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University of Washington

Courses in French Studies | Courses in Italian Studies

Courses in French Studies (click on course for details)

French 101, 102, 103: Elementary French
French 201, 202, 203: Intermediate French
French 227: Intermediate French Conversation
French 301, 302, 303: Advanced French
French 306: French Literature: 1789-Present
French 327: Advanced Conversation
French 390A: Independent Study
French 390B: Cinema
French 435: Jew and Nation
French 441: Quebecois Literature
French 470: Cinema
French 490: Honors Seminar
French 499: Special Topics
French 590: Special Seminar & Conference
French 592: Literary Problems: Renaissance
French 600: Independent Study or Research
French 800: Doctoral Dissertation

Courses in Italian Studies (click on course for details)

Italian 103: Elementary Italian
Italian 203: Intermediate Italian
Italian 227: Beginning Conversation
Italian 303: Italian Stylistics
Italian 327: Advanced Conversation
Italian 390: Supervised Study
Italian 403: Early Modern Italian Readings II
Italian 414: Renaissance- Cinquecento
Italian 499: Special Topics
Italian 503: Early Modern Italian Readings II
Italian 514: Dante
Italian 600: Independent Study or Research

FRENCH 101, 102, 103: ELEMENTARY FRENCH
Daily, multiple sections and hours, 5 cr., Staff

Methods and objectives are primarily oral-aural. Oral practice in the language laboratory is required.

Class Description
We will develop the skills of speaking, listening, writing and reading to a basic level of proficiency. In 101, students will learn how to describe themselves, their family, and their surroundings. They will learn to tell time, how to talk about the weather and about food! In 102, students will study past tenses, pronouns, adverbs, and pronomial verbs. We will talk about vacation, travel, urban life, medias and the arts. In 103, students will learn the subjunctive, the future, the relative pronouns and the conditional. We will talk about jobs, leisures, the environment and the French speaking world.

French 100 classes are taught through an experential methodology which entails exclusive use of French in the classroom, interactive presentations and emphasis on communicative skills.

Recommended preparation
Daily attendance is of utmost importance as well as active participation in class. Timely completion of homework is required.

Class Assignments and Grading
Students are assigned exercises in the workbook and lab book. They are asked to memorize vocabulary, to fill up worksheets and to write mini-compositions. Quizzes 25% Midterm 10% Final Exam 15% Interview 10% Participation 15% Homework 25%

Required texts: Meyer, Rond Point, Text, Workbook and Answer key (sold as a pack at the UBookstore).

Prerequisites: For 101- no prior French; for 102- completion of FRENCH 101 or placement test score of 15-30; for 103- completion of 102 or 110 or placement test score of 31-56.
Note: Students who have transfer credit, placement test scores, or are not currently enrolled in the preceding course become eligible to register at the start of Period II.

No more than 15 credits allowed for any combination of 101, 102, 103, and 134.

FRENCH 201, 202 203: INTERMEDIATE FRENCH (VLPA)
Daily, multiple sections and hours, 5 cr., Staff

A three-quarter systematic review and expansion of French grammar, development of conversational skills (listening and speaking), reading literary and cultural materials, and writing compositions. Conducted in French, the intermediate sequence encourages students to use their language skills more actively and at a more sophisticated level than the elementary sequence.
Prerequisites: 103 for 201; 201 for 202; 202 for 203, or placement.
Required texts: En Bonne Forme packaged set, published by Houghton Mifflin, available at the University Bookstore.

FRENCH 227: INTERMEDIATE FRENCH CONVERSATION (VLPA)
TTH 1:30-2:20, 2 cr., Strom

Practice of intermediate-level French conversational skills through class discussion and oral presentations. Topics oriented toward French culture and current events. Prerequisite: FRENCH 103

FRENCH 302, 303: ADVANCED FRENCH (VLPA)
Daily, multiple sections and hours, 5 cr., Staff

French 302 is a continuation of French 301. These courses are conducted exclusively in French.
Prerequisites: 301 for 302; 302 for 303, or placement.
Required texts: Denise Rochat, Contrastes textbook & workbook, (Pearson Education); Edmistron/Duneril, La France Contemporaine (Harcourt Brace); (for 302 only) Irene Nemirovsky, Suite française (Folio Gallimard)- for 302 only.

FRENCH 306: FRENCH LITERATURE: 1789-PRESENT (VLPA)
MW 12:30-2:20, 5 cr., Doug Collins

Development of modern literature through its most important writers and movements.
Prerequisites: French 302; may be taken concurrently with French 303.
Required texts: Balzac, Le Curé de Tours (Pocket) ; Chateaubriand, Atala et René (Garnier-Flammarion); Flaubert, Un Cœur simple (Livre de poche) ; Proust, Un Amour de Swann (Livre de poche) ; Sartre, Les Mots (Folio) ; Hugo, Le Derrnier Jour d’un condamné (Folio).

FRENCH 327: ADVANCED CONVERSATION
TTH 12:30-1:20, 2 cr., Staff

Conversation course for students enrolled in French 470A.
Prerequisite: FRENCH 203 & concurrent enrollment in French 470 A.

FRENCH 390A: INDEPENDENT STUDY
To be arranged, 1-6 cr.

FRENCH 390B: CINEMA (VLPA)
TTHF, 10:30-12:20, 5 cr., Helene V.-Collins

Our films tell the story of modern France--from the frivolity of Méliès to the mournful visions of Abel Gance, from the anguish of Réalisme poétique, and a dubious golden age of the films of the Occupation, to the cinéma de papa decried by the New Wave. This class will follow French cinema from the Belle époque to the eve of the Gaullist Fifth Republic. It will track the undergirding allergies of an historically catholic culture to the corrosions asssignable to the société du spectacle, up to the cursed Lola Montès that, in 1955, undoes the medium itself.
Meets with French 470 A and C Lit 315.

Week 1: 1895-1905: from the Lumière Brothers to Méliès.
Week 2: 1905-1914: Pre-war grandeur
Week 3: 1914-1920: Over Here
Week 4: 1920-1929: Avant-Gardes
Week 5: 1929-1939: The Fog
Week 6: Jean Renoir & René Clair
Week 7: Marcel Carné
Week 8: 1939-1945: L’Age d’Or
Week 9: 1945-1955: Le Cinéma de papa
Week 10: Robert Bresson & Max Ophuls

FRENCH 435 A: JEW AND NATION
MW 3:30-5:20, 5 cr., Collins

"To live like a king in France!" Such was the aspiring cry of the late nineteenth-century Polish Jew. The hope was based upon Franace's action on the most influential remark on Jewsin the history of the country, that uttered before the National Assembly on Dec. 23, 1789 by Clermont-Tonerre: "Il faut refuser tout aux juifs comme nation, et accocrder tout aux juifs comme individus." Such became the reality, such became the illusion. The class will study the compatibilities and incompatibilities between two universalisms--a centrifugal ideal of Jacobin egalitarianism and an imageless monotheism, the frictions, both reciprocally reinforcing and reciprocally undoing, provoked by the meetings of two notions of undissolvable "identity." The works will be read in the contect of an attempt to understand those various forces that have had a role in anti-Semitic emotion in France: the Church, rural sociology, immigration patterns, etc.. Course conducted in English.

Readings will include:
Yuri Slezkine, The Jewish Century
Paula Hyman, The Jews of Modern France
Alain Finkielkraut, Le Juif imaginaire
Patrick Modiano, Dora Bruder
Ivan Strenski, Durkheim and the Jews of France
Jean-Paul Sartre, Réflexions sur la question juive
Jean Daniel, La Prison Juive
Two films:
Louis Malle, Lacombe Lucien
Alain Resnais, Nuit et brouillard
Prerequisites: French 303; French 304; French 305; French 306

FRENCH 441/SISCA 441: Dreamers, Rebels, and Visionaries: Children and Teenagers in 20th Century Quebecois Literature
MW, 12:30-2:20, 5 cr., Denyse Delcourt

This course will focus on the representation of children and teenagers in mid-20th century Quebecois literature. We will pay special attention to their quest for identity, and how it relates to the Quebecois' own quest for political independence at the time. Through the young characters represented in the selected Quebecois short stories and novels, students will be introduced to the dreams, visions, deceptions, and violence often associated with the nascent Quebecois separatist movement. Class conducted in French.
Required texts:
Anne Hebert, Le Torrent; Marie-Claire Blais, Une Saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel; Rejean Ducharme, L'Avalee des avalees; Anne Hebert, Les Fous de Bassan; Gabrielle Roy, Rue Deschambault.

FRENCH 470: The Cinema of France Part I: 1895-1955 (VLPA)
TTHF 10:30-12:20, 5 cr., Helene V.-Collins

Our films tell the story of modern France--from the frivolity of Méliès to the mournful visions of Abel Gance, from the anguish of Réalisme poétique, and a dubious golden age of the films of the Occupation, to the cinéma de papa decried by the New Wave. This class will follow French cinema from the Belle époque to the eve of the Gaullist Fifth Republic. It will track the undergirding allergies of an historically catholic culture to the corrosions asssignable to the société du spectacle, up to the cursed Lola Montès that, in 1955, undoes the medium itself.

Prerequisite: French 303, French 304, French 305, French 306, and requires concurrent enrollment in French 327A. Meets with French 390 B and C Lit 315 A.

Week 1: 1895-1905: from the Lumière Brothers to Méliès.
Week 2: 1905-1914: Pre-war grandeur
Week 3: 1914-1920: Over Here
Week 4: 1920-1929: Avant-Gardes
Week 5: 1929-1939: The Fog
Week 6: Jean Renoir & René Clair
Week 7: Marcel Carné
Week 8: 1939-1945: L’Age d’Or
Week 9: 1945-1955: Le Cinéma de papa
Week 10: Robert Bresson & Max Ophuls

FRENCH 490 HONORS SEMINAR (VLPA)
To be arranged, 2-5 cr., Instructor to be arranged

FRENCH 499: SPECIAL TOPICS (VLPA)
To be arranged, 1-5 cr.

FRENCH 590 A: SPECIAL SEMINAR & CONFERENCE
To be arranged, 1-10 cr.

FRENCH 592 A: LITERARY PROBLEMS- RENAISSANCE
M 2:30-5:20, 5 cr., Louisa Mackenzie

This course will present selected texts from 16th-century France in dialogue with some major tendencies in literary and critical theory and practice. We will be considering the strengths and weaknesses of particular critical approaches to the texts as much as we will consider the texts themselves. Thus, the course is designed both to introduce some key 16th-century French texts and to explicitly work on the ability to position ourselves with respect to secondary critical arguments. For example, we will read Louise Labé as touchstone for feminist theory and critical practice, particularly in light of recent scholarship suggesting she did not exist: what does this do, if anything, to the strengths and insights of feminist-oriented
criticism? Other approaches include historicity and New Historicism,
structuralism and post-structuralism, queer and gender theories including
masculinity studies, interdisciplinarity and cultural studies. Primary texts, including Marguerite de Navarre, Rabelais, Ronsard, Montaigne, and some minor authors, will be presented in extracted form. All readings will be available in course readers. Readings are in French and English; discussion in English; papers should be written in French if students are in the French graduate programme.

FRENCH 600 A INDEPENDENT STUDY/RESEARCH
Grads only. To be arranged, 1-10 cr.

FRENCH 800 A DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
Grads only. To be arranged, 1-10 cr.

Courses in Italian Studies (click on course for details)

ITALIAN 103: ELEMENTARY ITALIAN
Daily, multiple hours and sections, 5 cr., Staff

The third quarter of a three-quarter introductory-level sequence. The four skills -- listening, speaking, reading and writing -- are stressed in a primarily oral-aural method of presentation. Covers all major elements of Italian grammar. Conducted in Italian; language laboratory required in addition to daily class sessions.
Prerequisite: 102
Required texts (for the sequence 101-102-103): Parliamo Italiano! text and Parliamo Italiano! Workbook/Lab Manual/CD (Houghton Mifflin Company).

No more than 15 credits allowed for any combination of 101, 102, 103, and 134.

ITALIAN 203: INTERMEDIATE ITALIAN (VLPA)
Daily, 3 sections, 5 cr., Staff

The third part of a three-quarter, systematic review of Italian grammar and development of conversational skills (comprehension and speaking) as well as reading literary and cultural materials and writing compositions. Conducted in Italian, the intermediate sequence encourages students to use their language skills more actively and at a more sophisticated level than the elementary sequence. ITAL 201, 202 & 203 offered sequentially- Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters, respectively.
Prerequisite: 202 or college equivalent or placement.
Required texts (for the sequence 201-202-203): Ellissa Tognozzi & Giuseppe Cavatorta, Ponti, italiano terzo millenio (text & workbook), Houghton Mifflin.

ITALIAN 227: INTERMEDIATE CONVERSATION (VLPA)
TTH 10:30-11:20, 2 cr., Tassone

Practice of intermediate-level Italian conversational skills through class discussions and oral presentations. Topics vary. Not open to native speakers.
Prerequisite: ITAL 103.

ITALIAN 303: ADVANCED SYNTAX & COMP (VLPA, W course)
MW 12:30-2:20, 5 cr., Staff

The third part of a three-quarter perfection-level sequence of syntax, composition and stylistics.
Prerequisite: 302 or college equivalent or placement.
Required texts: Sciascia, A Ciascuno Il Suo.

ITALIAN 327: ADVANCED CONVERSATION
TTH 10:30-11:20, 2 cr., Staff

Focus on developing advanced conversational skills--listening and speaking--to fluency and increasing vocabulary in varying situations. May be taken up to four different times (2 cr. each time, 8 maximum) for credit. Discussions are based on contemporary Italian current event articles, fiction, and essay. Conducted in Italian. Not open to students whose native language is Italian.
Prerequisite: ITAL 203.

ITALIAN 390 A: SUPERVISED STUDY (VLPA)
To be arranged, 2-6 cr, max 20

ITALIAN 403: EARLY MODERN ITALIAN READINGS II - SPACE & IDENTITY IN EARLY MODERN ITALY (VLPA)
TTH 3:30-5:20, 5 cr., Gaylard

This upper-division survey course focuses on the major cultural movements of the 17th and 18th centuries, in particular Baroque and Enlightenment literature, science, architecture, and the visual arts. In reading and analyzing texts, we will pay particular attention to notions of identity and disguise, and their relation to changing conceptions of public and private spaces. Course material will include work by Marino, Basile, Tassoni, Goldoni, Metastasio, Bernini, Borromini, and others. All classwork and assignments will be conducted in Italian. Students should have good Italian reading comprehension skills, and the ability to write in grammatically correct Italian. Typically you should have completed Italian 303 or have very strong third year language skills.
Required texts: Carlo Goldoni, La Locandiera; Salvatore Guglielmino and Hermann Grosser, Il sistema letterario: Cinquecento e Seicento, Settecento.

ITALIAN 414: RENAISSANCE-CINQUECENTO: AUTORI E AUTORITÀ: POTERE E SIMBOLI NELLA SCRITTURA RINASCIMENTALE (VLPA)
MW 3:30-5:20, 5 cr., Susan Gaylard

What is an author? And what is the relationship between writing and power? This course interrogates the construction of "authorial" identity through symbols of various kinds. In reading texts by Alberti, Ariosto, Castiglione, Casa, Aretino, and Cellini, and in studying different kinds of cultural production (clothing, artwork, buildings, etc) we will explore a series of questions: What is the relationship between nobility and material possessions? Why is women's dress so important to male writers? Who is the new "man at court" in the 16th century and why should we care? Students will gain familiarity with the culture of the Quattrocento and Cinquecento in order to analyze literary texts, all the while improving their Italian reading, writing, and speaking skills. Course taught in Italian.
Prerequisite: ITAL 302.

ITALIAN 499 SPECIAL TOPICS (VLPA)
To be arranged, 1-5 cr., max 10.

ITALIAN 503: EARLY MODERN ITALIAN READINGS II - SPACE & IDENTITY IN EARLY MODERN ITALY
TTH 3:30-5:20, 5 cr., Gaylard

This upper-division survey course focuses on the major cultural movements of the 17th and 18th centuries, in particular Baroque and Enlightenment literature, science, architecture, and the visual arts. In reading and analyzing texts, we will pay particular attention to notions of identity and disguise, and their relation to changing conceptions of public and private spaces. We will consider these problems in relation to work by Torquato Accetto, Galileo, Vecellio, Marino, Basile, Tassoni, Goldoni, Metastasio, Beccaria, Bernini, Borromini, Caravaggio, Canaletto, and others. All classwork and assignments will be conducted in Italian.
Required texts: Carlo Goldoni, La Locandiera; Salvatore Guglielmino and Hermann Grosser, Il sistema letterario: Cinquecento e Seicento, Settecento; Torquato Accetto, Della dissimulazione onesta.

ITALIAN 514: DANTE (MEETS WITH HSTEU 590)
MW 1:30-3:20, Donna Yowell & Mary O'Neil

Dante Alighieri's Comedy is a work of political, spiritual and poetic daring. This course will guide you through Dante's otherworldly cosmos - the harsh mimesis of Hell; the interior landscapes of Purgatory; and the disturbing paradoxes of Paradise - in an attempt to define Dante's poetics through an examination of his visionary text and your reading of it. The course follows no single approach to the poem but will address formal, structural, linguistic, literary, historical, cultural, philosophical, and theological issues raised by the text. Discussion will be in English; the text can be read in Italian or English.
Recommended preparation
"...to those who would appreciate poetry and unwind its difficult involutions. You must read, you must persevere, you must sit up nights, you must inquire, and exert the utmost power of your mind." - Giovanni Boccaccio, 14th Century author, reader of Dante.
Required texts: Dante Alghieri (Mandelbaum-translator) The Divine Comedy: The Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso; or Dante Alghieri (a Cura Di Natalino Sapergno), La Divina Commedia; Rachel Jacoff, The Cambridge Companion to Dante; Daniel Bornstein (ed), Dino Compagni's Chronicle of Florence.

ITALIAN 600A: INDEPENDENT STUDY/RESEARCH (VLPA)
To be arranged, 1-10, Instructor to be arranged

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