Intro to Francophone Studies
Please turn off your cell phone while in class
Course home page
http://www.fll.vt.edu/gueye/french3314.htm
Reading works by Francophone writers from North Africa, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa and Quebec, this course explores the variety of voices, groups and societies in Francophone literatures. Intended as a basic introduction to the literary personality of the area, the course considers issues of history, resistance, representation, identities, and race, as a response to the legacy of colonial France.
Texts
Among the writers whose work will be discussed are: Tahar Ben Jelloun, Les yeux baissés; Aimé Césaire, La tragédie du roi Christophe; Godbout Jacques, Salut Galarneau; Cheikh Hamidou Kane, L'aventure ambiguë; Mariama Bâ, Une si longue lettre. Selected poems from Negritude poets will be read.
Format
Short lectures on literary aesthetics, discussions of readings, student's presentations on Francophone countries. Students should be prepared for frequent short writing assignments, in-class presentations, and active participation in class discussions.
Special emphasis will be put on research techniques by extensive use of library reference works and other information systems including the Internet. Students are introduced to the rules of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers and are expected to write the assigned papers in accordance with these rules.
Prerequisite: French 3105, 3106, 3304.
This course will count towards the minor in French if you are taking French 3304 and any of the culture and civilization courses (French 3205 or 3206).
Attendance
At the end of the semester I will report an incomplete grade for any student who missed 1/3 or more of classes. You cannot have an A (final grade) if you miss 1/4 of classes (about 10 times) since your class participation and attendance will be very low.
All absences will be counted as unexcused unless you provide evidence of an illness (e.g. a doctor's note) or an appropriate university-sponsored activity (with a letter from the university official in charge of the activity). You need to contact the office of the Dean if you have to miss a class for personal reasons not related to illness or university-sponsored activities.
Tardiness
Any time you come late to class, you are disturbing class progress. Tardiness could also lower your participation grade. Please be on time.
Sujets
1. Rapport bibliographique: RE 1
Faites une liste bibliographique de 30 oeuvres et articles de revues (critiques et littéraires) sur les thèmes, les auteurs et les oeuvres du programme. Il faudra choisir des articles de revenues littéraires qui ne sont pas sur Internet. Référez-vous au protocole rédactionnel du MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. See examples under #5 (Making a bibliography or a list of work cited) below.
2. Rapport oral:
Votre rapport oral doit porter sur la culture des régions francophones et sur les oeuvres. C'est votre contribution au cours d'une durée de 15 minutes. Cliquez sur le lien (Contributions and Regions) pour en savoir plus sur la contribution au cours et sur les régions à choisir.
3. Rapport écrit: RE 2 - RE 6
Chaque étudiant fera trois rapports écrits (RE), choisis entre RE 2 et RE 6, qui se rapportent aux oeuvres du programme. Vous devez rendre le rapport écrit sur une oeuvre choisie à la date qui est bien indiquée par le programme. Pour chaque oeuvre étudiée, vous faites un rapport de lecture de 500-700 mots. Pensez surtout à l'aspect thématique de ce cours et exprimez votre réaction personnelle concernant l'oeuvre. Consultez le programme pour savoir quand est-ce que vous devez rendre ces devoirs.
4. Test : Vous répondrez à des questions de compréhension sur les contributions faites par les étudiants du cours.
5. Le devoir final: RE 7
Refaites un de vos rapports écrits d'une manière plus approfondie et élaborée (5 pages minimum). Inspirez-vous des thèmes que nous avons traités en classe. N'oubliez pas de vous servir de votre rapport bibliographique et des oeuvres en réserve.
N.B. Pour tout travail écrit, suivre le protocole rédactionnel du MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers : Double interligne et citez vos sources selon le modèle en vigueur. Mettez la liste bibliographique de vos citations (ouvrages cités) à la fin du devoir. Voir ci-dessous pour les détails.
Making a bibliography or a list of works cited
Follow the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers when citing works and journals and also when making a bibliography or a list of works cited (To download sample papers click on links below under Sample Papers).
- A book entry includes: The author's last name (followed by a comma) and the name, the title in italics, the place of publication, the publishing company, and the year of publication.
Ex:
Senghor, Léopold Sédar. Poèmes. Paris: Seuil,
1984.
- An article entry includes: The author's last name and the name, the title in quotation marks, the journal title in italics, the volume (and volume number if any), the year in parenthesis, and the pagination.
Ex:
Ojadide, Tanure. "Literature and Cultural identity." African
Studies
Review 35.5 (1992): 43-57.
Please note the importance of punctuation and its place. The dot is followed by two spaces. Also note capital letters in the title in English and compare to a title in French with one (for the first word) or two capital letters for the first two words.
When making a list of Work cited or bibliography you need to follow an alphabetical order for the entries. The last name of the author is considered first for the order.
See MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Library Reference Room) for detailed explanations and other citation entries like a book (or an article) written by two authors, edited by an author or two authors, a chapter in a book, etc.
Sample Papers: 1. Bibliography format 2. Paper format
French Accents: Please use these accents when you write assignments in French.
Grading: Class participation/Contributions (35%), Written assignments (35%), Final paper (30%).
The Honor Code will be strictly enforced in this course.
