Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions
 

Announcements

 

International Conference:

Les Journées PFC 2008 à la Nouvelle-Orléans: Structures des français en contact / The 2008 PFC Meeting in New Orleans: Structural features of varieties of French in contact

26 - 28 juin 2008 / 26 - 28 June, 2008

 

SCHEDULE - FALL 2008 – UNDERGRADUATES/GRADUATES

FRENCH COURSE OFFERINGS

 

 

FRENCH

FREN-302-01 - French Feminisms (3) Prof. Glidden – TR 2-3:15. This course attempts to provide a basic vocabulary for the discussion of gender and sexuality. It introduces the philosophical notion of difference, thus encouraging reflection on women as a category of thought. Finally, it explores the peculiarly French approach to feminism, so that a culture in its specificity may be better known. Throughout the course, the richness of feminism as a historical, cultural, and theoretical movement will be discussed. Offered in English. A writing practicum is available for students who wish to fulfill the college writing requirement with this course. Cross listed with Women’s Studies.

FREN-441-01–  17th Century Literature : Classical Theater (3) Prof Falaky – MWF 1-1:50.  This course will introduce students to the role of theater as a mirror of the diverse tensions that shape 17th century France. Through readings of Corneille, Racine and Moliere we will study the literary principles of classical drama and analyze how these principles reflect the political and philosophical dynamics of the period: the rise of absolute monarchy, the emergence of the bourgeoisie and the ideological conflicts between traditionalists and 'libertines', ancients and modernes. Time permitting, and depending on student interest, we will also cover other relevant topics such as the emergence of the courtier (l'honnête homme), geographical depictions of the court and the city, the representation of the Orient in Western imaginary and the religious conflict between Jesuits and Jansenists.  We will accompany our readings with contemporary and modern critical texts and we will watch some videos of performances at the Comédie-Française. 

FREN-481 / FREN-692-01 - French Poetry (3) Prof. Glidden – TR 11-12:15. This course examines poetry as “patterned sound,” or the performance of lyrics that express deep longings for order and harmony. Thispreliminary definition of poetry is also reflected in the French chanson, from medieval songs to such modern performers as Brassens, Trenet, and Aznavour. Is poetry the original language of the gods, as the ancients believed?  Does it embody mystery? And why do poets call upon Muses for inspiration?  The course also examines themes and sources of poetry,  eg., genius, madness, beauty, and typographic play, as well as love lyric and the formal arrangement of images as ends in themselves or experimentation “qui n’a d’autre but qu’elle-même” (Baudelaire).  Finally, we will study poetry less for its place in the history of literature than for its power to move its reader. Only if poems become a part of us can they work their effect. To that end, the class will serve as a workshop for experiments in recitation, translation, poetry writing, pastiches, and word play. Students will also memorize verse as a way of making select poems their own.

 

FREN-595-01  Senior Seminar : “Ici et ailleurs: construire le lieu” (3) Prof. Watts – M 4:30-7:00.  Ce cours considère la consolidation de l’identité nationale à travers la conception du territoire français et de ses divers lieux, à la fois métropolitains et outre-mers. Cette consolidation se fait souvent en référence à l’ailleurs et à l’autre du point de vue d’un lieu particulier, en recourant à la figure de la distinction: la France n’est pas musulmane (La Chanson de Roland, 13e siècle), Paris n’est pas province (Le tableau de Paris, 18e siècle), l’Algérie coloniale n’est pas la France (Le premier homme, 20e siècle), la Martinique créole n’est pas française (Solibo magnifique, 20e siècle). Nous prêterons une attention particulière aux discours écologiques de ces textes et d’autres qui font de la spécificité naturelle du lieu un élément de sa possession.

FREN-595-02   Senior Seminar : “Techno-France” (3) Prof. McCarren –  T 3:30-6.  Exploring the history of “French” inventions from Lascaux to the minitel, the TGV or the “TGB,” we will consider the theorization of techniques as knowledge, practice, and art in the French sciences humaines.

FREN-621-01 – History of the French Language (3) Prof. Poe –  MW 3:00-4:15. Have you ever wondered why in French ville does not rhyme with fille?  Or why fils ‘son’ has an  s in fils ‘son’ is pronounced, while the s in fils ‘threads’ is silent?  Have you ever been mildly irritated by the fact that the third person singular of dormir is dort although there is no t in the stem? Have you ever asked yourself why the French make verbs like s’évanouir ‘to faint’ and se suicider ‘to commit suicide’ reflexive when it is impossible to perform such actions on anyone other than oneself? These are some of the questions that are addressed in French 621.

The content of French 621 consists of three different but related parts:  1) study of the evolution of the French language from its beginnings through the Renaissance; 2) study of the grammar of twelfth-century French; 3) sight translation of selected passages from medieval French literature.  The only prerequisite for the course is French 315 or the equivalent.  This course counts towards undergraduate majors in Linguistics and Medieval Studies as well as French. 

FREN-641-01 –  17th Century Literature : Classical Theater (3) Prof Falaky – MWF 1-1:50.  This course will introduce students to the role of theater as a mirror of the diverse tensions that shape 17th century France. Through readings of Corneille, Racine and Moliere we will study the literary principles of classical drama and analyze how these principles reflect the political and philosophical dynamics of the period: the rise of absolute monarchy, the emergence of the bourgeoisie and the ideological conflicts between traditionalists and 'libertines', ancients and modernes. Time permitting, and depending on student interest, we will also cover other relevant topics such as the emergence of the courtier (l'honnête homme), geographical depictions of the court and the city, the representation of the Orient in Western imaginary and the religious conflict between Jesuits and Jansenists.  We will accompany our readings with contemporary and modern critical texts and we will watch some videos of performances at the Comédie-Française. 

FREN-692-01 - French Poetry (3) Prof. Glidden – TR 11-12:15. This course examines poetry as “patterned sound,” or the performance of lyrics that express deep longings for order and harmony. Thispreliminary definition of poetry is also reflected in the French chanson, from medieval songs to such modern performers as Brassens, Trenet, and Aznavour. Is poetry the original language of the gods, as the ancients believed?  Does it embody mystery? And why do poets call upon Muses for inspiration?  The course also examines themes and sources of poetry,  eg., genius, madness, beauty, and typographic play, as well as love lyric and the formal arrangement of images as ends in themselves or experimentation “qui n’a d’autre but qu’elle-même” (Baudelaire).  Finally, we will study poetry less for its place in the history of literature than for its power to move its reader. Only if poems become a part of us can they work their effect. To that end, the class will serve as a workshop for experiments in recitation, translation, poetry writing, pastiches, and word play. Students will also memorize verse as a way of making select poems their own.

  

FREN-692-02 - Nationalisme et Cosmopolitisme  : Défis Post- Coloniaux et Post-Communistes  Face à la Globalization (3) Prof. Bidima –TR 2-3 :15.  Qu’est ce qu’une Nation et qu’est ce qu’une Communauté politique? Fichte, philosophe allemand donne une réponse et Ernest Renan, philosophe français s’introduit un peu tard dans le débat. Ce qui est à retenir, c’est que la question de la Nation mobilise les thèmes de l’Identité, du territoire (parfois) et des passions communes. La question de la Nation si elle demeure un objectif à poursuivre pour les peuples post-coloniaux (les peuples africains qui ont hérité des Etats coloniaux et non des Nations) et post-communistes (les luttes nationales en ex- Yougoslavie) est aujourd’hui presque critiquée par le recyclage d’une vieille notion stoicienne : le cosmopolitisme. Il ne faut plus poser les problèmes en termes de Nations, mais en tenant compte du fait que nous sommes les citoyens du monde et qu’un problème national (comme la pollution) affecterait les autres  Nations.

Comment la littérature française/francophone et les penseurs postcoloniaux traitent-ils de cette question ? Que deviennent l’Identité, le droit, les traditions et la question du territoire ? Que cache la promotion actuelle du cosmopolitisme ? Ces réflexions intéresseraient les philosophes, politologues, sociologues, historiens et les littéraires.

 

ITALIAN

ITAL-103-01 Elementary Italian for Romance Languages (4) Prof. Chalmers – MWF 12-12:50, T 12:30-1:20. Same material as ITAL 101 but designed for students whose previous knowledge of another Romance language or Latin enables them to grasp the principles of Italian grammar and Italian vocabulary more efficiently.

ITAL-401-01  13th & 14th Century Italian Literature (3) Prof. Arduini – TR 11-12:15.  In this class, we will investigate the theme of friendship and betrayal in early Italian literature, and we will analyze the historical context and the literary strategies through which authors state their cases. This course offers an introduction to Medieval Italian literature and provides reading and discussion of strategies in poetry (Guinizzelli, Cavalcanti, Dante’s Rime and Divine Comedy) and prose (novels and historiography)

 

ITST-201 01 (H) Early Twentieth-Century Italy: Literature, Film, Theater (Modern Italian Literature/Film/Theater) (3) Prof.Michael Syrimis – TR 11-12:15.  Italy’s early twentieth-century modernity will be studied through the works of three of its most influential writers: Gabriele D’Annunzio, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, and Luigi Pirandello. We will focus on the different ways in which they grapple with the era’s rapid modernization of technology, exemplified in numerous revolutionary inventions such as the airplane and the automobile. Often labeled the “father” of the European avant-garde, Marinetti rejects all literature and art preceding this moment and proposes a radical approach to aesthetics that would reflect the era’s “new sensibility.” D’Annunzio, Italy’s representative of the European Decadentist movement, aims to integrate his fascination with modern technology with his uncompromising exaltation of Italy’s cultural tradition, reaching all the way to classical antiquity. Pirandello adopts a psychological-existential approach and develops his theory of Humor to explore what he sees as the inherent contradictoriness of modernity’s human psyche. While all three writers are known for their work in literature and theater, their brief encounters with the young medium of film will help us understand their attempts to include technology in their aesthetics. We will also examine the ideological implications of the authors’ responses to technology, especially as related to their attitudes towards the wars in which Italy was involved in the 1910s and towards the advent of Fascism in the 1920s. Our study materials will include novels, plays, essays, manifestos, films, and secondary literature. Taught in English.

 

 

News from the Department of French and Italian, Tulane University, 2006

Jean Godefroy Bidima, Arnoult Professor of Francophone Studies, delivered a paper on L.S Senghor and philosophy at the Bibliothèque nationale François Mitterrand.  Severine Grandvaux-Kodjo's recent Doctoral dissertation titled Constructions et déconstructions de la « philosophie africaine », universite de Rouen, France examines Professor Bidima’s philosophical works. His recent articles titles are:

1)  « Doublures, restes et rapports: les corps entre méconnaissances et mises» appeared  in Présence Francophone in 2006, p. 184-199.

2)   "L¹idée d¹héroisme dans l¹histoire (post)coloniale africaine: sommes-nous héroiques? " in Negru Pe Alb/ Noir sur Blanc, Etudes, Histoires , Identités dans l¹Afrique francophone (Simona Corlan-Ioan,ed), Institutul Cultural Roman, Bucuresti, 2006,p 193-206.

 3)“ La notion de Peuple. Nkrumah, Diop, Nyerere: l’Afrique post-coloniale”, in  De la puissance du Peuple, T2, La Démocratie chez les penseurs révolutionnaires, (Yves Vargas ed.), Paris, Edition Le Temps des Cérises, 2007, p.243-255.
  4) “L’esthétique des arts négro-africains: pluralité et historicité des imaginaires et  pratiques”, in Contemporary Philosophy , Volume 9, Aesthetics and philosophy of Art ( G.Floistad,ed), Springer, Dordrecht, 2007, p 83-110.

 

 

Venice, Cità Excelentissima: Selections from the Renaissance Diaries of Marin Sanudo, with translations by Linda Carroll, Professor of Italian, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press, supported in part by the Lurcy fund. Her article "A Newly-Discovered Charles V with Dog," will appear in Ateneo Veneto.  Professor Carroll received the 2007 Undergraduate Student Government John Stibbs Award for Outstanding Faculty Member.

 

Hope Glidden, Gore Professor of French, presented a paper on Rabelais's poetics of the hybrid at an international conference, "l'Hybridité des récits rabelaisiens," at McGill University in Montreal. Glidden has articles forthcoming on Marguerite de Navarre, Rabelais's re-invention of chivalric romance, and laughter in the Renaissance.

Tom Klingler, Associate Professor of French, and LSU colleague Amanda LaFleur were awarded two grants from the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund in 2006, one to create an electronic dictionary of Louisiana French and the other to create online courses in Cajun French and Louisiana Creole. Professor Klingler also received a grant from the Tulane Research Enhancement Fund that will fund his participation in an international collaborative research project to establish a phonological database of varieties for French spoken around the world.

Anne McCall, Associate Professor of French and Associate Dean of the School of Liberal Arts, serves on the editorial board for George Sand Studies.    She delivered papers at two conferences this year, and her article titled “Espaces de lectures dans Histoire de ma vie,” appeared in Lire Histoire de ma vie de George Sand.  She was appointed to serve on the faculty of Bryn Mawr’s summer program in Avignon.

Elizabeth Poe, Professor of French, presented a paper entitled "Lost Love Letters of Medieval France" at the University of Kansas.

Vaheed Ramazani's teaching and research interests include 19th-century French literature and culture, narrative theory, film and media studies, psychoanalysis, gender studies, international relations, ethics, and political philosophy.  He is the author of The Free Indirect Mode: Flaubert and the Poetics of Irony (University Press of Virginia) and of Writing in Pain:  Literature, History, and the Culture of Denial (Palgrave Macmillan).  His articles have been published in Nineteenth-Century French Studies, Romanic Review, PMLA, Boundary 2, Cultural Critique, SubStance, and Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East.   

 

Assistant Professor of Italian Michael Syrimis’s article, “Mona’ Lisa’s Gaze: D’Annunzio, Cinema, and the ‘Aura’” recently appeared in Quaderni d’italianistica.  Last summer, Professor Syrimis received a grant from Tulane’s Committee on Research and explored the University of Chicago’s collection in the area of Italian futurism.

Richard Watts, Associate Professor of French and Executive Director of the Center for International Studies, continued in 2006 his work on a research project on the intersection of ecological and postcolonial discourses in the francophone world. He has recently had an article on  the subject accepted in the Journal of Atlantic Studies . He presented a new paper at an international conference held in Tallahassee, FL.

Richard Cranford, Lecturer in French, is researching espionage in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries in view or preparing a study of intrigue in those centuries. 

Alexandra Reuber, Lecturer in French, joined the Department of French and Italian in 2006. Her specialization is nineteenth-century literature, with special interest in gothic and fantastic writing.  In addition to her various conference presentations she is currently working on a book manuscript exploring the development of the uncanny in nineteenth-century literature. 

 

Annette Sojic, Lecturer in French, joined the Department of French and Italian in  2006.  Her article on Maupassant's tales was published this year in the Cahiers Naturalistes.

 

Dauphine Sloan, Lecturer in French and Head of the French Language Program, re-joined the Department of French and Italian in 2006.   She teaches undergraduate courses in French language and French Media, as well as graduate courses in international development at the Payson Center, where she is Adjunct Assistant Professor.

 

Teri Chalmers, Adjunct Instructor of Italian, is translating an early eighteenth-century French manuscript for the Historic New Orleans Collection.  It is a first-hand account of a voyage from France to the Americas, including descriptions of New Orleans and its inhabitants, Native American villages along the Mississippi River, and indigenous plants and animals.

 

Najoua K.  Hotard, Adjunct Instructor of Arabic, has been actively involved in the College Boards initiative to achieve Equity Education.  She was invited to present at the College Board National Equity Colloquium  and at the College Board Major Systems Meeting.   She is currently working on a book to teach the Arabic language. 

 

Jeanny Keck, Executive Secretary, was presented the Tulane Staff Excellence Award.

 

 Chris Brandon, Graduate Student in French,  is interested in research concerning national identity formation and gender roles in the post/colony, New World/travel literature concerning the rapport between Native Americans and the French, and research concerning body politics.   He is currently working on questions of ethics and morals in 17th century manuals of comportment and questions of citizenship in early French cinema.

 

Annabelle Golay is a Ph.D candidate in French, specialist of the 20th Century Literature. Her dissertation project is titled “Témoignage capital d’un siècle : les autobiographies de Simone de Beauvoir”. Ms. Golay is preparing her Ph.D
in a “co-tutelle”, which is an agreement that allows her to prepare concurrent Ph.Ds both at Tulane and at the University of Lyon 2 in France.

 

Whitney Lakin, Graduate Student, is pursuing a doctoral degree in French literature. Her passions include Seventeeth Century Theater, Le Conte Fantastique, Science Fiction, Absurdism and Surrealism. She attended the Middlebury Italian Summer Language Institute and is also interested in German Studies.  Lakin is a published poet
and author.

Mialy Rajaonson is a Ph.D candidate in French , and will defend  her doctoral dissertation prospectus in early spring 2007. A specialist in Francophone literature, Ms. Rajaonson’s dissertation project is titled “Les fonctions du paysage dans le récit littéraire francophone: les démarches d’une représentation.”

A third year graduate student, Jason Stump is very interested in post-colonial literature and the treatment of the French language in former French colonies.  His current research interests include a cinematographic study of the Bataille d'Alger as well as anti-semitic and racist trends in Sub Saharan literature in the cases of Frantz Fanon, Albert Memmi and Yambo Ouologuem. . 

  

 The Charles Oscar Maas Prize

     The Department of French and Italian is pleased to announce the 2007 Charles Oscar Maas Prize essay competition.   This essay competition is open to all undergraduate French majors and graduate students in French.  Prizes are awarded for three categories: recently declared French majors, advanced undergraduate majors, and graduate students in French.  Topics for the essay competition will be drawn from the three Maas Prize lectures that will be delivered during the 2006-07 academic year.  All participants in the competition should attend those lectures.  Essay topics and deadlines will be announced in early spring 2007.

        The first Maas Prize lecture will be by Sarah Kay, Princeton University, who will speak on "Parody, Spectacle, and Identity in Aucassin et Nicolette" on October 27, 2006 from 3:30 - 4:30 in Stone Auditorium, Room 204 Woldenberg Art Center.

        Professor Kay's major publications include _Subjectivity in Troubadour Poetry_ (Cambridge, 1990), _The Chansons de geste in the Age of Romance_(Oxford, 1995), and _Courtly Contradictions (Stanford, 2001). She also co-edited _Framing Medieval Bodies_ (Manchester, 1994) with Miri Rubin, and _The Troubadours. An Introduction_ (Cambridge, 1999) with Simon Gaunt. With Malcolm Bowie and Terence Cave she co-wrote _A Short History of French Literature_ (Oxford, 2003). Her interest in modern thought and theory led her in 2003 to publish the first monograph in English on the work of Slavoj Zizek.

      The other two lectures will be announced in early spring 2007.  For further information, contact one of the Maas Prize committee members, Professors Thomas Klingler, Vaheed Ramazani, or Deborah McGrady.

The Charles Oscar Maas Prizes

Each year, $500 prizes are awarded for the best essays written in French following the Maas Prize Guidelines: essays must be original; essays may be inspired by coursework but cannot be turned in for class credit; students may receive limited help from faculty and instructors; 1000-2000 words (5-10 pages); all undergraduate declared French majors and minors are eligible.

Announcements are made at the beginning of Spring semester and the deadline is in early April.

Some topics from past Maas essay competitions:

  • "La culture des images: concentration ou distraction?"
  • "La femme forte"
  • "Les adolescents en ville"
  • "Poésie et...?"