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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: Elementary French
French 102: Elementary French
French 103: Elementary French
French 110: Basic French Review
French 201, 202, 203: Intermediate French
French 214: French Fairy Tales
French 301, 302: Advanced French
French 305: French Literature: 1600-1789
French 378: Contemporary France
French 390 A: Supervised Study
French 412: Topics in 16th Century
French 425: Fiction:1850-1900
French 490: Honors Seminar
French 499 A: Special Topics
French 499 B: Special Topics- French Fairy Tales
French 590 A: Special Seminar & Conference
French 590 B: Special Seminar & Conference - "Literary Life and the Old Regime"
French 591 A: Literary Problems - Middle Ages - "The Holy Land: Europe's First Colony and Its Post-Colonial Fallout"
French 600: Independent Study/Research
French 800: Doctoral Dissertation

Courses in Italian Studies (click on course for details)

Italian 102: Elementary Italian
Italian 111: Accelerated First-Year Italian
Italian 202: Intermediate Italian
Italian 227: Intermediate Conversational Italian
Italian 250: Rome
Italian 302: Advanced Grammar
Italian 327 A: Advanced Conversation
Italian 327 B: Advanced Conversation
Italian 352: Italian Cultural History
Italian 366: Italian Society in Film and Literature
Italian 390: Supervised Study
Italian 390 B: Supervised Study (Language trailer linked w/ ITAL 466)
Italian 401: Medieval Italian Readings
Italian 466: Italian Society in Film and Literature (in Italian)
Italian 499: Special Topics
Italian 501: Medieval Italian Readings
Italian 590: Special Seminar & Conference
Italian 600: Independent Study/Research

Course Descriptions

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

A three-quarter introductory-level sequence. The four skills--listening, speaking, reading and writing--are stressed in a primarily oral-aural method of presentation. The course covers all major elements of French grammar. Conducted in French; language laboratory required in addition to daily class sessions. Offered quarterly.
Required texts: S. L. Difusion and H. Meyer, Rond Point (text, workbook and answer key), Prentice Hall, 1st edition, 2006.
Prerequisite for French 101: No prior French, or placement
Prerequisite for French 102: French 101, or placement
Prerequisite for French 103: Frenfch 102, or placement

FRENCH 110: BASIC FRENCH REVIEW
Daily, multiple sections and hours, 5 cr., Staff

Basic French Review combines in one quarter the contents of 101 and 102. This intensive course is designed for students who have studied French for at least two years in high school but who do not feel ready for 102. Highly motivated beginners with background in other languages are also encouraged to take the course. After completing 110, students can enroll directly in French 103.
Required texts: S. L. Difusion and H. Meyer, Rond Point (text, workbook and answer key), Prentice Hall, 1st edition, 2006.
Prerequisite: Placement (score of 10-30 on 100-level French placement exam)

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.
Required texts: Dietikeer, En Bonne Forme text and workbook (audio will be available online).
NOTE: French 203 is not always offered winter quarter.

FRENCH 214: FRENCH FAIRY TALES (VLPA)
Lecture MW 10:30-11:50, Denyse Delcourt
Discussion sections vary

Beginning with Charles Perrault, the 17th Century author of a number of well-known fairy tales such as Cinderella, The Little Red Riding Hood and Blue Beard, this course is an exploration of a major French literary tradition still greatly influential on modern literature and films. As women were the most productive fairy tale writers in France at the end of the 17th Century, we will also read some of Madame d'Aulnoy's disturbing, very different kinds of tales. Sexual politics, gender issues and the numerous other reasons behind her radical reworking of the genre will be discussed. French fairy tales have often been used by poets and novelists as a basis for their own writing. As such, they constitute an excellent way to get more deeply involved into French literature. Course conducted in English.
Required texts: Zipes, Jack (translator), Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic French Fairy Tales, Signet Classic.

FRENCH 301, 302, 303: ADVANCED FRENCH (VLPA)
Multiple sections and hours, 5 cr., Staff

French 301 allows students to review French grammar at an advanced level and to acquire the essentials of French composition, through the study of written and audiovisual authentic cultural material . French 302 is a continuation of French 301. French 303 is geared toward students planning to take literature classes and allows them to complete their studies of the techniques of French composition. These courses are conducted exclusively in French. French 303 not offered winter quarter.
Prerequisites: 203 for 301; 302 for 303, 302 for 303, or placement.
Required texts for 301: Rochat, Denise, Contrastes (text and workbook); William F. Edmiston, Annie Duménil, La France contemporaine (Heinle); Quignard, Pascal, Tous les matins du monde, Folio Gallimard.
Required texts for 302: Rochat, Denise, Contrastes (text and workbook); William F. Edmiston, Annie Duménil, La France contemporaine (Heinle); Nemirovsky, Irene, Suite Française, Folio Gallimard.

FRENCH 305: FRENCH LITERATURE: 1600-1789 (VLPA)
MW 10:30-12:20, 5 cr., Louisa Mackenzie

Survey of French literature in the so-called "classical" and "Enlightenment" periods. We will learn the basics of social and political change in France during this time, and read sample texts as products of and as reactions to the processes of history. We will also work on composition skills in French. Discussions, readings, papers all in French, please. I will encourage group work as well as group discussions, and probably establish an online discussion for those who are not comfortable speaking up in class.
Recommended preparation: Willingness to participate orally or in other ways. Know how to listen to others with respect and to disagree with respect. Brushing up some written French skills would be a good idea.
Course conducted in French.
Required texts: Moliere, Dom Juan, Paris: Hatier, 2002; Voltaire, Candide, Paris: Hachette, 2005.
Prerequisite: FRENCH 302

FRENCH 378: CONTEMPORARY FRANCE (I&S/VLPA)
MW 12:30-2:20, 5 cr., Doug Collins

Study of the historical origins and subsequent development of contemporary problems and characteristics of French government and politics, economy, and society. Course conducted in English.
Prerequisite: FRENCH 203
Required texts: Carles, Emilie, Une Soupe aux herbes sauvages, Pocket; Gaspard, Françoise, A Small City in France, Harvard University Press; Emaux, Annie, La Place, Gallimard Folio; Guene, Faiza, Kiffe Kiffe Dermain, Livre de Poche.

FRENCH 390: SUPERVISED STUDY
Arranged (2-6 cr., max 20), instructor to be arranged

FRENCH 412: TOPICS IN 16TH CENTURY FRENCH LITERATURE (VLPA)
MW 1:30-3:20, 5 cr., Louisa Mackenzie

On n’est jamais plus soi-même que lorsqu’on voyage, nous dit quelqu’un. Les moyens de décrire l’autre et l’espace étrangers nous donnent des indices sur les préconceptions et les préoccupations des voyageurs, et ainsi sur leur société plus généralement. Ce cours propose d’aborder quelques developpements historiques majeurs du seizième siècle français à travers des récits de voyage. C’est bien sur une époque de grandes explorations, de grandes découvertes, notemment du Nouveau Monde, mais on continue aussi de voyager au sein de l’Europe et même ces récits détiennent une spécificité historique qui nous en dit long sur la société et la mentalité françaises. Comment distingue-t-on le citoyen français de l’Italien, de l’Anglais? Le territoire français des autres paysages? Quelle est la réaction face au Nouveau Monde et à ses habitants? Quelles sont les raisons et les motivations qui déterminent les stéréotypes? La France au seizième siècle se constitue en tant qu’état; les individus se constituent en tant que Français; l’écriture de voyage, puisqu’elle nous montre la France et les Français face justement à ce qu’ils ne sont pas, nous permet de mieux comprendre les débuts des rapports actuels qui existent entre la France et le reste du monde. Cours en français.
Required texts: de Lery, Jean, Histoire d'un voyage en terre de Bresil, Livre de Poche; de Montaigne, Michel, Journal de voyage en Italie; Livre de Poche; Rabelais, François, Quart livre, Flammarion.
Prerequisites: FRENCH 303; FRENCH 304

FRENCH 425: FICTION: 1850-1900 (VLPA)
TTH 2:30-4:20, 5 cr., Holly Waddell

If one asks which innovation the nineteenth century made in the field of literature, which new form it created in addition to the old forms of epic, drama, and lyric, whose roofs are in Greece, the answer must be: the realistic novel. By setting forth the innermost, secret experiences of the human soul against the background of contemporary social conditions, and by stressing the interdependence of the general and the particular, it has been able to portray reality with a faithful accuracy and a completeness that have no parallels in older literature.

-- Fredrik Böök, Member of the Nobel Committee for Literature, on December 10, 1929

Critiqué par Nietzsche comme le bâtard bourgeois du genre classique, le roman réaliste continue néanmoins à occuper une place extrêmement importante dans la tradition littéraire du dix-neuvième siècle. Alors que de nombreux critiques analysent les origines, la structure, et les variations du roman réaliste, on revient trop souvent à une définition qui risque de le simplifier: que le roman réaliste met au jour le quotidien de la classe bourgeoise tout en se servant comme toile de fond des conditions ociales contemporaines (voir Böök, ci-dessus).

Pourtant, il faut constater que le roman réaliste en tant que genre n'est nullement moins complexe que la tragédie classique ou l’épopée, par exemple, et mérite d’ être considéré ainsi. Qu'est-ce que cela signifie, après tout, "les conditions privées de l'âme humaine," sinon le sujet propre à l'écriture toute courte?

Les questions suivantes informeront notre discussion: Comment est-ce que les conditions sociales du dix-neuvième siècle, vues si souvent de nos jours d'un oeil au moins quasi-marxiste, peuvent faire ressortir les passions crues ainsi que l'amour et le deuil? Comment est-ce que cette écriture, dite bourgeoise, et alors marquée comme patriarcale, s’accommode-t-elle au féminin ? Comment le dialogue peinture-littérature complique-t-il la trajectoire du réalisme-romantique au réalisme-naturaliste? Et, finalement, comment est-ce que le roman réaliste se distingue-t-il des genres qui l'informent, le façonnent, et le propulsent dans l'existentialisme. . . où l'esthétique se mêle tant avec la philosophie et la politique?

L'étude va se diriger sur la signification du réalisme (ou des réalismes) au dix-neuvième siècle. Nous allons considérer cette question du genre poétique en abordant des extraits philosophiques, sociologiques, et psychanalytiques de Pinnel, Shopenhauer, Freud, et d'autres, ainsi que des oeuvres d'art de Delacroix à Picasso. Nos textes de base viendront des romans, des lettres, et des essais d'Hugo, Balzac, Flaubert, et Zola.

Style: Séminaire, à base de discussions. En français.
Travail du cours: Présence et participation, journal, exposé oral, 2 essais critiques
Textes: Site Web; Romans de base; Course-pack: critiques et essais
Prerequisites: FRENCH 303;FRENCH 304; FRENCH 305; FRENCH 306

FRENCH 490: HONORS SEMINAR (VLPA)
To be arranged, (2-5 cr., max. 10), instructor to be arranged
Special studies in French literature. Required of candidates for honors and distinction in French.

FRENCH 499A: SPECIAL TOPICS
To be arranged (1 -5 cr., max 10), instructor to be arranged
Prerequisite: FRENCH 303

FRENCH 499B: SPECIAL TOPICS: FRENCH FAIRY TALES
Lecture MW 11:00-12:20, 5 cr., Denyse Delcourt
Meets with French 214 A.
Discussion section, French 499 BA, TTH 9:30-10:20

Beginning with Charles Perrault, the 17th Century author of a number of well-known fairy tales such as Cinderella, The Little Red Riding Hood and Blue Beard, this course is an exploration of a major French literary tradition still greatly influential on modern literature and films. As women were the most productive fairy tale writers in France at the end of the 17th Century, we will also read some of Madame d'Aulnoy's disturbing, very different kinds of tales. Sexual politics, gender issues and the numerous other reasons behind her radical reworking of the genre will be discussed. French fairy tales have often been used by poets and novelists as a basis for their own writing. As such, they constitute an excellent way to get more deeply involved into French literature.
Required texts: Zipes, Jack, Beauty and the Beast, and other Classic French Fairy Tales, Signet Classic; Perrault, Charles, Contes, Folio Classique.
Prerequisite: FRENCH 303

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

FRENCH 590 B: SPECIAL SEMINAR & CONFERENCE - LITERARY LIFE IN THE OLD REGIME
T 2:30-5:20, 5 cr., Geoff Turnovsky

This course explores the key social, political and economic parameters that
defined intellectual life in the Old Regime. In a sense, it proposes a study
of the evolution of authorship in the early modern period, though only so
long as we understand this process in a broad sense to encompass
intellectual practices that were more socially inflected, politically
deferential and anti-professional that our contemporary notion of the 'author' implies. In fact, a central question that the course will pose is
that of how the author as a modern ideal conveying both intellectual and
professional autonomy takes shape in opposition to but also out of the
prevailing models of the Old Regime. Issues of interest will include the
social integration of the intellectual, relations with political authorities, patronage, censorship, and the role of the market. Featured writers: La Rochefoucauld, Molière, Voltaire, and Rousseau. Readings in French and English; discussion in English.

FRENCH 591 A: LITERARY PROBLEMS - MIDDLE AGES - "THE HOLY LAND: EUROPE'S FIRST COLONY AND ITS POST-COLONIAL FALLOUT"
MW 11:30-1:20, 5 cr., Eugene Vance

In 1096, the feudal magnates of France, Germany, Provence, Normandy, Flanders and Italy answered the call by the French Pope Innocent II to undertake the first and only "successful" crusade, during which a European army of European crusaders, whose battle-cry was "God wills it!," conquered the Holy Land. After storming their way en route to the Holy Land and then indiscriminately slaughtering many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The Europeans installed one of their own as the first king of a new "Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem."

Willed by God, the Christian rebirth of the Holy Land was therefore "predestined" to become the first legitimate and foremost of all truly "European" colonies, with Islam as its subjugated, subhuman “other”. The conquerors have since been celebrated as Christian heroes, and their dead as “martyrs.”

However, the conquest of the Holy Land destabilized a whole region of the world and left a legacy of turmoil that no subsequent crusade could quell during the three following centuries.

Thus, Europe's “first colony” inaugurated both a new ideological discourse and what we may recognize as a prototype for a post-colonial condition—for which there existed no recognized discourse?

The purpose of this interdisciplinary seminar will be to explore such questions as the following:

What features of the Holy Land as a Christian Kingdom can (or cannot) be construed as a paradigm for the comparative study of future European colonizations of the Americas, the Africa and Asia?

What did the genocidal Christian Holy War, the confrontation with Islam as the radical "other" contribute to the emerging identity of Christian "Europe" as a cultural and spiritual order greater than the "nations" that were its parts?

How do the colonializing motives of non-Christian cultures (for instance, those of China, Japan, India, Islam) differ from, or resemble, those of European colonial ideology?

What does the example of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem offer to the broader methodology and discourse of Post-Colonial Studies as an emerging or "discipline"?

Readings will include the a reading of the Song of Roland, Christian and Arab chronicles about the First Crusade, and selected historical accounts relating to establishment and decline of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Students will be asked to present an oral report and write a research paper, hopefully on some specific colonial example (Latin American, North American, African, Asian) of their choice.

FRENCH 600 A IND STUDY/RESEARCH
To be arranged, 1-10 cr.

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


ITALIAN 102: ELEMENTARY ITALIAN
Daily, multiple hours and sections, 5 cr., Staff

The second and third quarters 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. The three course series covers all major elements of Italian grammar. Conducted in Italian; language laboratory required in addition to daily class sessions. Offered sequentially (Autumn-101, Winter-102 & 103, Spring-103).
Prerequisite: 101 for 102, 102 for 103.
Required texts (for the sequence 101-102-103): Parliamo Italiano! (Houghton Mifflin Company), Parliamo Italiano! Workbook/Lab Manual/CD (Houghton Mifflin Company).

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

ITALIAN 111: ACCELERATED FIRST-YEAR ITALIAN
Daily, 2 sections, 10 cr., Staff
Intensive version of 101 and 102. Designed for highly motivated students.
Required texts: Parliamo Italiano! (Houghton Mifflin Company), Parliamo Italiano! Workbook/Lab Manual/CD (Houghton Mifflin Company).

ITALIAN 202: INTERMEDIATE ITALIAN (VLPA)
Daily, 2 sections, 5 cr., Staff

The second 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.
Prerequisites: 201 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 CONVERSATIONAL ITALIAN-LINKED W/ ITAL 366 (VLPA)
TTH, 9:30-10:20, 2 cr, Staff

Course description not yet available.

ITALIAN 250: ROME (VLPA)
5 credits, Ricardo De Mambro Santos
Lecture TTH 11:30-1:20
Friday discussion section times vary

Focuses on Rome as an historical, intellectual, and artistic world center. Literary and historic documents, visual arts, architecture, film, and opera will be used to explore the changing paradigms of the Eternal City. In English.
Required texts: Hibbert, Christopher, Rome:The Biography of a City, Penguin; Augenti, Andrea, Art and Archaeology of Rome: From Ancient Times to the Baroque, Riverside; and a coursepack.
Offered jointly with ART H 250 & HSTEU 250

ITALIAN 302: ADVANCED ITALIAN (VLPA)
Multiple sections & times, 5 cr., Staff

The second part of a three-quarter perfection-level sequence of syntax, composition and stylistics. Offered sequentially, autumn 301, Winter 302, Spring 303.
Prerequisite: 301 or college equivalent or placement.
Required texts: Sciascia, A Ciascuno Il Suo.

ITALIAN 327 A: ADVANCED CONVERSATION (VLPA)
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 352: ITALIAN CULTURAL HISTORY (I&S)
TTH 12:30-2:20, 5 cr, Mazzola

Course description not yet available.
Required texts: TBA
Prerequisite: ITAL 203

ITALIAN 366: ITALIAN SOCIETY IN FILM & LITERATURE (I&S/VLPA)
MW 2:30-5:20, 5 cr, Mazzola

This course will discuss the most creative period of Italian cinema, what is commonly known as Nearealism. We will first focus on the historical background that stimulated the making of movies like Ossessione and Open City. We will then analyse the major cinematic characteristics of Neorealism: from editing to cinematography, from acting to camera movement. Particular emphasis will also be given to the narrative structure of these movies. In the second part of this course we will analyse the influence of Neorealim on directors not usually associated with this label. We will screen some of the early movies by Fellini, Bertolucci and Fellini and discuss their connection to Neorealism.
Required texts: TBA
Meets with ITAL 466

ITALIAN 390: SUPERVISED STUDY
To be arranged (2-6 cr., max. 20), instructor to be arranged

ITALIAN 390B: SUPERVISED STUDY (LANGUAGE TRAILER LINKED W/ ITAL 466)
F 1:30-3:20, 2 cr, Staff

Course description not yet available.
Concurrent enrollment in ITAL 466 required.

ITALIAN 401A: MEDIEVAL ITALIAN READINGS (VLPA)
TTH 10:30-12:20, 5 cr., Donna Yowell

Exploration of medieval Italian cultural history through a broad variety of literary and other textual traditions.
Required texts: TBA
Prerequisite: ITAL 302

ITALIAN 466: ITALIAN SOCIETY IN FILM & LITERATURE- IN ITALIAN (I&S/VLPA)
MW 2:30-5:20, 5 cr, Mazzola

Course description not yet available. Students enrolled in ITAL 466 should also sign up for the ITAL 390 language trailer.
Required texts: TBA
Meets with ITAL 366

ITALIAN 499: SPECIAL TOPICS
To be arranged (1-5 cr., max 10), instructor to be arranged
Prerequisite: ITAL 302

ITALIAN 501: MEDIEVAL ITALIAN READINGS
TTH 2:30-4:20, 5 cr., Donna Yowell

Exploration of medieval Italian cultural history through a broad variety of literary and other textual traditions.
Required texts: TBA

ITALIAN 590A: SPECIAL SEMINAR/CONFERENCE
To be arranged, (1-10 cr., 30 max), instructor to be arranged

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

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