21G.312 Basic Themes in French Literature and Culture: A Tour of Belgium in 80 days
The main objective of this course is to gain a better understanding of contemporary Belgium through an exploration of Belgian culture with a study of Belgium’s history and its successes in various areas including the arts and international politics. Readings and group discussions will help students increase their oral and written communication skills and put their findings in a historical and sociopolitical context. Topics such as Belgian history, Belgian colonization, Art Nouveau, comic strips, the European Union, Belgian surrealism and Belgian literature among others will be explored. Taught in French.

21G.320 Introduction to French Literature
A study of major French literary genres and an introduction to methods of literary analysis. This semester, students will be part of the jury for the Goncourt Prize USA. “Le Goncourt” is the most prestigious literary prize in France. Students will study and rank books from the Goncourt shortlist. They will elect a representative to present their selection at the Villa Albertine in New York and choose the winner along with students from Princeton, Duke, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Virginia. Meanwhile, the other students will prepare a press article to present their experience as a jury! Authors studied: Grégoire Bouillier, Nathan Devers, Guiliano da Empoli, Brigitte Giraud, Cloé Korman, Makenzy Orcel, Pascale Robert-Diard, and Monica Sabolo. Special attention is devoted to the improvement of French language skills. Taught in French.

21G.346 Topics in Modern French Literature and Culture: Exploring Contemporary French Crime Genre
French readers are voracious consumers of crime fiction, also known as POLAR – a shortening of roman policier. Beyond solving the mystery and the procedure of whodunit, crime stories can offer a broad and deep investigation of society and culture. n this course, we will read popular French works of fiction, watch films and listen to podcasts set in France to analyze what this genre can reveal of modern French society.

A note regarding the enrollment policy of the Global Languages: Enrollment limited to 18 for pedagogical reasons. Preference will be given to pre-registered students, including pre-registered undergraduates who were cut from the same class the previous semester due to the enrollment cap. Please note that you have to attend the first day of class to maintain your preference level. In case of over-enrollment, preference will be given in the following order: declared majors, declared minors, declared concentrators, first-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students.