Salisbury University                                                                                      WHITE

FRENCH 316 - La Civilisation française I                                              Fall 2007

 

General objectives:  To become acquainted with the geography of France and how it has influenced French history; to become acquainted with French civilization, history, art and literary trends from the l6th and 17th century and to be able to discuss the same in French.

 

Performance objectives:

 

1.       When given a map of France, students will be able to identify, with reasonable accuracy, critical geographical features and the former provinces, discussing their characteristics in both written and oral forms and their relationship to present day departments.  Students will also be able to locate important historical cities on a map of France.

 

2.       When given a list of principle historical events and people in France from the 16th and l7th century, students will be able to discuss the historical perspective and importance of the item and its effect on French civilization today.

 

3.       When given a list of artistic trends in France from the 16th and l7th century, students will be able to discuss characteristics and works from each period.

 

4.       When given a list of literary trends in France from the 16th and l7th century, students will be able to discuss trends, authors and works from each period.

 

Text: Collection – Pour Connaître la France – Histoire CM  Nembrini, Polivka, Bordes

 

Materials : clicker

 

Grading:      30%                        tests                                        

          20%                        class participation and attendance (2 absences

before the instructor questions the student's

desire to succeed; students who arrive more than 10

minutes after class has begun are considered “late”

which counts as half an absence)

          20%                        quizzes

          20%                        paper

          10%                        journal


 

*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *

 

A = 90 - l00   B = 80 - 89    C = 70 - 79    D = 60 - 69

 

*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *

 

Tests: Tests will be announced in advance.  There will be an exam given during finals' week; it will not be comprehensive.  Tests will be given in French with both objective and subjective sections.

 

Class Participation: The purpose of this class is to give students an overview of French history and culture from the 16th and l7th century.  This is the content of the course.  French is the medium through which the content will be explored i.e. this is not a language class per se.  Although you will continue to increase your knowledge and use of French vocabulary and grammar (i.e. linguistic competency), this is not the focus of the course.  Your verbal participation will also permit you to continue to work on pronunciation and oral expression of your ideas but this course emphasizes communicative competency more and thus the meaning will be considered more important than the form.  It is important to realize that a lack of attention to form will be deleterious to your French in the long term.

     The primary mode of the class will be discussion so it is important that you come to class prepared either with the answers to the homework assignment or questions that you have.  It is important to ask for clarification from the professor or other students if something is not clear to you.

 

Quizzes: At the beginning of class each day, there will be a short quiz which will evaluate your understanding of the homework assignment.  It will also serve as a basis of discussion.  Make-up quizzes will NOT be given.  The 12 highest grades will be averaged to determine this portion of the final grade.

 

Paper: Students will be expected to do a paper of their choice.  French majors/minors must do their project in French; non-majors have the option of doing the project in French or in English. 

Students must select a topic of French civilization from the 16th or 17th century and do research using French (MINIMUM OF 3 SOURCES) and English texts.  A variety of sources must be used.  In this manner, students will be able to explore in depth a topic which is of personal interest to them.  Topics and bibliography must be submitted by Thursday, September 20.  A progress report is due Thursday, October 18.   Papers must be turned in at the beginning of class on November 13.  Late papers will not be accepted.


 

Criteria: Papers must be typed, double spaced, 1” margins, 12 font, 5-8 pages (does NOT include title page, illustrations or bibliography).  Papers must have a cover page with the student’s name, class, date and title.  A graphic or illustration is also acceptable. The final bibliography must have a minimum of 3 sources in French, a maximum of 3 sources from the internet and overall, a variety of sources which does not include the txt for the course.

Papers will be graded primarily on content and relevancy to the course.  Organization, clarity of thought and mechanics will also be considered.  See sample rubric to be given in class.

 

Journal: In order to permit you to continue to work on the development of your writing skills, you will write a comment journal.  With some homework assignments, you will be given a mini-essay question to which you should respond with l or 2 paragraphs in French.  This will help you synthesize the reading material as well as help you prepare for the essay questions on the tests. The 12 highest grades will be averaged to determine this portion of the final grade.  See sample rubric to be given in class.

 

Listserv :  After DROP / ADD, a class listserv will be developed whereby you may ask the professor and / or classmates questions about class or homework in order to improve your language abilities and comprehension of the content.

 

Renaissance lunch: On October 11 during class time, the class will participate in a Renaissance lunch prepared by the staff at the Commons.  There will be music and special guests. The cost will be $10.  If this poses a hardship for you, please speak with the professor.

 

Clicker – You are required to purchase a clicker for this class.  It will be used for in class activities and some quizzes.  Students who do not have their clicker on a quiz day will receive a zero for that quiz.  You will receive instructions regarding how to register your clicker and how to use it.  You may use this clicker in your other classes as well should it be required.

 

                                               Possible paper topics

 

François I - patron des arts

             et les guerres en Italie

             et Leonardo da Vinci

             et le Camp du Drap d'Or

Marguerite de Navarre

Jacques Cartier - explorateur

Catherine de Medicis contre Diane de Poitiers

les prédictions de Nostradamus

le massacre de la sainte Barthélemy

l'Édit de Nantes

les hommes derrière le trône -    Sully

                                                          Richelieu

                                                Mazarin

                                                Colbert

les femmes dans la vie de Louis XIV et leur influence

Port Royal et les Jansénistes

Louis XIII, XIV, et ...(choisissez un élément de leur

          vie)

musicien -      Lulli

sculpteur -    Goujon

auteurs -       Rabelais

Montaigne

Molière

                   Racine

                   Corneille

Versailles -    la vie

                   le palais

                   les jardins

artistes      Poussin                           

                   Lorrain                           

 

NOTE – many homework worksheets will be e-mailed to you as attachments to your SU e-mail address.  If you prefer to use your personal e-mail address, please plan to forward your SU messages in order to keep current with class information.  The University’s official mode of communication with students is your campus e-mail account on Groupwise.  All campus offices use this mode of communication.  Failure to read notices sent to you campus e-mail account is not an excuse for missing deadlines.

 

Tentative class plan

le 28 août     introduction / géographie

le  30 août    géographie

le  4 sept      géographie

le  6 sept      géographie

le 11 sept     EXAMEN

le 13 sept     La Renaissance : pp. 58-61; devoirs I, II

le 18 sept     La Renaissance : pp. 58-61; devoirs III, IV

le 20 sept     La Renaissance : pp. 62-63; devoirs I, II 

                   sujet du papier; bibliographie partielle

                   (sources en français)        

le 25 sept     La Renaissance : pp. 62-63; devoirs III, IV        

le 27 sept     film – La Reine Margot

le 2 oct        film – La Reine Margot                                            

le  4 oct       La Renaissance : pp. 64-65; devoirs I, II

le  9 oct       La Renaissance : pp. 64-65; devoirs III, IV

le 11 oct       Déjeuner de la Renaissance – Montgomery Room dans le Commons    

le 16 oct       La Renaissance : pp. 66-67; devoirs I, II 

le 18 oct       La Renaissance : pp. 66-67; devoirs III, IV

                   Progrès du papier / projet ; bibliographie finale

le 23 oct       Examen – la Renaissance

le 25 oct       l’Ancien Régime : pp. 68-69; devoirs I, II

le 30 oct       l’Ancien Régime : pp. 68-69; devoirs III, IV                         

le  1er nov     L’Ancien Régime : pp. 70-71 ; devoirs I, II

le 6 nov        L’Ancien Régime : pp. 70-71 ; devoirs III, IV

le 8 nov        l’Ancien Régime : pp. 74-75; devoirs I, II                                     

le 13 nov      l’Ancien Régime : pp. 74-75; devoirs III, IV

                   rendez LE PAPIER au commencement de la classe

le 15 nov      pas de classe

le 20 nov      pas de classe                                      

le 27 nov      l’Ancien Régime : pp. 76-77; devoirs I, II

le 29 nov      l’Ancien Régime : pp. 76-77; devoirs III, IV

le  4 déc       l’art du 17e siècle             

le  6 déc       la littérature du 17e siècle

         

lundi, le 10 décembre - Examen – l’Ancien Régime – 10h45 à 13h15

 

Office hours

 

Monday, Wednesday, Friday                  11:00 - 11:50 (CH 107)

Tuesday, Thursday                               10:00 - 10:45 (HH 343)

also by appointment                             410-543-6253

Holloway Hall 343                                e-mail: afwhite@salisbury.edu

                                                                  

This course fulfills part of the General Education requirement group I-B.

 

Essay questions on exams, journals and the paper are assigned with Writing Across the Curriculum in mind.  The transfer of writing skills from one language to another enhances the ability to write well in both English and French.  Evaluation of written assignments will be based primarily on content; correct form however will often influence the understanding of the content.

 

Academic integrity – The best learning environment is one based on mutual respect and trust.  However, the desire to achieve a good grade without doing the necessary work may tempt some students to cheat on exams or to represent the work of others as their own.  At Salisbury University,  plagiarism and cheating are wrong and are considered acts of “academic dishonesty” i.e. a deliberate and deceptive representation of one’s own work

Instances of academic dishonesty include all, but are not limited to, the following:

        Plagiarism – presenting as one’s own work, whether

          literally or in paraphrase, the work of another author

        Cheating on exams, tests, quizzes; the wrongful giving

          or accepting of unauthorized exam material; and the

          use if illegitimate sources of information

        Falsifying excuses for non-attendance or completion of

          assignments

There are NO mitigating circumstances to justify academic dishonesty.  If you are unclear about what constitutes academic dishonesty or plagiarism, please ask.  Ignorance is no excuse.  Discovery of academic dishonesty will bring stiff penalties, including a failing grade for the assignment in question and possibly a grade of F for the course.  The maximum penalty at Salisbury University for plagiarism is possible expulsion from the entire USM system, so for your own sake, maintain your academic integrity.

 

Students are responsible for all adjustments to their schedules. All changes such as drops and adds must be made through the Office of the Registrar.  Failure to drop a course officially or withdraw officially from school will result in the issuance of the grade of "F" for all courses involved.  Remember, simply stopping your attendance of a class is not an official drop or withdrawal.

 

*****             *****             *****             *****             *****

 

NATIONAL STANDARDS

 

This course provides opportunities for students to achieve the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning in

 

COMMUNICATION: Communication in languages other than English

1.1     Interpersonal communication

1.2     Interpretive communication

1.4     Presentational communication

 

CULTURES: Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures

2.1     Practices of culture

2.2     Products of culture

 

CONNECTIONS: Connect with other disciplines and acquire information

3.1     Furthering connections

3.2     Acquiring information

 

COMPARISONS: Develop insights into the nature of language and culture

4.1     Language comparisons

4.2     Cultural comparisons

 

COMMUNITIES: Participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world

5.1     School and community

5.2     Life-long learning