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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 301, 302: Advanced French
French 305: French Literature: 1600-1789
French 378: Contemporary France
French 390 A: Supervised Study
French 414 A: Uses of Social & Political Satire
French 445: Women Writers
French 490: Honors Seminar
French 570: Seminar in Cinema
French 577: Modern Critical Methods
French 590 A: Special Seminar & Conference
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 302: Advanced Grammar
Italian 327: Advanced Conversation
Italian 341: Italian and American Poetry in Translation
Italian 390: Supervised Study
Italian 404: Modern Italian Readings I
Italian 431: The Birth of Modern Theater - CANCELLED
Italian 499: Special Topics
Italian 504: Modern Italian Readings I
Italian 590: Special Seminar & Conference
Italian 592: Literary Problems - Renaissance
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), 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), 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: Dietiker, En Bonne Forme text and workbook (audio will be available online).
NOTE: French 203 is not always offered winter quarter.

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 414A: SPECIAL TOPICS- THE USES OF SOCIAL & POLITICAL SATIRE
TTH 1:30-3:20, 5 cr., Geoff Turnovsky

The popularity of the Daily Show and SNL proved satire to be an especially
effective means for engaging political debate during the recent election
season. Things were no different in the eighteenth century. Writers of the
Enlightenment such as Voltaire and Diderot turned to satire in order to
raise the most urgent and daring social and political questions. We will
explore the preeminent role satire played in the period, with attention also
to earlier and later uses. Writers include Molière, Le Sage, Voltaire,
Diderot, Beaumarchais. Readings and discussions in French.
Required texts: Voltaire, Candide et autres contes (Folio; ISBN: 2070384829); Diderot, Le Neveu de Rameau (Classiques Larousse; 2035840325); Lesage, Turcaret (Folio Theatre; 2070418928); Beaumarchais, Le Mariage de Figaro (Classiques Larousse; 2038716110); Moliere, L'Ecole des femmes + Critique de l'ecole des femmes (Folio classique; 2070376885).
Prerequisite: FRENCH 303; either FRENCH 304, FRENCH 305, FRENCH 306, FRENCH 307.

FRENCH 445: FRENCH WRITERS (VLPA)
MW 1:30-3:20, 5 cr., Louisa Mackenzie

Focuses on French women writers and writing about women. Chronological and geographic ranges varies. Gender issues addressed in critical fashion, considering the different historical and ideological contexts in which each of the works were produced.
Required texts: Coursepack
Prerequisite: FRENCH 303; either FRENCH 304, FRENCH 305, FRENCH 306, FRENCH 307

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

FRENCH 570: SEMINAR IN CINEMA - MAKING WAVES: FRENCH POSTWAR DOCUMENTARY, 1945-1967
MTWTH 5:30-7:20pm, 5 cr., Steven Ungar (UW Solomon Katz Distinguished Professor in the Humanities & Professor of French and Comparative Literature, University of Iowa)

This seminar studies documentary filmmaking in France during the two decades following the end of the 1940-1944 Nazi occupation. Readings, discussions, and screenings will explore links between documentary practices and the emergence of the French New Wave whose impact on filmmaking between 1959 and 1968 was worldwide. Analyses of individual films will alternate with contextual approaches to social and political crises of the period such as U.S.-style modernization, the Cold War, decolonization, and generational clashes involving an emergent youth culture. Films to be studied include The Blood of the Beasts (Georges Franju), Night and Fog & All the Memory of the World (Alain Resnais), L'Opéra Mouffe (Agnès Varda), Chronicle of a Summer (Jean Rouch), The Merry Month of May & The Sixth Side of the Pentagon (Chris Marker), and Statues Also Die (Resnais & Marker). Readings will include book-length studies by Bill Nichols, Michel Marie, and Kristin Ross as well as a course-pack of articles. We will begin with an overview of early documentary practices in France, from the Lumière Brothers to Jean Vigo and Luis Buñuel. (Screenings may include films by Robert Flaherty, Joris Ivens, and Dziga Vertov.)

Students will be expected to: (1) prepare all assignments on the syllabus;
(2) attend all seminar meetings and screenings; (3) complete a 15-20 pp.research paper whose topic is determined in consultation with the instructor during the first three weeks of the quarter; and (4) make a 20-minute seminar presentation in conjunction with their research topic. They should come away from the seminar with: (1) improved analytical skills; (2)
knowledge of the history of documentary filmmaking in France: and (3) a
sense of the political and social history in France between 1945 and 1967.

Final grade will be computed as follows:
Preparation, Attendance, & Participation: 60%
Seminar Presentation: 15%
Research Paper: 25%

This course is intended for graduate students with interests in Film
Studies, Comparative Literature, French &Francophone Studies, and History. Assigned readings and seminar discussion will be in English. Knowledge of French is recommended, but not required. Whenever possible, screenings will be shown with English-language subtitles or with translations.
Required texts: Nichols, Bill. Introduction to Documentary. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2001 (ISBN 978-0-253-21469); Ross, Kristin. Fast Cars and Clean Bodies. Cambridge, MIT Press, 1996 (ISBN 0-262-68091-2); and a coursepack, available at the University Bookstore.

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

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):

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 341: ITALIAN AND AMERICAN POETRY IN TRANSLATION (VLPA)
TTH 10:30-12:20, 5 cr., Giuseppe Leporace

Introduction to basic concepts and skills required for Italian-to-English translation. Examines the main aspects of contrastive grammar and stylistics used in translation, providing practical opportunities to incorporate and apply the material. Exposure to a variety of translation fields.
Required texts: TBA
Prerequisite: ITAL 203 or ITAL 234

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

ITALIAN 404: MODERN ITALIAN READINGS I (VLPA)
TTH 2:30-4:20, 5 cr., Claudio Mazzola

Readings in Italian Ottocento, covering the period of Romanticism.
Required texts: Guglielmino, Il Sistema Letterario. L'ottocento. Vol.4, Principato
Prerequisite: ITAL 302

ITALIAN 431: THE BIRTH OF MODERN THEATER (VLPA) - CANCELLED
MW 2:30- 4:20, 5 cr., Susan Gaylard

This course studies theatrical works from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. We will investigate the idea of the modern spectacle, the emergence of the theater as an architectural space, and the female heroine, as we compare various versions (theatrical, cinematic, pictorial) of each plot. We will also have the opportunity to see Goldoni's "Servant of Two Masters" at the theater in Seattle; students will subsequently provide their own adaptation of an early modern masterpiece. All coursework is in Italian.
Required texts: Goldoni, Carlo, Il servitore di due padroni/ La famiglia dell'antiquario / La bottega del caffe', (ed. Davico Bonino, G.), Garzanti Libri, 2004.
Prerequisite: ITAL 302

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

ITALIAN 504: MODERN READINGS I
TTH 2:30-4:20, 5 cr., Claudio Mazzola

Readings in Italian Ottocento, covering the period of Romanticism.
Required texts: Guglielmino, Il Sistema Letterario. L'ottocento. Vol.4, Principato

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

ITALIAN 592: LITERARY PROBLEMS - RENAISSANCE
F 1:30-4:20, 5 cr., Susan Gaylard

This seminar introduces, simultaneously, Italian Renaissance literary culture and problems of "gendered" history. Readings introduce a wide range of issues early on, including questions of representation (literary and visual), canonization, and periodization. Students progressively focus on a single author or problem in developing research papers. All class discussions and readings are in English; students whose focus is Italian Studies will read primary texts in the original.
Required texts: Virginia Cox. Women’s Writing in Italy, 1400-1650. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2008; and, for Italian grad students, Baldassare Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. Ed. Walter Barberis. Torino: Einaudi, 1998.

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

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