Why Study French At New College?
As you would expect from one of the country's top undergraduate liberal arts colleges, the French AOC at New College offers courses at all levels of French language, as well as courses and tutorials on French and Francophone literature, both in English translation and in the original. Advanced students are also given the opportunity to work as teaching assistants within the program.
French Language and Literature area of concentration
The French program at New College offers courses at all levels of French language and courses and tutorials on French and Francophone literature, both in English translation and in the original. Literature course offerings change each year and include surveys and studies of a particular author, genre, or theme, from medieval romance through 21st-century fiction. Recently offered courses include Double Stories: Historic/Heuristic Fictions; World War II France in Film and Fiction; Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past; The Twentieth-Century French Novel; The French Renaissance: Humanism and Humor; Twentieth -Century Drama; Literary Movements of the Nineteenth Century; Giving Voice to Identity: Francophone Literatures from the Americas; African Stories: Fiction from Francophone Africa; L’ amour interdit; Le rire à travers les siècles; Contes et Conteurs; and Représentations de l’enfance.
• View French Language and Literature Academic Learning Compact
• View French Language and Literature courses offered in last 5 years
French language is taught in a five-semester sequence after which students can enroll in courses and tutorials on literary and cultural topics. Beginning French I & II and Intermediate French I & II focus on oral and written communication.
Advanced French, which is offered each fall, is both a systematic review of grammar and an introduction to the study of literature in French. A placement test is offered at the start of the fall term so that students who have previously studied French can be placed at the appropriate level. After completing Advanced French, students are prepared to enroll in literature courses and tutorials in which they will read, discuss, and write in French.
Each spring one seminar is offered that is conducted entirely in French. These thematic surveys (L’amour interdit, Le rire à travers les siècles, Contes et conteurs, Représentations de l’enfance) expose students to a wide range of literary styles. In addition, one other literature course is offered each semester that is open both to students who can read French as well as to those who read in translation.
Students may complete an Area of Concentration in French with a focus in either French Literature or French Studies. In both cases, students are required to have a high level of proficiency in spoken and written French, as demonstrated by the completion of Advanced French or the equivalent, and strongly satisfactory evaluations in courses conducted in French. Students are strongly encouraged to arrange an Independent Study Project or off-campus semester in a French-speaking country or region.
For a concentration in French Literature, students:
- need to demonstrate, by means of courses and tutorials, familiarity with literature of different genres (long and short prose fiction, poetry, and drama) and historic periods (pre-1700; 1700-1899; 1900-present), including at least one course or tutorial in Francophone literature;
- must complete one course or tutorial in literary theory;
- are encouraged to undertake relevant course work in related fields, such as history, art history, music, philosophy, or political science.
Students are expected to complete at least 8-10 semester-long courses or tutorials for the AOC, with as much coursework as possible in French. Only complete at least two semester-length courses or tutorials in each of three different disciplines.
As above, students are expected to complete at least 8-10 semester-long courses or tutorials for the AOC, with as much coursework as possible in French. Only courses at the level of Advanced French or beyond count toward the AOC.
Faculty
- Amy B. Reid, Professor of French and Gender Studies
- Jocelyn C. Van Tuyl, Professor of French
Recent Theses
- Subversion, Refraction and the Do-It-Yourself Proust: Autobiographical Intertexts of La Recherche
- Film-Poetry Synthesis and the Birth of Experimental Cinema in France
- Questions de genre: Story and Identity in the Feature Films of Safi Faye
- Body as Text: Narrative Structures and Gendered Identities in Three Novels by Tahar Ben Jelloun
- Rethinking Québecois Identity in Three Immigrant Novels
- Reconfigurations de la corporéité dans l’œuvre de Monique Wittig
- Litt/oral Stories: Strategies of Resistance in Four Novels of the Caribbean
- Beyond Rational Choice: The Politics of the French Extreme-Right
- La mise-en-scène de la féminité : la figure de l’actrice dans la littérature française du 19e siècle
Careers of French Language and Literature Graduates
Creative Director
Rodan + Fields, San Francisco, California
Associate Professor of French
Berea College
French to English Freelance Translator and Interpreter
Law Associate
Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver
SAMPLE PATHWAYS to complete AOC Requirements
These pathways show how you could complete the AOC requirements within four years at New College or within two years after earning an associate’s degree. Please consult with your academic adviser to determine the most appropriate courses for your area of concentration.
