| Instructor: | Dr. Michael Henderson |
| Office: | Humanities 206 |
| Office Hours: |
MWF 1:00 -1:55 |
| Phone: | (641) - 3497 (office) 641-7192 (Home) |
Women in French Culture
Syllabus
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Goals and Expectations:
In this course, we will encounter differing views and debates analyzing or
prescribing gender roles within French and francophone culture. The discussions
lend themselves easily to a comparison and contrast of relevant cultural issues
in different parts of the world as well as at different times in history. As
a CAII course, we will focus on the assumptions of modernity that were introduced
in CA I, especially those concerning marginalization and creation of cultural
others. Discussions and sharing ideas in writing or in formal presentations
to a group constitute a significant portion of the class work. During the course
of the semester, students will prepare at least one presentation for peer evaluation.
In addition, the course will culminate in a final project in the form of an
original piece of research. Early in the semester, students will select a topic
and develop a bibliography of sources, which may include but not be limited
to the Worl Wide Web. Students will submit an analytical paper detailing the
results of their research by the final exam date.
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Assignments: Assignments are intended to develop critical reading and analytical writing skills. Students will be expected to submit written analytical critiques about the works they view and read. There will be three relatively short essay exams during the course of the semester. Each of these will be returned to you with instructor comments for revision and editing, and the re-submitted. Both copies will receive a grade, which will be weighted equally in the overall average for these assignments. The semester will culminate with an extended analytical essay, submitted with a bibliography. The final paper will document your research on a major topic concerning women in French culture, a comparison of literary or artistic works, an historical movement or event, or a biography of a significant figure in history. Students will be asked to prepare at least one formal oral presentation that will be evaluated on form as well as content. A literature course does not lend itself easily to evaluation through midterm or final exams, so this course will include neither. Specific reading and viewing assignments will be announced in class discussion periods. You are responsible for completing all assignments even if you are absent, so be sure to check with other members of the class and make your own copies of handouts. |
Administrative policies:
Class attendance is mandatory. Frequent, unexplained absences will lower the
final grade
Students in this course are expected to familiarize themselves with and abide
by Juniata College's policy on academic integrity. All work submitted for this
course must adhere to this policy.
http://services.juniata.edu/registrar/catalog/integrity.htm
I will seek sanctions against anyone who is found to be violating it.
Grades
| Three essay exams: | 45% |
| Presentation: | 15% |
| Participation: | 10% |
| Final project: | 30% |
Discussion Outline
August 28 - 30 Introduction and historical background
Coming to writing. Who writes and why? Oral and written traditions.
September 4 - 6: Tradition and Myth Building
Marriage, love and death in the middle ages: The Lais of Marie de France.
September 11 - 13: Utopian Visions
The Book of the City of Ladies: Christne de Pizan
September 18 - 20: Noblesse Oblige: Women writers of the Ancien Régime
Madame de Lafayette and Madame de Sévigné: What's a princess to
do?
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September 25 Essay 1 September 25 - 28: Rights Revolutions October 2 - 5: Romantic Revisions October 9 - 11 New Science, Old Fears October 11 Essay 2 October 18 - 23 Film viewing and discussion October 25 - 30 Passages: motherhood |
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November 1 - 6 Family
November 20 Essay 3 November 26 - 29 Suffering and Sensibility December 3 Peer review of final projects December 6 Conclusions and questions |
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