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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 214: French Fairy Tales
French 301, 302, 303: Advanced French
French 306: French Literature: 1789-Present
French 307: Francophone Literature & Culture
French 327: Cinema Language Trailer
French 390A: French Cinema Since the New Wave
French 390B: Independent Study
French 404: Old French
French 470: French Cinema Since the New Wave
French 490: Honors Seminar
French 499: Special Topics
French 530: Renaissance Poetry
French 577: Modern Critical Methods - "It Must Be Me"
French 590: Special Seminar & Conference
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 - tentative
Italian 303: Italian Stylistics
Italian 327: Advanced Conversation
Italian 366: Italian Society in Cinema and Literature in Italian
Italian 390: Supervised Study
Italian 402: Early Modern Italian Readings I
Italian 465: Italian Women Writers of the '90s
Italian 466: Italian Society in Cinema and Literature in Italian
Italian 502: Early Modern Italian Readings I
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 214: FRENCH FAIRY TALES (VLPA)
Lecture: TTH 9:30-10:50, 5 cr., Denyse Delcourt
Discussion sections: WF 9:30-10:20 or 10:30-11:20

French fairy tales as a major trend in French literature and a continuing influence on modern fictions and films. Particular attention given to the numerous French women writers of fairy tales at the time of Charles Perrault (seventeenth century) and after. Course conducted in English.
Required text: Zipes, Jack (translator), Beauties, Beasts, and the Enchantment: Classic French Fairy Tales, Penguin.

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 307: FRANCOPHONE LITERATURE/CULTURE
TTH 8:30-10:20, 5 cr., Staff

Survey of contemporary Francophone (post) colonial literatures and cultures.
Prerequisite: FRENCH 303, which may be taken concurrently.

FRENCH 327: ADVANCED CONVERSATION
TTH 2:30-3:20, 2 cr., Staff

Language trailer section for students enrolled in French 470A.
Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in French 470 A.

FRENCH 390A: FRENCH CINEMA SINCE THE NEW WAVE (VLPA)
MTWTH 3:30-5:20, 5 cr., Steven Ungar
Meets with FRENCH 470 A and C LIT 315 B

Course description not yet available.
Prerequisite: FRENCH 203

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

FRENCH 404: OLD FRENCH (VLPA)
TTH 11:30-1:20, 5 cr., Denyse Delcourt

This course is designed for acquisition of reading facility in Old French through intensive study of selected texts. One of the main purposes of this course is to introduce students to the beauty and complexity of the French Middle Ages through the close reading of significant medieval literary texts. After a brief consideration of the grammatical forms of Old French, students will be asked to translate and comment upon examples taken from various medieval modes of expression: epics, romances, poetry, theater, hagiography, etc. Course conducted in French.
Prerequisite: FRENCH 303; either FRENCH 304, FRENCH 305, FRENCH 306, or FRENCH 307.

FRENCH 470: FRENCH CINEMA SINCE THE NEW WAVE (VLPA)
MTWTH 3:30-5:20, 5 cr., Visiting Professor, Steven Ungar
Meets with FRENCH 390 C and C LIT 315 B

Course description not yet available.

Prerequisite: FRENCH 303; either FRENCH 304, FRENCH 305, FRENCH 306, or FRENCH 307.
Students enrolled in this course must also sign up for accompanying language trailer section, FRENCH 327.

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 530 A: RENAISSANCE POETRY
F 1:30-4:20, 5 cr., Louisa Mackenzie

Renaissance French poetry is notoriously erudite, referentially dense, and
often obscure. In this class we will use this not as a reason to be
discouraged, but as a reason to develop our close reading skills. Rather
than using contextual knowledge as a springboard into reading texts, we will start with the texts themselves and build outwards. Students will be
expected to come to class having read a few poems in great detail and having researched references (mythological, intertextual, etc.) themselves, as much as possible. Secondary readings will also be closely critiqued as a means to honing writing skills.

All readings will be available in a course reader. Readings and papers in
French; class discussion in English.

FRENCH 577 A: MODERN CRITICAL METHODS - IT MUST BE ME
MW 3:30-5:20, 5 cr., Douglas Collins

In the "Letter to His Father," Kafka writes, "My writing is all about you." But what does it mean when he adds, "Yet it did take its course in the direction determined by me"? A story by Wallace Stevens confirms that the aesthetic contitutively involves this greedy warp in the path of desiring attention. In "The Revelation" a young man takes a photograph of his sweetheart to be framed. A few days later collects the package, and opening it finds instead a framed photograph of himself. The history of reflection upon the aesthetic is that of the conditions of this reflexivity, the interaction between a dependency, a disappointment and a self-satisfaction, that of the agencies of the sequence that result in the movement from one position to the other. The feature that dominates the period from Kant to the present is the elimination of an intimidating violence from the shifting process, the becoming indistinguishable of the one moment from the other, the denarrativization of reasons for desirability and dismissability.

Readings from:

Rousseau, Letter to D'Alembert on Spectacles
Kant, The Critique of Judgment
Schiller, "Naïve and Sentimental Poetry"
Hegel, excerpts from the Aesthetics
Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy
Eichenbaum Schlovsky, and Bakhtine--exerpts
Tolstoy, What is Art?
Freud, "On Transience"
Freud, On Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious
Adorno, Aesthetic Theory

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

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

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)
MWF, 2 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): A Vicenda - Lingua, (McGraw-Hill).

ITALIAN 227: INTERMEDIATE CONVERSATION (VLPA)
TTH 9:30-10:20, 2 cr., Staff

Description not yet available. This is a tentative offering.
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 366: ITALIAN SOCIETY IN CINEMA AND LITERATURE IN ITALIAN (VLPA/I&S)

This course focuses on the evolution of Italian postwar society through the analysis of film and literature as well as critical, historical, and sociological readings. We will discuss the most creative moment of Italian cinema, the period commonly known as Neorealism, which developed between 1945 and 1955. First we focus on the historical background that stimulated the making of movies like Ossessione (1942), Rome Open City (1945) and Bicycle Thief (1948). We will then analyze the major technical 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 discuss the influence of Neorealism on directors not usually associated with this label. We will screen some of the early movies by Fellini, Antonioni, and Pasolini. and discuss their connection to Neorealism. Last, we will screen some recent movies to verify whether Neorealism had any influence on the filmmakers of the last generation. Movies will be screened on Wednesday and discussed the following Monday. Attendance is mandatory. Instruction will be in English. The critical texts will be read in English.
Required Text: Peter Bondanella, Italian Cinema
Meets with ITAL 466.

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

ITALIAN 390 B: LANGUAGE TRAILER FOR ITALIAN 466
F 1:30-3:20, 2 cr., Staff

Language trailer section. Required for students enrolled in ITAL 466. Minimum prerequisite is concurrent enrollment in ITAL 203.

ITALIAN 402: EARLY MODERN ITALIAN READINGS I (VLPA)
TTH 2:30-4:20, 5 cr., Susan Gaylard

Who is the Renaissance Man? The term “Renaissance man” is sometimes seen as a 19th-century fantasy. But were there any actual “Renaissance men”? If so, how did they define themselves?—as heroes? geniuses? or as something else? How did they respond to the political and religious crises of the early sixteenth century? We will try to answer these and other questions by studing writings by Lorenzo de’ Medici, Poliziano, Pico, Boiardo, Savonarola, Machiavelli, and Bandello; and major works of art by Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Benozzo de’ Gozzoli, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael; and both writings and artwork by Michelangelo.
Meets with ITAL 502.
Prerequisite: ITAL 302

ITALIAN 465: ITALIAN WOMEN WRITERS OF THE '90s (VLPA)
TTH 12:30-2:20, 5 cr., Claudio Mazzola

Since the Renaissance, the voice of female writers has been denied any recognition by Italian society. The major social and political changes that swept through Italy in the last quarter of the last century determined a radical change of the role played, at all levels, by women. Probably nowhere more than in literature is evident this swift of opportunities, from a purely iconographical literature about women, which characterized Italian production since the Renaissance, to a literature by women and on (real)women.

This course examines first of all how historically women writers of the past were sticking to very few literary genres, like the autobiographical novel and diaries, out of the necessity to define themselves and their very own personal sphere of existence. Then we will notice how in recent years there has been a broadening of the genres to the point that nowadays there isn’t any significant difference between men and women writers. In fact, women have also been able to reach the mass market and become best seller writers like it has never happened before in Italy. Then we investigate the shift in style, as well in content, of the new generation of female writers. How they dealt with narrative issues like point of views, the use of time and space, and how they approach and discuss with authority topics (like love and sex) that have always seen women as objects rather than subjects of a discussion.

Prerequisite: ITAL 302. Content covered in spring 2009 will differ from content covered in autumn 2008. Students may repeat this course.

ITALIAN 466: ITALIAN SOCIETY IN CINEMA AND LITERATURE IN ITALIAN (VLPA/I&S)
M 2:30-4:20, W 2:30-5:20, 5 cr., Claudio Mazzola

This course focuses on the evolution of Italian postwar society through the analysis of film and literature as well as critical, historical, and sociological readings. We will discuss the most creative moment of Italian cinema, the period commonly known as Neorealism, which developed between 1945 and 1955. First we focus on the historical background that stimulated the making of movies like Ossessione (1942), Rome Open City (1945) and Bicycle Thief (1948). We will then analyze the major technical 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 discuss the influence of Neorealism on directors not usually associated with this label. We will screen some of the early movies by Fellini, Antonioni, and Pasolini. and discuss their connection to Neorealism. Last, we will screen some recent movies to verify whether Neorealism had any influence on the filmmakers of the last generation. Movies will be screened on Wednesday and discussed the following Monday. Attendance is mandatory. Instruction will be in English. The critical texts will be read in English.
Required Text: Peter Bondanella, Italian Cinema
Minimum prerequisite is concurrent enrollment in ITAL 203.
Meets with ITAL 366. Students enrolled in ITAL 466 must also sign up for the Italian language trailer section, ITAL 390 B.

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

ITALIAN 502: EARLY MODERN ITALIAN READINGS I
TTH 2:30-4:20, 5 cr., Susan Gaylard

Who is the Renaissance Man? The term “Renaissance man” is sometimes seen as a 19th-century fantasy. But were there any actual “Renaissance men”? If so, how did they define themselves?—as heroes? geniuses? or as something else? How did they respond to the political and religious crises of the early sixteenth century? We will try to answer these and other questions by studing writings by Lorenzo de’ Medici, Poliziano, Pico, Boiardo, Savonarola, Machiavelli, and Bandello; and major works of art by Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Benozzo de’ Gozzoli, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael; and both writings and artwork by Michelangelo.
Meets with ITAL 402.

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

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