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Departmental Notes
Subject Code for French: FREN
Subject Code for French Studies: FRST
World Wide Web Address: https://www.queensu.ca/french/
Head of Department: Johanne Bénard (Acting)
Departmental Office: Kingston Hall, Room 300
Departmental Telephone: 613-533-2090
Departmental Fax: 613-533-6522
Undergraduate Office E-Mail Address: francais@queensu.ca
Chair of Undergraduate Studies: Julien Lefort-Favreau
Undergraduate and Office Assistant: Angie Clark
Departmental Administrator: Agathe Nicholson
Overview
At Queen’s you can choose from a variety of courses dealing with oral and written French, literature and culture of France, Quebec and francophone countries, linguistics, and business French. You will have opportunities to study or work in a francophone context either in Quebec or Europe, through academic exchanges or work/study programs.
Departmental Policies
Credit for Immersion Courses
Students who have taken an immersion course elsewhere may have to be tested by the department in order to receive credit for such a course.
Advice to Students
Introductory French Language Courses
The French Department recognizes that students enter the University with a wide range of abilities in the French language. Therefore, all incoming students intending to take 100-level French courses should take an online French placement test before registering to ensure that they are placed in a course at the correct proficiency level. Students should note that once they have passed a course at one level of proficiency, they will not be allowed to take for credit a French language course at a lower level. These rules are enforced by a series of exclusions. Students who wish to pursue a French Plan should also note that courses below FREN 150 may not be used towards French Plan requirements, though they may be used as electives or partially towards the requirements of the French Certificate of Competence (see below).
Communication and Culture Courses
The Department of French Studies offers a series of Communication and Culture courses, both online and on campus, for students wishing to develop and perfect their French language skills. These include: practical communication skills to engage in a range of everyday situations; learning about various French cultures; vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation; interactive activities & group work. No auditors.
Special Study Opportunities/Cultural Activities
The Department of French Studies offers a range of cultural programs and educational opportunities for faculty, students, and the Kingston community.
Learning Resources
Technological resources are available for students taking courses in the Department. These include language laboratories, Room 121 at Stauffer Library.
Credit for Work Taken at a French-Language University
The third year of a four-year program with a French Major, Joint Honours or Minor Plan may be taken at a French-language university. Credit for this work may be allowed if at least 60.00 units with a cumulative GPA of 1.90 have been attempted by the end of second year, including FREN 150, FREN 230, FREN 241 and FREN 231 with a GPA of 1.90 on these three courses. On returning to Queen’s for the fourth year, students will be allowed to transfer credits in French, if proof is submitted of having taken the equivalent of Queen’s courses. All students spending their third year at such a university are required to take at least 9.00 further units in French at Queen’s, normally at the 300 level.
Certificate of Competence in French Language
Students who are not registered in a French Plan but have taken certain courses in French at Queen’s or received transfer credit for courses taken elsewhere are eligible for a Certificate of Competence in French Language. Note that this is not a Senate-approved Certificate Program and therefore will be noted as an Academic Milestone on the transcript. The Certificate will be issued by the French Department on behalf of the Faculty of Arts and Science.
Intermediate Level includes courses in oral and written French, French literature, business French or French linguistics.
Requirements: 18.00 units in French. Required courses include FREN 150, FREN 231 and 3.00 units from the Communication and Culture series of courses and 6.00 units from the list of option courses. All courses taken for the certificate must be at a level equal to or above FREN 150 (with the exception of FREN 118) and be in good standing. No more than 6.00 transferred units can be counted towards the intermediate level certificate.
Intermediate-Advanced Level includes courses in oral and written French and possibly French literature, business French, or French linguistics.
Requirements: 24.00 units in French. Required courses include FREN 150 and FREN 231 and FREN 360 and 3.00 units from the Communication and Culture series of courses at the level of FREN 219 or above and 9.00 units from the list of options courses. All courses taken for the certificate must be at a level equal to or above FREN 150, and be in good standing. Only 6.00 units from Communication and Culture courses (FREN 219, FREN 320) credit can be counted towards the certificate. No more than 9.00 transferred units can be counted towards the intermediate-advanced level certificate.
Applications for the Certificate should be received by the Department of French Studies before the Departmental deadline.
Courses
French Language and Literature (FREN)
This online French course is aimed at students with little or no knowledge of French and is designed to provide them with basic language skills to enable them to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and basic phrases in everyday situations.
NOTE Only offered online, consult Arts and Science Online.
NOTE Students with a higher level of French than beginner speakers cannot enrol in this course, and will need to sign a solemn declaration to this effect at the start of the course.
This online French course is designed for students with a basic knowledge of French, to supplement their language skills by enabling them to engage in everyday interactions. For students with three years of high school French or equivalent.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
NOTE Students with a higher level of French than false beginner speakers cannot enrol in this course, and will need to sign a solemn declaration to this effect at the start of the course.
Review of the French language in the North American context: written and oral exercises, compositions, short readings. Emphasis on grammar and vocabulary.
Review of the French language in the North American context: written and oral exercises, compositions, short readings. Emphasis on grammar and vocabulary.
This French course is designed for students who have completed beginner level French. Students will further develop their written and oral communication skills as well as acquire the means to competently engage in a range of everyday common social and professional situations.
NOTE Also offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online. Learning Hours may vary.
NOTE Students who are fluent French speakers cannot enrol in this course, and will need to sign a solemn declaration to this effect at the start of the course.
Practice in reading, writing, grammar review, and literary analysis.
NOTE Also offered at the Bader International Study Centre, Herstmonceux. Learning Hours may vary.
For students with immersion background.
This course is designed to help students navigate through a range of professional workplace environments by providing them with French oral and written skills. It will expose students to professional situations and enable them to actively engage in real life scenarios.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
The methodology of literary analysis. Assignments may include textual analysis and dissertation.
A presentation of the principles of textual production in French as applied in the production of various types of texts.
This course will provide learners with work-related vocabulary as well as the written and oral communication skills to effectively engage in a range of bilingual professional environments and situations pertaining to healthcare. Throughout the course, learners work in small groups on collaborative projects to simulate real world situations.
NOTE Language is the principal focus of this course. Prior experience or professional knowledge in the field is not necessary.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
The course will provide learners with technical vocabulary as well as the written and oral French communication skills to effectively engage in a range of situations, activities, and tasks within government workplaces. Collaborative group work and assignments will simulate real world situations.
NOTE Language is the principal focus of this course. Prior experience or professional knowledge in the field is not necessary.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
The course will provide learners with technical vocabulary as well as the French written and oral language skills to effectively communicate with French speaking clients and conduct routine legal communication in French. Collaborative group work and assignments will simulate real world situations.
NOTE Language is the principal focus of this course. Prior experience or professional knowledge in the field is not necessary.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
This online course is intended for professionals working in contexts related to Indigenous arts and cultures (artistic and cultural organizations, education, government). It is designed to provide learners with the oral and written skills necessary to accurately understand and effectively engage with Indigenous arts and cultures in the workplace.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
An introduction to French literature from the Middle Ages to the end of the Eighteenth Century stressing how tensions generated between different ideas within a period determine the aesthetic, philosophical, and literary choices made by major authors.
A course focusing on the socio-cultural and political aspects of African and Caribbean cinemas.
A study of representative literary works in the Middle Ages, including La Chanson de Roland, Tristan et Iseult, Le Roman de Renart, Le Roman de la Rose, Chrétien de Troyes, Rutebeuf and Villon. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
A detailed study of selected plays from French theatre since 1945. Visual presentations. Semiotic approach. Cocteau, Duras, Beckett, Ionesco, Sarraute, Sartre, Koltès. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
A study of representative literary works of the 15th and 16th centuries, including Villon, Montaigne, Rabelais. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
For advanced students.
A detailed study of major 19th century writers. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
A detailed study of selected novels from 20th-century French authors until 1945. Beauvoir, Camus, Céline, Cocteau, Colette, Gide, Proust, Sartre. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
A seminar on avant-garde and post-modern works in which students will be asked to examine traditional literary conventions of representation, particularly those established over the course of the 19th century. Class discussion will then shift to avant-garde and post-modern works that question such conventions and also address issues pertaining to the limits of representation. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
A study of cultural representations in contemporary film. Special topics may include women in cinema, culture and identity in French and/or Francophone cinema, history through cinema, avant-garde cinema and the 'nouvelle vague'. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
Acquisition of a deeper knowledge of the principles of textual production, with particular emphasis on the use of computer-based grammatical and lexicographic tools, and an examination of the stylistic constraints on textual production.
An intro. to French 19th and contemporary literature. More specifically focused on literature the course will also explore predominant trends in different media such as painting and cinema. Drawing on critical, historical, and literary theory, students will acquire the skills to assess how specific works reflect or relate to the aesthetic, literary, and philosophical trends of their time.
An introduction to the history of ideas and cultural evolution in French Canada, African and Caribbean culture and literature, from the colonial period to the present day.
An examination of comparative approaches to Indigenous literatures across North America. Questions of translation, tribal specificity, literary nationalism, inter- and trans-Indigenous orientations are examined in relation to a diversity of works by Indigenous scholars, writers, filmmakers, and other artists and thinkers.
A study of representative works by African and the Caribbean writers. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
In this course, which aims to provide a solid undergraduate-level foundation in several key figures, texts and concepts in Haitian Studies, students will learn to address some common misunderstandings about Haiti by exploring the political documents of its revolutionary period and literary representations of its popular culture and vodou.
A detailed analysis of French grammar based on the description of language structures.
This course has as its goal to allow students to grasp the major steps in the evolution of French from Latin to the modern day. Subjects treated include: the language upon which French is based; the major steps in the development of French; French as a social institution, as an official language, and as a living language; the Francophone world.
Seventeenth-century texts are studied in detail from the works of Cyrano de Bergerac, d'Urfé, Scarron, Furetière, Guilleragues and Mme de la Fayette. Travaux pratiques include oral exposés and dissertations.
A study of significant trends in the novel of 18th century France with special emphasis on historical and aesthetic changes in the relationship between fiction and its social context. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
Lecture on a selected topic in French Language and Literature; course is either being offered for the first time or is being taught by visiting faculty. Topics will depend on the professor's interest and field of research. Consult the Department of French Studies website for further details of specific course offerings each year.
A study of discourse on and by women in representative works (primarily the novel). Travaux pratiques may include essays and tests.
Focuses on a specific author or on a specific theme of Quebec literature. Topics will depend on the professor's interest and field of research. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
Students will explore Paris through the diverse, creative, and anecdotal perspectives offered by writers, filmmakers, painters, photographers, and other artists. Such figures have played important roles in significant literary and artistic trends and movements, and have portrayed Paris in a variety of perspectives.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
NOTE Taught in English together with FRST 290. Students concentrating in French submit written assignments, tests, and examinations in French.
Montreal is a converging point for immigrants. We will explore significant texts that represent this diversity, from a migrant perspective or one of majority, and the political implications that arise in a pluralistic context, seeking to identify the model of interculturalism, and its links with notions such as hybridity adopted by migrant writers.
NOTE This course is offered in French. Students registered in FREN 394 will read texts in their French original version and write their quizzes, essay and exam in French. Those registered in FRST 294 may read texts in translation, and write their quizzes, essay and exam in English. English version of PowerPoint presentations will be available on onQ. Students registered should understand oral French at an intermediate level.
A study of Québec society through the analysis of cinema focusing on the impacts of recent cultural institutions on the formation of cultural identity during and since the Quiet Revolution. Travaux pratiques include essays and tests.
Drawing from the fields of art, film, philosophy and literature, this course seeks to engage students from all disciplines to explore how, as a society, we can work to better understand and address the needs of the elderly and dying.
A practical translation course. Review exercises in comparative stylistics, written and oral themes.
The goal of this seminar is to enable students pursuing the final year of a Major in French Studies to apply the methods and theory acquired over the course of their program to a corpus of works not previously covered by their program. In a seminar framework, under the guidance of a professor, they will, as a group, present and discuss the fruits of their readings and the questions raised by these readings. In addition, at the end of each of the two terms, they will write an exam designed to measure their ability to consider, both broadly and deeply, the texts they have read, to synthesize their reflections in a theoretically coherent fashion, and to express their findings clearly and coherently.
Explores teaching French as a second language in relation to didactic methods, active learning, cultural content, and pedagogic approaches through both seminars and a teaching practicum in FREN 150.
NOTE This course is exclusively for Concurrent Education students who have completed the Con-Ed prerequisites in the Faculty of Education and who have completed an application and been interviewed in the spring prior to the year in which they will be enrolled in the course.
Research in a particular area of French literature or language under the supervision of a professor.
Research in a particular area of French literature or language under the supervision of a professor.
French Studies (FRST)
This course, given in English, is an overview of Francophone culture (since 1789) from a global perspective. Various historical events are observed through films, novels, and short essays.
An online course for students with little or no previous knowledge of French. Learners will identify the key elements of a French sentence, the structure of sentences, and the devices used to combine sentences and paragraphs in French, as well as translate texts from subject areas including humanities, social sciences, business, and sciences. Explanations are given in English; all materials to be analyzed are in French.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
NOTE Students with a higher level of French than beginner speakers cannot enrol in this course, and will need to sign a solemn declaration to this effect at the start of the course.
This online course is an introduction to the language of business in French. Students will learn how to understand texts in the areas of administrative correspondence, personnel issues (CV, covering letter, hiring process), basic financial reporting, and advertising. Explanations are given in English; all materials to be analyzed are in French.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
NOTE With permission of the Department, course may be taken jointly with FREN 118.
NOTE Students with a higher level of French than beginner speakers cannot enrol in this course, and will need to sign a solemn declaration to this effect at the start of the course.
Students will explore Paris through the different perspectives offered by writers, filmmakers, painters, photographers, and other artists who have played an important role in significant literary and artistic trends and movements. The course covers literature, painting, and film starting at the end of the 19th century and extends to the present.
NOTE Only offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online.
Montreal is a converging point for immigrants. We will explore significant texts that represent this diversity, from a migrant perspective or one of majority, and the political implications that arise in a pluralistic context, seeking to identify the model of interculturalism, and its links with notions such as hybridity adopted by migrant writers.
NOTE This course is offered in French. Students registered in FREN 394 will read texts in their French original version and write their quizzes, essay and exam in French. Those registered in FRST 294 may read texts in translation, and write their quizzes, essay and exam in English. English version of PowerPoint presentations will be available on onQ. Students registered should understand oral French at an intermediate level.
Drawing from the fields of art, film, philosophy and literature, this course seeks to engage students from all disciplines to explore how, as a society, we can work to better understand and address the needs of the elderly and dying.