Graduate French

FREN 7002: French Teaching Practicum
Instructor: Dr. Shureka Nyawalo

This course is the second sequence of a practicum of foreign language teaching at the college level.The course is designed to help graduate teaching assistants in all aspects of teaching the first year basic foreign language courses. Methodology, materials development, assessment, and classroom management as well as teaching practices are discussed and evaluated on a weekly basis. Professional development is assessed through activities such as observation reports, peer observations, and the creation of pedagogical materials.

FREN 7029: Queer Francophone Literature and Culture
Instructor: Dr. Siham Bouamer

This class will focus on a wide array of 20th- and 21st-century Francophone texts and films that feature "queer" themes and protagonists. One important objective of this course is to explore how issues of sexuality and sexual orientation have prominently figured in Francophone literatureand culture from various parts of the world such as Europe, Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean. Another related objective is to examine how the treatment of such issues by writers and filmmakershas fostered a specific aesthetics that has significantly shaped and influenced Francophone literature and cinema. Students will be expected to read texts and watch movies, to do in class-presentations, to write reflective papers, and to produce a final research paper.

FREN 7070: Survey of French Literature
Instructor: 

FREN 7001: French Teaching Practicum
Instructor: Dr. Shureka Nyawalo

Required to all new graduate students. This course is the first sequence of a practicum of foreign language teaching at the college level. The course is designed to help graduate teaching assistants in all aspects of teaching the first-year basic foreign language courses. Methodology, materials development, assessment, and classroom management as well as teaching practices are discussed and evaluated on a weekly basis. Professional development is assessed through activities such as observation reports, peer observations and the creation of pedagogical materials.

FREN 7034: French and Francophone Cinema
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gott

This seminar focuses on contemporary cinema from around the world in the French language and the interaction between different spaces and industries of the French-speaking world. We will watch films from Quebec, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, and France and in the process learn both about the art and industry of cinema and the cultures of these geographic regions. Students will complete a research or pedagogical project that will be presented in written and/or multimedia form (such as a video essay) that combines their interests with the topic of the seminar. In Fall 2020 the course will include video visits from several filmmakers from Quebec.

FREN 7085: Contemporary Topics
Instructor: Dr. Siham Bouamer

This is a graduate seminar on rotating topics based on the study of culture, literature, and film of the French-speaking world (such as Europe, Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean).  Each iteration of the seminar will be organized around a thematic or geographic approach, based on the instructor. This course may be repeated by students when it is offered with different topics.

FREN 7002: French Teaching Practicum
Instructor: Dr. Shureka Nyawalo

This course is the second sequence of a practicum of foreign language teaching at the college level.The course is designed to help graduate teaching assistants in all aspects of teaching the first year basic foreign language courses. Methodology, materials development, assessment, and classroom management as well as teaching practices are discussed and evaluated on a weekly basis. Professional development is assessed through activities such as observation reports, peer observations, and the creation of pedagogical materials.

FREN 8060: Topics in French Literature
Instructor: Dr. Janine Hartman

This course will deal with a special topic announced to students before the semester begins. The topic assigned will be studied in detail and the students will develop proficiency in the theory and criticism associated with the topic assigned. The student will read a variety of texts associated with the special topic.

RALL 7010: Introduction to Literary Criticism
Instructor: Dr. Thérèse Migraine-George

This course is designed to introduce students to different schools of thought in literary criticism. According to the professor teaching the course one particular school might be emphasized over others. Attention will be paid to classical theoreticians as well as contemporary schools.

RALL 7052: Introduction to Second Language Acquisition
Instructor: Dr. Fenfang Hwu

This course provides an overview of the theories and hypotheses that explain how second languages are learned, the scope and principles of inquiry in second language acquisition (SLA) study, and its basic concerns and key concepts.

FREN 7001: French Teaching Practicum
Instructor: Dr. Shureka Nyawalo

Required to all new graduate students. This course is the first sequence of a practicum of foreign language teaching at the college level. The course is designed to help graduate teaching assistants in all aspects of teaching the first-year basic foreign language courses. Methodology, materials development, assessment, and classroom management as well as teaching practices are discussed and evaluated on a weekly basis. Professional development is assessed through activities such as observation reports, peer observations and the creation of pedagogical materials.

FREN 4034/7034: The Global Cinema of Quebec: Representation, Social Justice, and Cultural Policy
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gott                                                                                                                       

This seminar focuses on Quebec cinema in the 21st century and takes an in-depth look at a filmmaking industry whose increasingly diverse production continues to resist the hegemony of Hollywood and to thrive as a hub of French-language (and increasingly multilingual) cinema in North America. The seminar will take an interdisciplinary cultural studies approach and draw on transnational film studies, multilingualism in film, and theorizations of identity, immigration, and borders in order to assess to what extent film narratives reflect or respond to immigration and asylum policy and prevailing social and official discourses about identity and integration. One key point of comparison will involve initiatives in France to increase diversity in film industries, including the Collectif 50/50 organization that lobbies for parity in funding and hiring practices. We will also compare and contrast these initiatives to Hollywood’s fledgling efforts to increase diversity on and behind the screen.   

This seminar will draw on a number of diverse perspectives from scholars, filmmakers, and people who are both scholars and filmmakers or screenwriters. It has four primary aims: 1) to assess changes to the industry and its output over the past decade in comparison with global trends, 2) to discern how the initiative to achieve funding parity has impacted representation on screen and behind the scenes (directors, screenwriters, editors, film crews, etc.), 3) to consider Quebec cinema as a microcosm of global transnational film trends, and 4) to critically assess a selection of narratives with the social and industrial contexts outlined above and discuss their representation of and engagement with diversity and local and global social justice issues.  The seminar will involve various guest directors and professors. Contact Dr. Gott with questions (Michael.gott@uc.edu) 

FREN 7026: Gender and Sexualities in Francophone Cultures                                                          Instructor: Dr. Thérèse Migraine-George         

This course, taught in English, will be based on a series of virtual lectures and meetings with academic experts working on issues of gender and sexuality in Francophone cultures at UC and outside of UC. Students will be exposed to and become familiar with a wide range of topics and methodological approaches related to gender and sexualities from the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives of US-based and international scholars in the fields of Francophone literatures and cultures.

FREN 7030: Survey of Eighteenth-Century Literature
Instructor: Dr. Jeff Loveland

An introduction to eighteenth-century French literature. In particular, we will read all of the titles from the eighteenth-century portion of the MA list and practice the technique of close reading (“explication de texte”). At the same time, you will have the chance to familiarize yourself with outstanding works of French literature, including the original version of “La Belle et la bête,” the French Encyclopédie (the most famous encyclopedia of all time), Voltaire’s satire Candide, Rousseau’s Confessions (sometimes considered the first “kiss-and-tell” autobiography), and Charrière’s Lettres de Mistriss Henley (a strangely “open” and modern novel about a marriage gone awry).

FREN 8001: Teaching Internship
Instructor: Nicasio Urbina

This class will provide the student with a special experience in teaching an advanced course. Details will be agreed upon between student and professor in writing previously to the student's registering for the class.

RLL 7053: Computer-Assisted Language Learning SWLC
Instructor: Dr. Fenfang Hwu

The course explores the applicability and application of computer technologies in various areas of second language learning and teaching, as well as the integration of second language learning theories in a Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) environment. The emphasis is on helping second language teachers make informed judgments about how to incorporate computers into their language classes to make certain aspects of student learning more engaging, efficient, and/or effective.

FREN 7001: French Teaching Practicum
Instructor: Dr. Shureka Nyawalo

Required to all new graduate students. This course is the first sequence of a practicum of foreign language teaching at the college level. The course is designed to help graduate teaching assistants in all aspects of teaching the first-year basic foreign language courses. Methodology, materials development, assessment, and classroom management as well as teaching practices are discussed and evaluated on a weekly basis. Professional development is assessed through activities such as observation reports, peer observations and the creation of pedagogical materials.

FREN 7034: French and Francophone Cinema
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gott

This seminar focuses on contemporary cinema from around the world in the French language and the interaction between different spaces and industries of the French-speaking world. We will watch films from Quebec, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, and France and in the process learn both about the art and industry of cinema and the cultures of these geographic regions. Students will complete a research or pedagogical project that will be presented in written and/or multimedia form (such as a video essay) that combines their interests with the topic of the seminar. In Fall 2020 the course will include video visits from several filmmakers from Quebec.

FREN 7087: Franco-Arabic Literature and Film 
Instructor: Dr. Michele Vialet

This seminar is an introduction to Franco-Arab literature and cinema from the Maghreb and the French-speaking North African diaspora. We will read, see, study, and discuss several kinds of stories (novels, short stories and films) written by several generations of writers and filmmakers including Camus, Chraïbi, Ben Jelloun, Djebar, Mokeddem, Bey, Sansal, Kechiche. 

RALL 7016: Literary Translation
Instructor: Dr. Mauricio Espinoza

This course teaches the theory and practice of literary translation. It includes readings and discussions on the history, theories, and techniques of translation. It also involves workshops on individual and team translation projects in poetry and prose. The course will be taught in a multilinguistic, multicultural, and interdisciplinary setting, with students from various departments, cultures, and native languages involved in the learning process. The course emphasizes translation as a creative writing endeavor. Students should have basic (reading) proficiency in a language other than English; no previous experience with translation is expected.

RLL 7001: Introduction to RLL Graduate Studies
Instructor: Dr. Nicasio Urbina

This course will prepare the students to succeed in graduate school in Romance and Arabic Languages and Literatures at UC. It will prepare students for a teaching career at the secondary or higher education level, and will provide them with the knowledge and expertise for a successful job search.

RLL 7050: Graduate Student Orientation
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Vojtko-Rubi / Dr. Shureka Nyawalo / Dr. Danae Orlins (multiple sections)

This course is an orientation for new graduate teaching assistants and adjuncts in our basic language programs. It takes place prior to the fall term of each academic year. This course presents a practical introduction to teaching basic language courses in our department. It is a mandatory course for new basic language instructors.

RLL 7051: Foreign Language Teaching Methods
Instructor: Dr. Kara Moranski

This course is designed to address the needs and concerns of current and future foreign language instructors in a classroom in which the communicative language teaching approach is used. It explores various topics that lead to concrete suggestions for implementing communicative language teaching, including the role of compensable input in second language acquisition, the purposes of communication, the process of developing lesson goals, and grammar instruction in a communicative classroom.

FREN 7032: Comics and Film
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gott

What's the difference between how Gérard Depardieu fits on the big screen and into a bande dessinée "case" (panel)? What does a road movie look like in comic book format? We will seek to answer this and other pressing questions in FREN 7032 (Comics and Film). This course uses selected comic books/graphic novels and film and other screen media (television series, etc.) to compare and contrast the two different visual art forms - screen and page.  We will analyze the interplay and inspiration between and across media and use the selected readings and viewings to understand important contemporary issues (human rights, migration, travel, political issues, gender issues) and their representations in comics and film. We will discuss and apply theories of adaptation, comic art, and cinema. French students will consider a variety of works from France and the francophone world (notably Africa and Europe) and we will discuss key theories and contexts together with the Spanish course of the same theme taught by Professor Espinoza. 

FREN 7055: Francophone Literature
Instructor: Dr. Thérèse Migraine-George

In this class we will explore works in French by both French and Francophone writers from different continents. We will focus on the notion of identity through discussions of nationality, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. We will question the distinction traditionally established between "French" and "Francophone" writers, and examine various writers' call for a "world literature in French." Beyond their use of French, these writers share a resistance to the centralizing power of a language, a rejection of exclusive definitions, and a claim for creative autonomy. This class will cover books as well as films, documentaries, and artworks, and draw from current events in French-speaking countries around the world.

FREN 7085: Contemporary Topics
Instructor: Dr. Michele Vialet

Graduate seminar on rotating topics including the study of culture, literature, and film of the French-speaking world (such as Europe, Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean).  Each iteration of the seminar will be organized around a thematic or geographic approach, based on the instructor. This course may be repeated by students when it is offered with different topics.

FREN 7030: Survey of Eighteenth-Century Literature
Instructor: Dr. Jeff Loveland

An introduction to eighteenth-century French literature. In particular, we will read all of the titles from the eighteenth-century portion of the MA list and practice the technique of close reading (“explication de texte”). At the same time, you will have the chance to familiarize yourself with outstanding works of French literature, including the original version of “La Belle et la bête,” the French Encyclopédie (the most famous encyclopedia of all time), Voltaire’s satire Candide, Rousseau’s Confessions (sometimes considered the first “kiss-and-tell” autobiography), and Charrière’s Lettres de Mistriss Henley (a strangely “open” and modern novel about a marriage gone awry).

FREN 7070: Survey of French Literature
Instructor: Dr. Thérèse Migraine-George

The main objective of this course is to provide students with a broad overview of French literature from the Middle Ages to today. By reading excerpts from French works (novels, plays, and poems) we will focus on major French writers and on the most important literary schools, or movements, that have shaped French literature. In our reading and analysis of these texts we will follow a chronological order and look at how French literature should be approached in relation to historical periods, social contexts, and various other cultural factors and influences. We will also discuss the notion of a French literary “canon” by exploring how norms, conventions, and biases have determined its formation.

FILM 7095: Graduate Internship in Film and Media Studies
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gott

Students undertake experiential learning through intern positions in areas related to film and television production, cinema marketing, film festivals, and arts organizations with cinema programming. Internships introduce students to thecareer possibilities open to them upon graduation and provide valuable learning experiences to complement theoretical and practical coursework in Film and Digital Media studies. Internship experience helps students determine what aspect offilm, television, and media field they would like to work in after graduation. Students may intern with local productions, in a number of Cincinnati institutions or businesses, or may seek out national and international internship opportunities. Contact instructor for details.

FREN 7030: Survey of Eighteenth-Century Literature
Instructor: Dr. Jeff Loveland

This course is designed to introduce you to eighteenth-century French literature and to help prepare you for the MA exam. In particular, we will read all of the titles from the eighteenth-century portion of the MA list and practice the technique of close reading (“explication de texte”). At the same time, you will have the chance to familiarize yourself with outstanding works of French literature, including the original version of “La Belle et la bête,” the French Encyclopédie (the most famous encyclopedia of all time), Voltaire’s satire Candide, Rousseau’s Confessions (sometimes considered the first “kiss-and-tell” autobiography), and Charrière’s Lettres de Mistriss Henley (a strangely “open” and modern novel about a marriage gone awry).

FREN 7034: Topics in French and Francophone Cinema: (Re)Framing the Republic
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gott

The goal of the course will be to study a variety of perspectives on contemporary French identity as well as on France’s position vis-à-vis its own shifting identity, its former colonies, a new “borderless” Europe, and the rest of the World. We will also introduce and employ tools for analyzing different art forms, including how to read a bande dessinée album both visually and as a work of literature and interpret various key cinematic techniques.

FREN 7035: European Film Travel
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gott

Through the vantage point of cinema and other visual media, "Travels in European Cinema" engages with mobility in various forms as the defining characteristic of contemporary Europe. From the "road trip" to economic migration and from undocumented migrants to privileged tourists, this course will explore how cinematic travel has been represented by filmmakers in Europe. We will also discuss media representations of mobility and migration, from advertising to television news. We examine how cinema as an industry "travels" across borders in Europe and considers the history of the techniques used to represent motion and travel in cinema. The course covers French-language films as well as movies from Germany, Spain, Romania, Italy, the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe and Africa. This course is taught in English with a French component for French students.

FREN 7055: Intro to Francophone Literature
Instructor: Dr. Michele Vialet

This course provides a comparative examination of Francophone literatures and cultures. It focuses on the literary representation of cultural and national identities. This course also examines how Francophone cultures interact with other postcolonial contexts.

RLL 7053: Computer-Assisted Language Learning SWLC
Instructor: Dr. Fenfang Hwu

The course explores the applicability and application of computer technologies in various areas of second language learning and teaching, as well as the integration of second language learning theories in a Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) environment. The emphasis is on helping second language teachers make informed judgments about how to incorporate computers into their language classes to make certain aspects of student learning more engaging, efficient, and/or effective.

FREN 7041: The 19th Century French Novel
Instructor: Dr. Jeff Loveland

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to nineteenth-century French literature in order to help them prepare for the MA exam. Students read novels from the 19th century part of the MA reading list and practice the required part of the MA exam on close reading. Since the reading of the course is heavy, studentsdo less writing than in advanced graduate classes.

FREN 7087: Littérature et cinéma du Maghreb en langue française
Instructor: Dr. Michele Vialet

This course is designed to have the students develop a personal and cogent appreciation of 20th and 21st-century masterpieces created by French-speaking writers and filmmakers of North-African origins, including Albert Camus, Driss Chraïbi, Tahar ben Jelloun, Azouz Begag, Assia Djebar, Maïssa Bey, Malika Mokeddem, Boualem Sansal, Gillo Pontecorvo, Abdellatif Kechiche. The students will thus be able to pursue doctoral-level studies and actively participate in professional meetings, and will master analytical skills applicable to the reading and appreciation of works from other centuries, languages and cultural history.

RLL 7051: Foreign Language Teaching
Instructor: Dr. Fenfang Hwu

This course is designed to address the needs and concerns of current and future foreign language instructors in a classroom in which the communicative language teaching approach is used. It explores various topics that lead to concrete suggestions for implementing communicative language teaching, including the role of compensable input in second language acquisition, the purposes of communication, the process of developing lesson goals, and grammar instruction in a communicative classroom.