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Undergraduate French 2014-2015

FR1021: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF MODERN FRANCE 1

15 credits

Level 1

First Sub Session

This course offers students who are registered for the beginners' course in French language an introduction to twentieth century French culture and society through the study of films, short prose texts and poetry. The course is organised around the broad themes of ‘Childhood and adolescence’ and ‘Gender, sexuality and love’. The texts will be studied in translation or with subtitles.
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FR1022: LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF MODERN FRANCE 1

15 credits

Level 1

First Sub Session

This course offers students with intermediate or good knowledge French language an introduction to twentieth century French culture and society through the study of films, short prose texts and poetry. The course is organised around the broad themes of ‘Childhood and adolescence’ and ‘Gender, sexuality and love’.

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FR1023: LEVEL 1 FRENCH LANGUAGE 1A: BEGINNERS/NEAR BEGINNERS (STANDARD GRADE/GCSE OR BELOW)

15 credits

Level 1

First Sub Session

Sustained Study
This intensive language course is designed for students who have little or no previous knowledge of French.
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FR1024: LEVEL 1 FRENCH LANGUAGE 2A: INTERMEDIATE

15 credits

Level 1

First Sub Session

Sustained Study
This course is intended for students who have studied French to Higher or equivalent level, but whose knowledge may be rusty.  It will enable them to consolidate and extend their knowledge of French, written and spoken.
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FR1025: LEVEL 1 FRENCH LANGUAGE 3A: PROFICIENT

15 credits

Level 1

First Sub Session

Sustained Study

This course is intended for students who have studied French to at least Higher or equivalent level, or beyond to A level or Advanced Higher.   It will enable them to consolidate and extend their knowledge of French, written and spoken.

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FR1521: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF MODERN FRANCE 2

15 credits

Level 1

Second Sub Session

This course offers students who are registered for the beginners' course in French language an advanced introduction to twentieth-century French and Francophone culture and society, focusing on the occupation of France during World War II and the experience of colonialism and post-colonialism. Written texts will be studied in translation or with vocabulary help and films will be studied with subtitles.
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FR1522: LITERATURE AND CULTURE OF MODERN FRANCE 2

15 credits

Level 1

Second Sub Session

This course offers students with intermediate or good knowledge French language an advanced introduction to twentieth-century French and Francophone culture and society, focusing on the occupation of France during World War II and the experience of colonialism and post-colonialism.
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FR1523: LEVEL 1 FRENCH LANGUAGE 1B: BEGINNERS/NEAR BEGINNERS

15 credits

Level 1

Second Sub Session

Sustained Study
This course builds on the work done in FR1023, providing students with an adequate command of French language to allow them the possibility of continuing their studies into level 2 and Honours. 
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FR1524: LEVEL 1 FRENCH LANGUAGE 2B/3B: INTERMEDIATE/PROFICIENT

15 credits

Level 1

Second Sub Session

Sustained Study
This course is intended for students who have studied French to the equivalent of Scottish Higher or beyond.  Building on the work done in the first semester in FR1024 or FR1025, it seeks to enable students to consolidate and extend their knowledge of French, written and spoken.
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FRDIAG: FRENCH DIAGNOSTIC TEST

0 credits

Level 1

First Sub Session

Students being admitted to a French degree programme, or intending taking a French course, should first take the language diagnostic test. The test can be taken at any time and is completed online. On the basis of this diagnostic test you will be allocated to the appropriate level 1 language course. The test helps to ensure you are on the course that is most appropriate for your level of knowledge and experience.

Please go to www.abdn.ac.uk/mycurriculum to access the French Diagnostic Test.

Having completed the test you should select the appropriate course when making your curriculum choices.
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FR2002: ADVANCED FRENCH LANGUAGE 1

15 credits

Level 2

First Sub Session

Sustained Study
This second year French language course which runs in the first half-session is only open to students who have passed FR1524. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language courses required to be allowed into the French honours Programme.
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FR2012: ADVANCED INTRODUCTORY FRENCH LANGUAGE 1

15 credits

Level 2

First Sub Session

Sustained Study
This second year French language course which runs in the first half-session is only open to students who have passed FR1523. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language courses required to be allowed into the French honours Programme.
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FR2013: FRENCH IDENTITIES: INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

15 credits

Level 2

First Sub Session

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the individual and society in France from the 18th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of novels, a play and a film.
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FR2014: INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH IDENTITIES: INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

15 credits

Level 2

First Sub Session

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the individual and society in France from the 18th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of novels, a play and a film.
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FR2502: ADVANCED FRENCH LANGUAGE 2

15 credits

Level 2

Second Sub Session

Sustained Study
This second year French language course which runs in the second half-session is only open to students who have followed FR2002. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language pre-requisite courses to be allowed into the French honours Programme (a minimum CAS mark of 12/20 at the first attempt will be required for FR2502).
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FR2510: INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH LINGUISTICS

15 credits

Level 2

Second Sub Session

This course will look at

-  the French sound system (with the spin-off of helping you to improve your pronunciation). 

-  word meaning and also speaker meaning (what a speaker means by, e.g., "were you born in a barn?")

-  how new words are formed

-  how sentences can be analysed

-  how French has developed from the Middle Ages up to the present

-  how French spread throughout the world (including French-based creoles)

-  how French varies according to the person speaking the language, and the use they are making of it

 

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FR2512: ADVANCED INTRODUCTORY FRENCH LANGUAGE 2

15 credits

Level 2

Second Sub Session

Sustained Study
This second year French language course which runs in the second half-session is only open to students who have followed FR2012. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language pre-requisite courses to be allowed into the French honours Programme (a minimum CAS mark of 12/20 at the first attempt will be required for FR2512).
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FR2513: FRENCH IDENTITIES CENTRE AND PERIPHERY

15 credits

Level 2

Second Sub Session

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the centre and periphery in France and the Francophone world from the 17th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of a play, poetry, postcolonial theory and a film.
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FR2514: INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH IDENTITIES CENTRE AND PERIPHERY

15 credits

Level 2

Second Sub Session

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the centre and periphery in France and the Francophone world from the 17th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of a play, poetry, postcolonial theory and a film.
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FR3003: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 5

30 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This third year French language course which is run over the full session is only open to students who follow LLB (French or Belgian law), European Studies (with one language), as well as any Degree with French as a minor subject. The pre-requisite for this course is FR2502 or FR2512.
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FR3041: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 1

30 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This third year French language course which is run over the full session is only open to Single Honours degree in French students. The pre-requisite for this course is FR2502 or FR2512.

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FR3042: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 2

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This third year French language course which is run over the ful session is only open to Joint Honours degree in French students. The pre-requisite for this course is FR2502 or FR2512.

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FR3045: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 9

30 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This third year French language course which runs for the whole term is only open to Joint Honours degree in French students. The pre-requisite for this course is FR2502 or FR2512.

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FR3048: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 14/15

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This intensive programme of language exercises is designed to develop competence in a variety of different registers.
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FR3049: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 16

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This third year French language course which runs for the whole session is only open to students who study European Studies (with TWO languages). The pre-requisite for this course is FR2502 or FR2512.
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FR3058: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 6

30 credits

Level 3

Full Year

This third year French language course which runs for the whole term is only open to Francophone Erasmus students during their residency at the University of Aberdeen.
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FR3059: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 12

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This third year French language course which runs in the first half-session is only open to Francophone Erasmus students during their one half term residency at the University of Aberdeen.
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FR3072: RESIDENCE ABROAD PROJECT

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

Students will undertake the work for this course during the period of residence abroad, and submit a reflective report on an aspect of their experience in a French-speaking country at the start of the Junior Honours year.
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FR3077: HISTORY AND STRUCTURE OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE A

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

The course offers an introduction to French linguistics in, so far as possible, a non-technical way. Three major areas are explored: language and society (tu/vous, language and sex, slang and swearing); aspects of grammar (written and spoken French, grammatical gender); words and meanings (the development of French vocabulary, franglais). Each of these areas is considered from two points of view: first, that of the overall structure of contemporary French, which will occupy the majority of class time; second that of the historical developments in each area (generally from around 1650), which have made the language what it is today.

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FR3080: CONTEMPORARY FRENCH THOUGHT A

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

The course will examine the development of French thought since the 1950s through the study of the writings of a number of important intellectual figures. In particular, we will look at the ways in which each of the writers questions and redefines a particular field of knowledge (such as linguistics, anthropology, philosophy, history or psychoanalysis).
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FR3082: NEW WAVE PARIS A

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This course explores the ways in which the city of Paris has been a source of inspiration for a number of French film directors who contributed to the transformation of urban culture in the 1960s. The course provides an introduction to the cinematic construction of urban space and to the myth of Paris as a modern city, and concentrates on la nouvelle vague, through a study of a number of its most influential directors.
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FR3084: THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FRANCE A

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

This course will involve critical study of a number of significant demographic, cultural and social changes in contemporary France, focusing on the ways in which the French political system has been called upon to respond to phenomena such as mass migration, regionalism, feminism and changing perceptions of the family from the 1970s onwards.
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FR3086: MODERNITY AND CHANGE IN POSTWAR FRANCE A

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

France underwent a rapid series of changes during the post-war period as it lived through the twin dramas of modernisation and decolonisation. This course explores how cultural production during the period responds to, captures and portrays the changes affecting the country, including emergence of new technologies, the rise of mass consumerism, urban development, and the challenge to traditional social structures. A range of material will be studied, including films, literature, and photography and philosophical writing.
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FR3527: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 7

15 credits

Level 3

Second Sub Session

This course is open only to mode B Junior Honours students of French, fulfilling their residence requirements in a French-speaking country.  An intensive programme of written language exercises is designed to develop competence in a variety of different registers.
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FR3548: LEVEL 3 FRENCH LANGUAGE 14/15

15 credits

Level 3

Second Sub Session

This intensive programme of language exercises is designed to develop competence in a variety of different registers.
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FR3569: FRENCH LANGUAGE FOR SPECIALIZED PURPOSES

15 credits

Level 3

Second Sub Session

This course is only open to students who are Junior Honours students in French Studies (Single/Joint). It requires a good level of written and oral French as all the assessments will be produced in French. 
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FR3578: LITERATURE AND SCIENCE IN NINETEENTH CENTURY FRANCE A

15 credits

Level 3

Second Sub Session

The nineteenth century was a particularly exciting time for scientific development in France and major French authors read and engaged with the works of professional scientists along with texts by popularisers of science. This course will provide students with a knowledge and understanding of the impact of science on nineteenth-century French narrative. It will consider how scientific developments influenced thinking about areas such as progress and decadence, gender relations, and ideas about life and death. It will enable students to analyse the particular ways in which literature disseminates but also questions scientific ideas.

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FR3580: FRENCH THEATRE A

15 credits

Level 3

Second Sub Session

We will start by discussing central aspects of drama, such as character, plot, showing vs. telling, audiences, lighting, sound, costume, etc., then we will look at a selection of representative French plays from different periods exploring a variety of approaches to theatricality.  Texts will range from early religious drama through popular farce, classical theatre, melodrama, and theatre of the absurd to the present day.

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FR3582: THE RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE A

15 credits

Level 3

Second Sub Session

The course looks at a number of French literary works of the sixteenth century, within the broader context of the European Renaissance. Prose fiction is represented by the comic genius of Rabelais, and poetry, which is the crowning glory of the period, is also studied including love sonnets, short satirical poems, and experimental feats of technical skill that can be read forwards or backwards or upside down. Some non-French writing of the period is also studied (in English translation), as well as topics such as the renewal of interest in classical antiquity, the development of printing and social change.

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FR3585: THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY NOVEL IN FRENCH A

15 credits

Level 3

Second Sub Session

The French novel has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years, and the aim of this course is to study a representative selection of novels published in French since 2000 by some of the best, and best-known, contemporary writers. Students will study the main themes and stylistic innovations of these novels, and place them within the broader context of the tradition of the twentieth and twenty-first century novel in French. The selected works may change from year to year but might consider texts by authors such as Camille Laurens, Michel Houellebecq, Alain Mabanckou, Léonora Miano and Nina Bouraoui.
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FR3590: POST-INDEPENDENCE TO DIASPORA: THE POSTCOLONIAL AFRICAN NOVEL FRENCH A

15 credits

Level 3

First Sub Session

The course aims to introduce students to the literature of Francophone Africa from the Independence period and its aftermath to contemporary postcolonial society, including the African Diaspora.
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FR4004: LEVEL 4 FRENCH LANGUAGE 3

30 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

This fourth year French language course is run over the ful session is only open to students who study LLB (French or Belgian law), as well as any Degree with French as a minor subject. The pre-requisite for this course is FR3003.
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FR4052: FRENCH DISSERTATION

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

Candidates will write a dissertation of 8,000 words on a subject to be decided in consultation with the Course Co-ordinator, to be researched and written (under supervision by a member of staff) in the second half session of Junior Honours, and submitted at the beginning of Senior Honours.
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FR4059: LEVEL 4 FRENCH LANGUAGE 1

30 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

This fourth year French language course is run over the ful session is only open to Single Honours degree in French students. The pre-requisite for this course is FR3041.

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FR4060: LEVEL 4 FRENCH LANGUAGE 2

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

This fourth year French language course is run over the ful session is only open to Joint Honours degree in French students. The pre-requisite for this course is FR3042.

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FR4071: SENIOR HONOURS SEMINAR

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

This course covers a broad range of topics embracing cultural, aesthetic, philosophical and literary matters, as well as political and social ideas. Students will research material for the seminars, present this material in an articulate and persuasive manner, and organise a follow up discussion. In this way the seminars will complement the level 4 French language class, as well as the optional courses, and prepare students for the composition paper and the French oral examination.
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FR4077: HISTORY AND STRUCTURE OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE B

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

The course offers an introduction to French linguistics in, so far as possible, a non-technical way. Three major areas are explored: language and society (tu/vous, language and sex, slang and swearing); aspects of grammar (written and spoken French, grammatical gender); words and meanings (the development of French vocabulary, franglais). Each of these areas is considered from two points of view: first, that of the overall structure of contemporary French, which will occupy the majority of class time; second that of the historical developments in each area (generally from around 1650), which have made the language what it is today.

More Information

FR4080: CONTEMPORARY FRENCH THOUGHT B

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

The course will examine the development of French thought since the 1950s through the study of the writings of a number of important intellectual figures. In particular, we will look at the ways in which each of the writers questions and redefines a particular field of knowledge (such as linguistics, anthropology, philosophy, history or psychoanalysis). In addition, students will extend their understanding of the subject by means of independent research, setting the topics treated in their wider context and synthesizing material from a range of sources.
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FR4082: NEW WAVE PARIS B

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

This course explores the ways in which the city of Paris has been a source of inspiration for a number of French film directors who contributed to the transformation of urban culture in the 1960s. The course provides an introduction to the cinematic construction of urban space and to the myth of Paris as a modern city, and concentrates on la nouvelle vague, through a study of a number of its most influential directors.
More Information

FR4084: THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FRANCE B

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

This course will involve critical study of a number of significant demographic, cultural and social changes in contemporary France, focusing on the ways in which the French political system has been called upon to respond to phenomena such as mass migration, regionalism, feminism and changing perceptions of the family from the 1970s onwards.
More Information

FR4086: MODERNITY AND CHANGE IN POSTWAR FRANCE B

15 credits

Level 4

First Sub Session

France underwent a rapid series of changes during the post-war period as it lived through the twin dramas of modernisation and decolonisation. This course explores how cultural production during the period responds to, captures and portrays the changes affecting the country, including emergence of new technologies, the rise of mass consumerism, urban development, and the challenge to traditional social structures. A range of material will be studied, including films, literature, and photography and philosophical writing.
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FR4571: SENIOR HONOURS SEMINAR

15 credits

Level 4

Second Sub Session

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FR4578: LITERATURE AND SCIENCE IN NINETEENTH CENTURY FRANCE B

15 credits

Level 4

Second Sub Session

The nineteenth century was a particularly exciting time for scientific development in France and major French authors read and engaged with the works of professional scientists along with texts by popularisers of science. This course will provide students with a knowledge and understanding of the impact of science on nineteenth-century French narrative. It will consider how scientific developments influenced thinking about areas such as progress and decadence, gender relations, and ideas about life and death. It will enable students to analyse the particular ways in which literature disseminates but also questions scientific ideas.

More Information

FR4580: FRENCH THEATRE B

15 credits

Level 4

Second Sub Session

We will start by discussing central aspects of drama, such as character, plot, showing vs. telling, audiences, lighting, sound, costume, etc., then we will look at a selection of representative French plays from different periods exploring a variety of approaches to theatricality.  Texts will range from early religious drama through popular farce, classical theatre, melodrama, and theatre of the absurd to the present day.

More Information

FR4582: THE RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE B

15 credits

Level 4

Second Sub Session

The course looks at a number of French literary works of the sixteenth century, within the broader context of the European Renaissance. Prose fiction is represented by the comic genius of Rabelais, and poetry, which is the crowning glory of the period, is also studied including love sonnets, short satirical poems, and experimental feats of technical skill that can be read forwards or backwards or upside down. Some non-French writing of the period is also studied (in English translation), as well as topics such as the renewal of interest in classical antiquity, the development of printing and social change.

More Information

FR4585: THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY NOVEL IN FRENCH B

15 credits

Level 4

Second Sub Session

The French novel has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years, and the aim of this course is to study a representative selection of novels published in French since 2000 by some of the best, and best-known, contemporary writers. Students will study the main themes and stylistic innovations of these novels, and place them within the broader context of the tradition of the twentieth and twenty-first century novel in French. The selected works may change from year to year but might consider texts by authors such as Camille Laurens, Michel Houellebecq, Alain Mabanckou, Léonora Miano and Nina Bouraoui.
More Information

FR4590: POST-INDEPENDENCE TO DIASPORA: THE POSTCOLONIAL AFRICAN NOVEL FRENCH B

15 credits

Level 4

Second Sub Session

The course aims to introduce students to the literature of Francophone Africa from the Independence period and its aftermath to contemporary postcolonial society, including the African Diaspora.
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