French 3030. Masterworks of French
literature
Fall 2005
Professor : J.
Hollenbeck
e-mail : hollenbeckja@appstate.edu
Office # 526,
Sanford.
Phone : (828) 262-2307
Office hours : TTh : between 12.30 and 2 pm,
Wednesday
between
1 and 3 pm, and by appointment
Course description : A study of selected works of French Literature
from
the Medieval to the Modern period. Content will vary by semester.
Prerequisite
: French 2025 or consent of the instructor.
Goals and Objectives : To understand some specific works that reflected
the
historical period in which they were written, from the Renaissance to
the
Révolution. They should determine why they were written, and
what
their influence would be throughout the following centuries. Tstudents
should
gain a new awareness of the trends that characterized the evolution of
the
French thought and literature in terms of style and content.
Topical content : Discussions based on several selected
readings
including poetry, plays, and prose. Some films will be assigned
to
be seen when justified.
Method of teaching : Lectures related to the time in which the
authors
used to live, and text analysis regarding the style and meaning
and
influence of the works. Individual participation in French is
required.
Course requirements : Selected readings will have to be done before
class
according to
the schedule (see below). Two essays will have to be given : the
first
one after the mid-term vacations and the second one before the Reading
Day.
Learning is a discipline ; late assignments will affect the final grade.
An essay on one of the authors presented before each exam will
have
to be written as a research paper. The selection of the writer
will
have to be done in consultation with the instructor. Students will have
the
option of rewriting their essay a second time to improve the final
grade
which will be given to the last draft.
Students will be required to apply the tools they will have learned to
their
critical approach, such as style and rhetoric.
Each absence or failure to do an assignment amounts to a lack of
participation
and to the failure to understand some specific and important
concepts.
Therefore the grading will reflect the quality of the work performed.
No
special assignment will be given.
Grading : There will be three exams (including the final). Each exam
and
each essay will be given a letter grade .
Attendance : Class attendance is expected of all students, in
accordance
with the
requirements stated in the University Catalog (see grading conditions
stated
above).
Absences, tardiness and late assignments will be excused ONLY when
students
will
provide a valid proof for their failure to conform.
Required readings:
André Lagarde et Laurent Michard. Les Grands Auteurs
Français,
Textes et Littérature du Moyen Age au XXe siècle. Bordas
:
Paris1993 (rental).
Occasional hand-outs will be given for texts not included in the book.
Plan du cours :
Le 23 août : Introduction au cours . Le style et les figures de
rhétorique.
Le 25 et le 30 août , et le 1er septembre: Le XVIe
siècle
: La Renaissance. Le thème de l’Education selon Rabelais et
Montaigne.
Le 6 et le 8 septembre : Les auteurs de la Réformation :
Clément
Marot . Agrippa d’Aubigné. La Pléiade : Du Bellay /
Ronsard.
Témoignages des guerres religieuses en France : les Discours de
Ronsard.
Le 13 et le 15 septembre : L’école Lyonnaise. Louise
Labbé.
Le 20 et le 22 septembre : Evolution des idées morales et de
l’idéal
littéraire.
Le 27 septembre : Premier examen sur le XVIe siècle.
Le 29 septembre : Le XVIIe siècle.Le siècle des
moralistes.
La préciosité. Le jansénisme.
Le 4 et le 6 octobre : Contribution de Boileau.Le Théâtre
de
Molière.
Le 13 octobre : Les Caractères de La Bruyère/ Les
Maximes
de La Rochefoucault.
Le 18 et le 20 octobre : Pascal : Les lettres Provinciales. Le
théâtre
classique : Corneille
Le 25 et le 27 octobre : Racine
Le 1er novembre : Les Fables de La Fontaine. Le Roman.
Le 3 novembre : Deuxième examen.
Le 8 et le 10 novembre : « Le siècle des lumières.
»
Les philosophes. Fénelon : Lettre à Louis XIV (1694).
Le 15, 17 et 22 novembre : Montesquieu/ Voltaire / Diderot/
J.J.Rousseau.
Le 29 novembre : Le Mariage de Figaro de Beaumarchais.
Le 1er décembre : La littérature révolutionnaire.
Le 6 décembre : André chénier.
Examen final : consulter la grille établie par l’Administration.