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ADVANCED GE FRENCH 102B (Area V) Francophone Cultures: Through Literature and
Cinema January 2006 Dear Students: Welcome to the SJSU online
version of French 102B, Francophone Cultures: Through Literature and Cinema. It
is an advanced GE course which fulfills the Area V - Culture, Civilization
& Global Understanding requirement (please see course description,
objectives and methodology for further details). Advanced GE Requirements Please note, to
enroll in this course students must: a) have upper
division standing b) have completed
the core G.E. requirements c) have passed the
WST Course
Syllabus Course Description “Francophone Cultures through Literature and Cinema” is an
interdisciplinary course designed with several goals in mind: a) to understand,
appreciate, and interpret the expression of human ideas and relationships
through the interaction between literary imagination and culture, as well as
politics b) to understand through literature and cinema the various beliefs,
behavior, values and institutions of the various French-speaking groups c) to
understand how human expression has developed over time d) to understand how
French-speaking cultures and traditions have influenced American culture and
society and vice versa e) to understand through literature and cinema how some
of the distinctive features of French-speaking cultures have developed and,
conversely, how some are in the process
of disappearing f) to understand how French-speaking cultures interact with
other cultures. Students will understand and appreciate the distinctive
modality of Western culture created by French-speaking peoples of the world
through the study and analysis of primary source materials (literary texts and
film). Secondary materials will serve to contextualize and give coherence to
the primary sources. Students will first develop an appreciation of the
cultural diversity found in the Francophone world. Francophone cultures through
literature and film includes but is not limited to the discussion of Francophone
people from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, North and
South America, including Québec and what was formerly known as Acadia. In
addition, immigration issues dealing with the presence of large concentrations
of French-speakers in the GE Objectives French 102B
accommodates the G.E. learning objectives for Area V in the following manner: a) Students will be able to compare systematically the
ideas, values, images, cultural artifacts, economic structures, or attitudes of
people from different societies or cultures b) They will be
able to identify the historical context of ideas and cultural practices and
their dynamic relations to other historical contexts c) They will be
able to explain how culture changes in response to internal and external
pressures d) Additionally,
they will be able to demonstrate the interrelatedness of knowledge, and e) They will be
able to identify, compare and critique specific and concrete examples taken
from literature, film and news accounts. Methodology Students will be
given a theoretical base or framework at the beginning of the semester through
online lecture presentations, readings and completion of reading assignment
questions based on Christopher Miller’s Blank Darkness, V.Y. Mudimbe’s The Invention of Africa, and Edward Said’s Orientalism.
The three out-of-class essays, as well as the exercise activities, the midterm,
final, and research paper will call upon the students' theoretical knowledge
obtained from these readings to recognize, analyze and critique all forms of
printed and visual discourse. Films will supplement reading materials and serve
as the basis for further theoretical background and the critical analysis of
visual discourse. This part of the
course is designed especially to develop and reinforce student G.E. learning
objectives (a), (b) and (c). Course texts: Miller,
Christopher. Blank Darkness Mudimbe, V.Y. The Invention of Said, Edward. Orientalism Course texts can be
purchased from either Roberts Bookstore or the Spartan Bookstore or ordered on
the internet. You MUST have the course texts when the class starts,
because the pace of the class moves very quickly. Video materials: Orientalism Rouch in Reverse Aimé Césaire: Une voix pour l'histoire The Fanon: Black Skin, White
Mask Sugar Cane Alley Reconquering the Conquest Indochine Hate Even though most video
materials are readily available at public libraries and video retail outlets,
such as Blockbuster and Netflix, for rental or purchase, for your convenience
and in the event that you do not have ready access to these materials in a
timely manner, all video materials will be available in the Foreign Language
Media Center (Sweeney Hall 211) and the Instructional Resources Center (IRC). Grading and Evaluation Course requirements: Participation in
online discussions Viewing of a select
number of films Completion of
reading assignment questions, film review worksheets and exercise activities Midterm Essays (3 to 4
pages) (3) Final examination Term paper (6-8
pages) Evaluation Final course grade
will be computed as follows based on total points from each module: Reading assignment
questions, film review worksheets, exercise activities 100 points Essays (3 of equal
weight) 300 points Midterm 150 points Term paper (6-8
pages) (HARD COPY DUE MAY 14) 250 points Final examination (LIVE CLASS MAY
18) 200 points Grading scale is as
follows: 1000 - 970 A+ 820
- 800 B- 660-630 D 960 - 930 A 790 - 770 C+ 620-600 D- 920 - 900 A- 760 - 730 C 590-0 F 890 - 880 B+ 720 - 700 C- 870 - 830 B 690 - 670 D+ I am looking forward to
working individually and collectively with each one of you. I hope you will
find the readings, electronic handouts, activities, videos, DVDs, CDROMs, and
interactive cultural exercises that I have assembled for this course to be both
interesting and beneficial to you to learn more about the Francophone world as
it relates to the cultures of French-speaking peoples throughout the world, as
well as in the U.S. I look forward to
participating with you in this interactive way of learning. Please e-mail me as soon as you enroll! | |||||||