Undergraduate Handbook

The French program offered through the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Nebraska, provides students with opportunities to acquire proficiency in the use of the French language and with courses of study leading to the undergraduate major or minor in French. The department also offers degree programs at the graduate level leading to the MA and to the PhD in French.

Small classes and a dynamic teaching staff will take you to the heart of one of the world’s richest civilizations.  The cultures of France, Québec, and the countries of French-speaking Africa and the Caribbean all use the French language to express astonishing diverse social, literary, and cultural identities.  The French faculty at UNL is an especially active group that has all been recognized for their teaching and for the national and international scope of their research.

Major Requirements

Major: Twenty-four hours of courses numbered 300 or above, including 9 hours at 400 level.

Required:

• 301 Representatives Authors (3)
• 302 Representatives Authors (3)
• 303 Advanced Composition, Grammar, and Conversation (3)
• 304 Advanced Composition, Grammar, and Conversation (3)
• Three additional hours at the 300 level and 9 hours at 400 level, 3 of which must be in literature

A minor is required and may be taken in any area.

Three suggestions for the major itself:

• Take more than the 2 or 3 required courses at the 400 level.
• Take at least one and preferably two 400-level literature courses, especially if you want to go to graduate school in French. Most French majors take more than the 21 required hours at the 300 and 400 level. The most popular additional courses are at the 300 level, where many students take 18 or even 21 hours instead of the 15 required hours. We recommend that you consider taking an additional course at the 400 level where courses are most specialized and challenging.
• One of your 400-level courses should be the Undergraduate Seminar, a course reserved exclusively for advanced undergraduates. The other 400-level courses we offer also include graduate students who are more fluent in French and have a greater knowledge of literature that can intimidate the undergraduates in the class. You may feel more comfortable discussing French literature and culture with other students at your level in the undergraduate seminar.

Minor Requirements

• Plan A: Twelve hours in French at the 300 level or 400 level, including at least 6 hours from 301, 302, 303, 304 and 3 hours at 400 level.
• Plan B: Nine hours in French courses above 300, including at least 3 hours from 301, 302, 303, 304.

Pass/No Pass
No courses taken Pass/No Pass count towards a French minor or major.

Independent Study
The French section discourages independent studies because it believes that students need the regular contact with the target language that class participation provides, especially for the 300- and 400-level courses that count toward the major and minor. In general, Independent Study courses are permitted only when some conflict with another course makes it impossible for a student to enroll in a regularly scheduled class. They are not usually offered merely because scheduled courses are not convenient for a student or because a student wants to do work in an area not covered by courses. When special circumstances warrant independent work, we prefer that it be done at the 300 level instead of the 400 level. See the Chief Advisor if you have questions.

Placement
If you are entering the French program with a year or more of high school or college French, you are required to take the placement examination to determine your level of entry into our sequence of courses. The computer-based test is given in the Language Lab (302 Burnett) during New Student Enrollment, and also during the academic year. Depending on your level of preparation, you may be eligible for 3-6 hours of advanced placement credit. Information about advanced-placement credit is available in the Modern Language Department office, or from undergraduate and placement advisors. Any questions regarding the Placement Test can be directed to Hans Gilde, Language Lab Director, or see the Language Lab Web site for times and further information.

Advanced Placement Credit
If you took three or more years of French in High School, you may be eligible for 3 to 6 hours of retroactive credit. See the Vice-Chair or Departmental Office for details and the proper paperwork.

Linguistics
Linguistics is concerned with how human languages work in general, rather than with teaching you to use any specific language. It is the science of language and operates by breaking down the broad field of language into more manageable questions: for example, how the sound systems of language work, the properties of words and word building, how languages evolve, and how language is processed by the brain.

Course Descriptions

101. Beginning French (5 cr)
Emphasis on the development of comprehension of written and spoken French; reading of simple texts; oral and aural drill supplemented by practice in language laboratory.

102. Beginning French (5 cr)
Prerequisite: French 101. A continuation of French 101.

201. Second-Year French (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 102 or equivalent score on French Language Placement Exam. Practice in oral and written expression and introduction to narrative texts. Grammar review and vocabulary expansion are tied to different situations of interaction.202. Second-Year French (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 201 or equivalent. A continuation of French 201, with emphasis on reading comprehension. Class discussion in French based on texts.

202. Second-Year French (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 201 or equivalent. A continuation of French 201, with emphasis on reading comprehension. Class discussion in French based on texts.

210. Second-Year French (6 cr)
Allows students to combine 2 semesters work into one (201 & 202) by meeting 6 hours a week. Recommended for students who want to make rapid progress. Accelerated courses allow students to advance quickly through the intermediate sequence to the 300- level courses that count for the major and minor. Offered both Fall and Spring semesters.

203. Conversation and Composition (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 201 or permission. Guided practice in speaking and writing French.

204. Conversation and Composition (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 203 or equivalent. A continuation of French 203.

203-204. Conversation and Composition (6 cr)
Allows students to combine 2 semesters work into one by meeting 6 hours a week. Recommended for students who want to make rapid progress. Accelerated courses allow students to advance quickly through the intermediate sequence to the 300-level courses that count for the major and minor. Offered only in the Fall.

203-204 form a bridge between 202 and 300-level classes. They offer guided practice in speaking and writing and help build the confidence students need to do well in 300-level courses. Most students should take 204 before going on to any 300-level class.

301. Representative Authors (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 204. Reading of masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the present.

302. Representative Authors (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 204. Reading of masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the present.

301-302 -- Each course features a select list of important works of French and Francophone literature from the Middle Ages to the present. 301 is organized around the theme of love, and 302 around the hero in society. Either course can be taken first.

303. Advanced Composition, Grammar, and Conversation (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 204. Emphasis on written and oral expression. Review of French grammar.

304. Advanced Composition, Grammar, and Conversation (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 303. A continuation of French 303.

French 303-304 - Practice in oral and written expression reinforced by a thorough review of grammar; 303 should be taken before 304.

317. Introduction to Linguistics (1-3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 204. Rarely offered.

319. French Phonetics (3 cr)
Analysis of French sounds, meaningful contrasts, stress and intonation patterns; correction of specific mistakes in pronunciation. Phonetic transcription, studies in articulation and aural training with use of recordings and individualized exercises. Offered Spring semester only.

321. French Civilization (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 204. Survey of French social, cultural, and political history and of significant contributions in arts and letters through the eighteenth century. Lectures given in French are supplemented by slides and class discussion.

322. French Civilization (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 204. French 321 continued to the present.

323. Aspects of Francophone Civilization (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 204. The course deals with at least two of the following non-European Francophone areas: Canada and French pockets in the US; the Caribbean; the Magreb; and Sub-Saharan Africa. Other areas such as Southeast Asia or Polynesia may be included. The course examines the culture of the areas in light of social and political problems arising from colonization and independence as reflected in literature, film, popular culture, and the fine arts.

399. Independent Study in French (cr arr)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Special research project or reading program under the direction of a staff member in the department. See the statement on independent study in the alphabetical section of the Handbook.

399H. Honors Course (1-4 cr)
Prerequisite: Open to candidates for degrees with distinction, with high distinction, and with highest distinction in the College of Arts and Sciences and to seniors and especially qualified juniors, with consent of the instructor.

403/803. Advanced Grammar (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 303 and 304. A detailed analysis of French syntax giving students the means to achieve greater sophistication in self-expression.

404/804. French Stylistics (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 304. Principles of explication of texts, translation and composition in French, review of linguistic principles. For advanced students, particularly prospective teachers, who wish to acquire a more sophisticated means of expression in French.

406/806. Translation (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 303 and 304. Principles of translation, French-English and English-French. Special attention given to problems of vocabulary, syntax, semantics.

422/822. Topics in French Civilization (3 cr)
Prerequisite: 6 hrs at the 300 level. Analysis of interrelationships of cultural, social, economic, and political factors contributing to French culture and civilization.

445/845. Seventeenth Century (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 301 and 302 or permission of instructor. The plays of Corneille, Molière, Racine.

446/846. Seventeenth Century (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 301 and 302 or permission of instructor. Prose and poetry.

449/849. Eighteenth Century I (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 301 and 302 or equivalent. A study of the philosophical writings and the theatre of eighteenth-century France, from 1680 to 1751.

450/850. Eighteenth Century (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 301, 302, or equivalent. The works of Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Diderot, etc. Lectures, discussion, and reports.

453-454/853-854. Nineteenth Century (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 301 and 302 or permission of instructor. General survey of romanticism, realism, and naturalism; readings in prose, poetry and drama; lectures, class discussions, and reports.

457/857. Twentieth-Century French Literature (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 301 and 302 or permission of instructor. Main trends in the French novel from 1900 to the present.

458/858. Twentieth-Century French Literature (3 cr)
Prerequisite: French 301 and 302 or permission of instructor. Main trends in French poetry and theater from 1900 to the present.

496/896. Independent Study in French (cr arr)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Special research project or reading program under the direction of a staff member in the department.

498/898. Special Topics in French (cr arr)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Consideration of topics in the area of language, literature, and civilization. Specific topic to be covered in any given semester and credit to be awarded to be determined by the instructor at that time.

French Table

WHEN: Wednesday 3:30–5:30pm
WHERE: 207 Oldfather Hall

Besançon

Contact: Marshall Olds 402-472-3770, 1105 Oldfather Hall

The French faculty at UNL are proud to offer a spring-semester study program at the Centre de Linguistique Appliquée in Besançon, France. The program is recognized as one of the best of its kind in the United States.

The Besançon program was designed specifically by deparment faculty for UNL students at the intermediate level. The program focuses on the dramatic improvement of students' oral, written, and cultural fluencies. A faculty member from the French section of our department serves as Resident Director throughout the semester and teaches the two courses that are required for the entire group. Students are typically awarded 18 hours of credit for the intensive language study in January and the semester program that runs from February to late May.

The city of Besançon is situated in eastern France, not far from the Swiss border. Not unlike Lincoln, it is a regional center both politically and commercially, and home to a major university. Nestled in a loop of the Doubs river, Besançon is an ancient city that was an active commercial center in Roman times. The region is justly known for its natural beauty and culinary traditions.

For more on the program, please visit the following Web site: http://www.unl.edu/iaffairs/study_flyers/europe/besancon.shtml