Introduction to French Novel (French 33337) - Fall 2010

Webpage: http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rberrong/fr33337


Instructor: Richard M. Berrong
Office: 304-D Satterfield
Office hours, all in 334 Moulton: MWF 12-1; M 4:10-5:00; W 3:05-4:30; and by appointment
Office phone: I'm not in my office every day to check phone messages, so it's better to e-mail me.
e-mail: richard@berrong.fr (I don't check rberrong@kent.edu often, so don't send anything to that address.)

Warning! Your classes may be cancelled!

With the Recession, the university's budget has become very tight. As a result, and unlike in the past, courses that do not have what is deemed to be sufficient enrollment are now being cancelled, and sometimes well before the start of the semester so that the instructor can be reassigned to another class. This means that, if you do not want your classes to be cancelled, you need to enroll in them on the first day of preregistration the semester before. If you wait until later, you may well find that the class has been cancelled, or that because another class has been cancelled for insufficient enrollment the class you want has filled to the limit and you can no longer get in. This is not just b.s. Do not wait to enroll in classes as many students have done in the past. You may well find that the classes you need are not there or are no longer open if you wait.

Cell Phones

The use of cell phones during class is unacceptable and will not be permitted. All students are required to have their cell phones off and put away during class. Students who violate this policy will be immediately removed from class, will receive an unexcused absence, and will be required to complete a make-up assignment and will risk failing the class. Don't forget. Forgetting isn't an excuse (see below), and you don't want to make a mess of your grade.

Course Prerequisite

The prerequisite for this course is FR 33212 (Composition) or its accepted equivalent. The College wants us to notify you that "students in the course who do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class."

Course Objectives

     The objective of this course is to give students a decent knowledge of the French novel, to develop the analytical skills first presented in FR 33212, and to improve further their writing skills.

Texts

As in Composition, the texts for this course are on the class website and should be printed out from there.

Laye, L'Enfant noir

One of Black Africa's most distinguished writers constructs a novel out of his memories of his childhood and adolescence. The struggle between his devotion to his parents and his fascination with French culture and the advancement that it offered. How can he retain his own culture if he goes off to France for the education he needs to advance in a culture that also fascinates him?

Mme de La Fayette, La Princesse de Clèves

The story of a young woman convinced by her family to marry one man, only to have another, very attractive man pursues her. How will she deal with this? Will she fall in love with the second man? Will she give in to him? Remember, divorce did not exist for Catholics in 16th century France.

Balzac, Eugénie Grandet

The story of a young woman who lives at home with her repressive father, only to have an attractive young man, her cousin, show up one day for a visit. How will she deal with this? Does the cousin really want her for herself, or does her father's money have something to do with his attentions?

Proust, Combray

As we started the course, so we finish it with another novelised recollection of childhood. Combray is the first part of Marcel Proust's mamouth A la recherche du temps perdu, a 3000 page work that many consider the great French novel. Combray deals with the somewhat fictionalized Marcel's efforts to remember his childhood, and a discussion of different types of memory.

Attendance

     Attendance is mandatory. Students are allowed only three unexcused absences. Thereafter, for every unexcused absence, a student's final grade will be lowered at the instructor's discretion. (Yes, I do really do that.) Students are responsible for knowing in advance what qualifies as an excused absence and must provide proof when they return that their absence met university policy if they want it to be regarded as excused. The professor will not ask for the proof; the student must provide it on his/her own initiative. All absences for which such proof is not supplied will be marked as unexcused.
     Some students confuse an excused absence with a documented absence. If your mother writes a note saying that you took her to the airport, that is a documented absence and certainly the sign of a dutiful offspring, but it is not an excused absence. In the same respect, if your doctor writes a note saying that you were absent because you went to see her/him for your annual checkup, that is a documented absence but not an excused one. University policy on what constitutes an excused absence can be found at http://www1.kent.edu/policyreg/chap3/3-01-2.cfm. Note especially section D. 3. c.: "Students shall be responsible for all material covered in class during their absence. Students are responsible for completing any makeup work resulting from their absence. In no case is an excuse from class to be interpreted as a release from class responsibility." Students must complete any work missed because of an excused absence promptly.

Grading


Mid-term exam: 20%
Final exam: 30%
Each paper assignment: 25%

Each paper should be 4-6 pages in length, word-processed and double-spaced. They will be judged on the interest and originality of the argument (do not simply restate something that the instructor has already presented in class), the appropriate use of the primary text to support the points of the argument, the clarity of the organization, and the quality of the French. In short, the points that were taught in French Composition.

This course may be used to satisfy the Writing Intensive Course (WIC) requirement. The purpose of a writing-intensive course is to assist students in becoming effective writers within their major discipline. A WIC requires a substantial amount of writing, provides opportunities for guided revision, and focuses on writing forms and standards used in the professional life of the discipline.
Because this is a writing intensive course, students not happy with the grade they receive on the first version of a paper have the right to rewrite it and submit a second version, by the deadline specified on the syllabus.However, as the College guidelines above state, it must be "guided revision." That means that, if you want to submit your paper for a revision, you MUST come in to see me during office hours to go over your first version. No second versions will be accepted if this has not been done. If a student rewrites a paper, he/she will receive the average of the grades on the two versions submitted as the grade for that paper assignment. A student happy with the grade he/she receives on the first version of a paper does not have to submit a rewrite. On the other hand, a student who does not submit a paper by the date of the first version may still submit a paper by the date of the second version; he/she will then simply receive the grade for the second paper as the grade for the assignment, with no option to rewrite it for a better grade.

Students may receive no outside help with any written work submitted for a grade in this class. This means that they may not ask others to go over their papers.

No assignment will be accepted late without a university-approved excuse. Students not present for the midterm and final at their scheduled times cannot request a make-up unless they have a documented excused absence.

Regular participation in class discussions of the literature being read is mandatory. A student who fails to participate regularly will have his/her grade reduced significantly, at the professor's discretion.

Student Cheating and Plagiarism

University policy 3342-3-01.8 deals with the problem of academic dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism. None of these will be tolerated in this class. The sanctions provided in this policy will be used to deal with any violations. If you have any questions, please read the policy at http://www.kent.edu/policyreg/index.cfm (go to Chapter 3 and find 3-01.8) and/or ask for information.

Student Accessibility Policy

University Policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).

Respectful Student Conduct

The Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies follows University regulations regarding student behavior in the classroom. It is expected that each student will be respectful to the instructor as well as to fellow classmates. Use of profanity, rudeness toward fellow students or the instructor, angry outbursts, refusal to participate in classroom activities, repeated tardiness, and leaving the classroom prior to class dismissal are just some examples of disruptive behavior. The instructor will ask the disruptive student to cease and desist and will inform the student of possible suspension and/or dismissal from the class. Guidelines pertaining to class disruptions are outlined in detail in the university policy register at 4-02.2.

Statement on enrollment/official registration

The official registration deadline for this course is September 12, 2010. University policy requires all students to be officially registered in each class they are attending. Students who are not officially registered for a course by published deadlines should not be attending classes and will not receive credit or a grade for the course. Each student must confirm enrollment by checking his/her class schedule (using Student Tools in FlashFast) prior to the deadline indicated. Registration errors must be corrected prior to the deadline.
The last day to withdraw is November 7, 2010.

Policy for Makeup Tests

If students have a documented sponsored athletic event, a religious holiday, or a documented medical excuse, the instructor will provide an opportunity to make up a missed test. However, for an absence caused by a university-sponsored event, students must notify the instructor before the absence and provide official university documentation; for an absence caused by illness the student must provide university-acceptable documentation (see above under Attendance) on the first class after the absence.

Graduating Seniors

Graduating seniors who are department majors will need to take the Outcomes Assessment Examination near the end of the semester. They should see Prof. DeJulio (mdejulio@kent.edu) for details.

Calendar

(The Professor reserves the right to make alterations.)

I.
30.8: Introduction
1.9: L'Enfant noir: I-II
3.9: L'Enfant noir: III-IV

II.
6.9: Labor Day: no classes
8.9: L'Enfant noir: V-VI
10.9: L'Enfant noir: VII

III.
13.9: L'Enfant noir: VIII
15.9: L'Enfant noir: IX
17.9: L'Enfant noir: X-XI

IV.
20.9: L'Enfant noir: XII
22.9: The French novel from its origins through the 18th century; préparation pour La Princesse de Clèves
24.9: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 1

V.
27.9: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 2
29.9: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 3
1.10: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 4

VI.
4.10: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 5
6.10: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 6
8.10: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 7

VII.
11.10: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 8
13.10: La Princesse de Clèves: Lecture 9
15.10: The French novel in the 19th century; 1st version of first paper due

VIII.
18.10: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 1
20.10: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 2
22.10: Midterm

IX.
25.10: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 3
27.10: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 4; revision of first paper (optional)
29.10: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 5

X.
1.11: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 6
3.11: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 7
5.11: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 8

7.11 Last day to withdraw from class

XI.
8.11: Eugénie Grandet: Lecture 9
10.11: The French novel in the 20th century; 1st version of second paper due
12.11: Combray: Lecture 1

XII.
15.11: Combray: Lecture 2
17.11Combray: Lecture 3
19.11: Combray: Lecture 4

XIII.
22.11: Combray: Lecture 5
24-26.11 Thanksgiving break: no classes

XIV.
29.11: Combray: Lecture 6
1.12: Combray: Lecture 7
3.12: Combray: Lecture 8; revision of second paper due (optional)

XV.
6.12: Combray: Lecture 9
8.12: Combray: Lecture 10
10.12: Combray: Lecture 11

13.12: Comprehensive Final exam: Monday, 10:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.