Fren
2014:
Explorations culturelles:
la littérature
d'enfance et de jeunesse
Printemps, 2020
Zoom Code : https://umn.zoom.us/j/569197021
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Professeur Sarah Buchanan
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Course description:
Fren 2014 “Explorations in Culture” was designed to be an opportunity
to practice the four skills needed to develop your language skills (listening,
speaking, reading, writing) through the discussion of various non-academic texts,
such as children’s books, movies, music videos, or news stories from throughout
the French-speaking world.
This semester, the topic of Fren 2014 will be children’s
literature, which is the cornerstone of literacy and social knowledge for most
cultures: a child’s exposure to a society’s common stories during
their formative years lays the groundwork for collective social codes about
home, family, gender, and community. In this class, we will read books developed
for progressive ages of children, from infancy to young adult, to develop our
understanding of basic French culture, as well as to expand our vocabulary and
ease in reading.
Required texts:
• Orsenna, Erik. La grammaire est une chanson douce. Paris, Le
Livre de Poche, 2003. ISBN: 978-2253149101.
• All other books are on reserve in Briggs library.
Optional materials, available at
the bookstore:
• Morton, Jacqueline. English Grammar for Students of French.
Olivia and Hill Press. ISBN: 0934034370, which contains explanations of fundamental
grammar concepts.
• Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary, ISBN 978-0-19-861422-7
• Kendris, Christopher and Theodore Kendris. 501 French Verbs.
ISBN: 0764179837
• Le Petit Robert, Le Petit Larousse Illustré
ou Le Robert pour Tous
Course structure:
This course is a seminar and will be mostly conversation-based. The success
of this course therefore depends upon you: your preparedness and your willingness
to share your thoughts, things you did not understand, things you found interesting,
things that were thought-provoking.
Please engage carefully and thoughtfully with the readings, taking
the time to look up words and phrases you do not understand and also taking
the time to write out a few reflections, so you are ready to participate in
our conversations.
UMM’s
Mission Statement:
The University of Minnesota, Morris provides a rigorous undergraduate liberal
arts education, preparing its students to be global citizens who value and pursue
intellectual growth, civic engagement, intercultural competence, and environmental
stewardship.
As a public land-grant institution, the University of Minnesota, Morris is a center for education, culture, and research for the region, nation, and world. University of Minnesota, Morris is committed to outstanding teaching, dynamic learning, innovative faculty and student scholarship and creative activity, and public outreach. Our residential academic setting fosters collaboration, diversity, and a deep sense of community.
UMM
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):
Fren 2014 is designed to help you develop the following UMM Student Learning
Outcomes :
- Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World, through language and culture study;
- Intellectual and Practical Skills, including inquiry and analysis, critical thinking, and written and oral communication;
- An Understanding of the Roles of Individuals in Society, through active involvement with diverse communities and challenges. We will especially hone our civic knowledge and engagement—local and global, and our intercultural knowledge and competence;
- Capacity for Integrative Learning, including skills for sustained learning and personal development.
French Discipline’s Program Student Learning
Outcomes (PSLOs):
The French Discipline has identified several competencies that contribute to
UMM’s Student Learning Outcomes and that students in our program should
acquire. They are:
- Students will be able to interpret with accuracy detailed information and narratives in French in the past, present, and future.
- Students will be able to express themselves, in speaking and in writing in French, in the past, present, and future about topics of general, academic, and professional interest.
- Students will be able to interpret cultural artifacts, texts, and films with accuracy, demonstrating knowledge of the French and Francophone cultures that produced them.
- Students’ work will reflect an awareness of their own cultural biases and articulate the inherent complexities, worldviews, and values of other cultures.
- Students will prepare for a future in graduate school or in the professional world.
Course objectives:
This course will contribute to your progress towards the outcomes detailled
in the French Discipline’s PSLOs 3 and 4, which focus on understanding
and interpreting both one’s own culture and that of French-speaking countries.
To that end, we will explore how cultural knowledge cannot be separated from
language learning: just as a child reading these books absorbs language and
culture, your interactions with this class’s texts will advance your ability
to communicate with French speakers because it will provide linguistic richness
and foundational cultural frameworks. Both will help you grasp patterns and
references in conversations and in other readings, enabling you to interpret
them accurately and to understand how they may differ from your own biases and
worldview.
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has identified two standards in language learning that benchmark the degree to which a person is able understand target cultures :
- Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied. This standard focuses on the practices that are derived from the traditional ideas and attitudes (perspectives) of a culture. Cultural practices refer to patterns of behavior accepted by a society and deal with aspects of culture such as rites of passage, the use of forms of discourse, the social “pecking order,” and the use of space. In short, they represent the knowledge of “what to do when and where.”
- Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied. This standard focuses on the products of the culture studied and on how they reflect the perspectives of the culture. Products may be tangible (e.g., a painting, a piece of literature, a pair of chopsticks) or intangible (e.g., an oral tale, a dance, a sacred ritual, a system of education). Whatever the form of the product, its presence within the culture is required or justified by the underlying beliefs and values (perspectives) of that culture, and the cultural practices involve the use of that product.
Guided by the French Discipline’s PSLOs 3 and 4, and by the ACTFL cultural proficiency standards, I have designed this course so that, by the end of this course, you will be able to:
- discuss the role of children’s literature in French culture;
- identify important themes in children’s literature and how they reflect French cultural norms;
- and analyze the images in children’s literature for the ways they communicate messages on their own terms.
- You will also have a higher comfort level and proficiency in reading French.
Academic Integrity in French:
- You may use these on-line dictionaries for individuals words and the
prepositions that accompany them, but not for phrases or sentences:
- Linguee.com is an excellent on-line dictionary, created by linguists. This is an encouraged dictionary to use.
- Wordreference.com is another on-line dictionary with discussion forums, but it is crowd-sourced and can be more colloquial. It is also fine to use.
- For advanced students who would like to use a French-French dictionary, please consult Trésors de la langue française.
- Do not use automatic translators of any kind (including the translator your word processor may have) under any circumstances. You will fail this course if you do.
- Using bonpatron.com is required for all papers.
- Do not enlist people inside or outside of this class to line-edit your
work without your collaborative input.
- The feedback must be collaborative: you cannot simply forward work to someone and expect it to be corrected;
- The editor must sign the draft they work on with you;
- You must turn that draft into me;
- The editor should provide a brief description of your activities, per my specifications.
Please don’t be afraid to ask questions,
even if you think everyone else already understands:
chances are good that at least one other person is as confused as you are.
Description of Assignments:
All homework must be completed, printed, and stapled by the beginning
of class on the date indicated.
Répartition des notes |
Distribution des notes |
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| Preparation: | Fren 2014 is discussion-based and its success will depend on you and your ability to discuss the works we’ll study. As in all French courses, you must give yourself time to read and process the material. Children’s literature, while seemingly simple, can be difficult to understand. Therefore, do not rush through the stories: think through the text, make lists of unknown vocabulary (and look up their translations), take notes on the plot and themes of the books, and write down the thoughts that occur to you as you read. For each class period, you will:
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Participation: |
Again, this course is discussion-based and its success will depend on you and your willingness and ability to discuss the works we’ll study. Engage with the questions your classmates pose! Share your understanding of the books, your joys at the works’ creativity and artistry, your frustrations with moments of difficulty, and your assessments of the skills or ideas the books are designed to develop in children. |
Creative Project: |
You will write your own children’s book, which is due in week four of this class. For your book, select one of the French children’s books in the first section of our class (for babies to age six) and create a pastiche of it. Imitate its plot, its images, its basic themes, etc., but make the story your own. You could, for example, move the subject of the text from France to UMM and make its target audience a college student. Be creative and have fun with this assignment! Images are required, whether created by hand or by computer. |
Final Paper: |
For your final project, which is due on Thursday, May 14th before 10:30am, you will select one of the following assignments to do:
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I. La littérature pour les bébés jusqu’aux enfants de 10 ans
Date |
À lire/À faire |
Le lundi |
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Le mercredi |
18 pages à lire |
Le lundi |
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| Le mercredi 1 avril |
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Le lundi |
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II. La littérature pour les enfants de 10 à 100 ans
Date |
À lire/À faire |
Le mercredi |
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Le lundi |
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Le mercredi |
À rendre : votre livre pour des enfants de 0 à 10 ans.
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Le lundi |
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Le mercredi |
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Le lundi |
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III. La Bande dessinée (BD)
Date |
À lire/À faire |
Le mercredi |
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Le lundi |
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Le mercredi |
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Projet final:
La rédaction ou histoire finale est à rendre le jeudi 14 mai à
10h30 (ou avant).