The Department of French & Italian Studies is offering a variety of exciting classes in autumn quarter!
Read below to check out some of our classes and their descriptions! If you have any questions regarding our courses, please reach out to frenital@uw.edu.
FRENCH 216 A: The Nobel Prize and World Literature (A&H)
Tuesdays | 2:30pm - 4:20pm | MLR 301 | Professor Richard Watts | 3-credit C/NC | Taught in English
Do you want to read and learn about the some of the most significant works of world literature of the past century with a different guest lecturer every week? Then this is the course for you! FREN 216 / GLITS 200 “The Nobel Prize and World Literature” brings together 10 professors from the Humanities in a fun, low-stakes, 3-credit course (credit/no-credit grading) to talk about Nobel Prize-winning authors from Africa, North and South America, Asia, and Europe. Guest lecturers and students will discuss literature and immigration, war, race, religion, gender, language and translation, as well as the role of literary prizes and even what counts as literature (Bob Dylan in Week 10!). One lecture per week with short readings and a 1-hour quiz/discussion section. Come for life-changing reads and great discussions!
FRENCH 301 A: Francophone Graphic Novels (A&H)
Tuesdays & Thursdays | 10:30am - 12:20pm | THO 335 | Professor Irina Markina | Taught in French
FREN 301 Francophone Graphic Novels will introduce you to the genre of Francophone “comics,” the bande dessinée (BD). Through a selection of critically acclaimed BD you will reflect on important questions at the center of contemporary debates, including national identity, migration, race, gender, and religion, all while perfecting your French. We will conclude with a specialized module on the business landscapes of France and Québec. Aided by four graphic narratives, you will examine the cultural practices and conventions of French and Québecois workplaces and create a portfolio of materials for a francophone market.
FRENCH 320 A: French Language & Identity (A&H/SSc)
Mondays & Wednesdays | 2:30pm - 4:20pm | SAV 168 | Professor Maya Smith | Taught in English
This course explores the French language as social practice in which speakers’ notions of identity influence how they use and relate to language and in which language bears on conceptions of personal, cultural, and national identity. Interdisciplinary in nature, this course borrows from different fields, most notably linguistics, philosophy, and French cultural studies. The aim of the course is to inform students of the social aspects of the evolution of the French language, highlight the dynamic relationship between language and identity, and present a detailed picture of linguistic and cultural diversity in the Francophone world. Students will read texts in English and will produce original work in different academic genres including response papers, research paper, and an oral/visual presentation. Prerequisite: French 103 or equivalent placement.
ITAL 356 A: Contemporary Italian Film (A&H/SSc)
Tuesdays & Thursdays | 2:30pm -4:20pm | LOW 205 | Professor Claudio Mazzola | Taught in English
This course aims at providing students with an overview of Italian cinema from the end of WW2 to the present day. Where is Italian cinema now? Does the concept of "auteurs" still exist? Has the audience completely abandoned traditional Italian cinema in favor of more entertaining American blockbusters? This course will address all of these questions and will provide students with a strong historical background of Italian cinema to understand what made Italian cinema so famous in the past and in which direction Italian cinema is going now.