French & French Studies

About

To begin courses in the department, students having taken French at the secondary-school level must take the departmental placement examination. Those who wish to enroll at a level beneath that indicated by the placement examination receive credit only if departmental permission is obtained prior to registration in the course. Through the sequence of courses designed for Sewanee students choosing to meet their language requirement in French, an operative level of oral and written proficiency is obtained, and students are likewise capable of reading important works in French and reacting to them critically.  Our language classes (FREN 103, 104, 203, and 300) are designed to help you develop basic skills in reading literary and cultural texts, in writing correct French, listening comprehension, and in speaking the language. In addition, we integrate culture and technology into these classes and cross disciplinary boundaries into other areas of the liberal arts. We develop each of the emphases of the National Foreign Language Standards: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities.

For those wishing to go beyond the required sequence in French, the department sponsors two major tracks — one in French literature and one in French Studies, with minors available in both areas. These two programs offer Sewanee students the opportunity, in the former case, to deepen their understanding of French literature and thought through an approach interweaving period with theme, or, in the latter case, to obtain a firm grounding in the evolution of French and Francophone history, culture, and language. Our 300-level courses are designed to help you make the transition to upper-level courses in the major. We offer conversation, composition, an introduction to French and Francophone Literature, Explication de textes, and summer courses abroad (Sewanee Summer-in-France). Designed for French and French Studies majors and minors, our 400-level courses are either literary in nature or oriented toward non-literary uses of French in interdisciplinary studies. See the catalog for more information on requirements for a major or minor in these two particular tracks.

We strive to provide as much individual attention to students as possible in all of our courses.  Students practice frequently: they speak French at the Table Française (lunch on Mondays at McClurg), in the Maison Française, at the SUT for French films, and in the hallways of Gailor Hall.

Our majors are accepted into fine graduate schools and have also gone on to very interesting careers, including public service, academe, banking, and governmental jobs, to name just a few vocational paths.