This course offers a general introduction to French literature and
provides reading strategies in poetry, theater, and fiction. We will
start the semester with lyric poems from the Middle Ages to the 20th
century chosen from the Ansart Anthology, and each student will
present a brief exposé and compose a short essay. Then we read the
17th-century play Phèdre by Jean Racine and study the classic
verse of alexandrin. Students will write an essay on Racine after
preparing the essay questions together in class for our mid-term.
During the last half of the semester, we concentrate on the prose of
the 19th century: short stories by Guy de Maupassant and Le
dernier jour d’un condamné by Victor Hugo. The course grade will
be based on two short oral presentations (10% x 2), short and long
essays (60%) and active and continuous class participation including
the discussion participation in your classmates’ exposés (20%).