses, students will evaluate filmmakers’ ideological perspectives as well as the crucial roles women have played in the largely patriarchal and male dominant framework of mafia (and anti-mafia) activities.

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FRIT M453 — A&H
TR 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

In this course, we will explore different kinds of travel in Italian art, music, literature, comic books, and films, focusing on Italian society and culture from the 1960’s to the present. We will discover what Italian literature and culture have in common with Jack Kerouac and the ways in which Italians have been trying to escape the labyrinth of contemporary reality.

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Cross-listed courses

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COLL-C 103

 In this class we will explore love as phenomenon and as representation from multiple perspectives, taking advantage of the tools of cultural analysis, artistic and literary interpretation, and scientific research to answer questions such as: What is love in 2020? What was it in the past? What would we be without it?

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HON-H 233
TR, 2:30p.m.-3:45p.m.

The Pen and the Paintbrush.  The purpose of this course is to explore the relationship between painting and literature from an interdisciplinary perspective (literary, art historical and philosophical), while developing a critical approach that questions the connections and discrepancies between text and image throughout history.   (Hutton Honors College students only)

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HON-H 238
1:00pm - 2:15pm Tues/Thurs

Taking a comparative, transnational approach, this course offers an overview of Twenty-century European cinema as an evolving art and as a means of tracing the evolution of European society, politics, and identity, using representative films from Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Soviet Union. 

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PACE-C 100 — S&H
TR, 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

This class examines basic theories of warfare throughout history, with a strong focus on the role of strong and effective leadership. The purpose is to gain an understanding of what makes a great leader in the battlefield, in a military academy, or around a negotiation table, and to develop these insights into tools that can then be applied to civilian contexts.

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MSCH-V 334
TR, 9:30a.m.-10:45a.m.

In this class we will explore the dramatic changes in analog game design and culture of the last decades. We will consider the changes in audience, production methods, and publishing policies that have made this change possible.

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