Undergraduate course descriptions
- View Columbia course listings by subject, department, or keyword in the Directory of Classes.
Please note that while these are the courses we expect to offer, there may be some minor modifications to the curriculum.
3000-Level Courses:
FREN UN3405 (in French)
Read, Think, Write in French
2 sections. Laurence Marie and Alexandra Borer
3405 enables students to hone and perfect their reading and writing skills while improving their ability to express and organize thoughts in French. In this engaging advanced language class, students are exposed to major texts in fields as diverse as journalism, sociology, anthropology, politics, literature, philosophy, and history. Stimulating class discussions, targeted reviews of key grammatical points in context, and an array of diverse writing exercises all contribute to strengthen students’ mastery of the French language. This course also works as a bridge class between Intermediate French II and courses that focus on French and Francophone cultures, history, and literature (such as 3409 and 3410). Students who take this class will be fully prepared to take advanced content classes or spend a semester in a Francophone country. This class is required for the French major and minor.
FREN UN3249 (in French)
Arts in Action
Pascale Crépon
The course is an introduction to the visual arts and art professions in the context of French and Francophone arts and cultural institutions. Students will experience arts through class discussions of artistic production and a familiarization with art history and art criticism in French, presentations, workshops, discussions with art professionals, guest lectures, and visits to art museums and galleries. Students who take the class can apply for paid internships in an art institution in the spring following the class. In these internships, students will use some of the French language skills they have acquired in class.
FREN UN3414 (in French)
French in the World: A Linguistic Survey
Eric Matheis
This course explores the French language through three lenses: its historical development from Latin to the present; its sound system (phonetics and phonology) in both standard French and selected regional varieties; and sociolinguistic factors such as identity, culture, and social context that influence how French is used around the world. Coursework includes the analysis of authentic audio, video, and written materials—such as conversations, formal speeches, literary texts, and advertising. Ideal for students of literature, history, language teaching, or linguistics, the course provides the analytical tools needed to understand and study French as a global language. Readings are primarily in French, and class discussions are conducted in French.
FREN UN3409 (in French)
Introduction to French and Francophone History
Instructor - TBA
Who were the Gauls and when was Paris the "capital of modernity"? What caused the French and Haitian Revolutions? Why do the French care so much about religion, nation, empire or, for that matter, food and fashion? This class surveys the history of France and the Francophone world from the Middle Ages to the present. It provides an introduction to major events and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions of people in France and across the world, in its former colonies. From feudalism and absolutism to imperialism, capitalism, and republicanism, we explore how questions of identity and difference play out in politics, culture and society. The class is based in lecture and discussion and relies on close readings of primary sources. The course is taught entirely in French and is one of two core courses for the major and minor in French. Students are encouraged to take FREN 3405 prior to this course.
FREN UN3410 (in French)
Introduction to French and Francophone Literature
Joanna Stalnaker
This class offers students an introduction to major works that have marked the history of literature in French from the Middle Ages to the present. Our focus will be on close reading and discussion, but works will also be placed in historical context. We will look at a variety of literary genres (sonnet, short story, comedy, autobiography, narrative poetry, novel), and our readings will be complemented by visual materials such as paintings and films. The course is taught entirely in French and is one of two core courses for the major and minor in French. Students are encouraged to take FREN 3405 prior to this course.
FREN UN3587 (in English; Global Core)
Global Francophone Cinema
Aubrey Gabel
In this course, we will consider French-language cinema as an inherently global phenomenon, which stems both from the transnational nature of the medium itself, and the legacy of the former French empire. From the very beginning, the Lumière brothers sent cameramen and projectionists to faraway locations—from India to Indochina, or from Mexico to Morocco. If early French ethnographic and narrative cinema functioned as a form of soft power, by the mid-20th century, filmmakers were on the frontlines of anti-colonial militantism, documenting, for instance, the horrors of the Algerian War. In the wake of decolonization, great African directors tackled the challenges of emergent nations, as well as the complex neocolonial networks that kept them tied to European metropoles. Today, filmmakers from around the world—from Iran to Cambodia—turn to live-action film and animation in French—despite their complicated relationships to both the language and France’s former empire. This course will include units on: ethnography and docufiction; colonial and anticolonial cinema; historical violence and memory; banlieue, beur, and Black identities; and emergent queer filmmakers.
Taught in English, with films in French (and other languages) with English subtitles. Required readings will be available in English, with some optional readings in French for French majors and minors. Satisfies the Global Core requirement. Students may receive credit for the French major / minor if they submit their papers in French.
FREN UN3725 (in French and English)
Asylum/Asile. Theory and Practice of Asylum Law through Francophone African Asylum Claims in New York.
Madeleine Dobie and Andrew Heinrich
Asylum/Asile is an experiential learning class conducted in collaboration with Project Rousseau, a holistic non-profit organization that helps young people in communities with the greatest need.
Since migrant youth and families began arriving in New York by bus from the southern border, Project Rousseau has been on the frontlines serving them. A large proportion of these migrants are Francophone asylum seekers who need support with their application. This class will teach the theory and practice of asylum law, the specific sociohistorical, cultural, and political contexts that motivate Francophone asylum seekers, especially in the case of Mauritania and Guinea, and the ways in which translation is critical to this process. The class will culminate in students assisting Project Rousseau’s Francophone clients with their asylum applications.
The class is offered in the Fall. Interested students will be able to apply for internships with Project Rousseau in the Spring semester.
4000-Level Courses
CLFR GU4000 (in French and English)
Theory of Literature
Aubrey Gabel
This course will not track a single intellectual trajectory but will guide students through several opposing or overlapping fields of intellectual thought, including many ‘isms—formalism, semiology, structuralism, Marxism, poststructuralism, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonial theory, ecocriticism, and so on—that continue to be influential in literary studies, and especially, in French and Francophone studies in the American academy. There will be a particular emphasis on how foundational ideas about literature, authorship, and criticism shape the very questions that still interest us today, especially from the perspective of thinkers who originally wrote in French. Throughout the semester, we will think about what it means to engage in literary criticism and, more generally, what it means to write or read literature, or to be an author and reader in society. This course will also (re)introduce students not just to foundational concepts and methods in literary studies, but also various modes of academic writing, including book reviews, abstracts and call for proposals, conference papers, annotated bibliographies, and so on. Taught in French and English with readings in both languages.
FREN GU4426 (in French)
Rousseau’s Woman Problem
Joanna Stalnaker
The problem of women lies at the heart of everything Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote. He posited a basic equality between the sexes in the state of nature, while prescribing a radically restrictive view of women’s education. He founded his political thought on models of virility, while writing a best-selling novel featuring a powerful heroine who governs an ideal society. He upheld rigid gender binaries, while fashioning himself as a woman in his autobiographical writings. The goal of this seminar will be to tease out these and other tensions and contradictions in Rousseau’s work and to explore how they have shaped modern views of women and gender. We will read Rousseau in dialogue with the many women who responded to his work, whether by emulating his style, seeking his counsel or subjecting his ideas to virulent critique.
The seminar will be taught in French and fulfills the pre-1800 requirement for the French major and the MA and PhD in French. Undergraduates with an advanced level of French are welcome to enroll.
FREN GU 4269 (in French)
Literature and Prostitution
Elisabeth Ladenson
French literature has been preoccupied with prostitutes and prostitution for centuries. This course proposes to examine some of the various depictions of women and men who make their living via sexual activity, from the 18th century through our own era. We will trace the different varieties of “loose women,” identifying an extensive taxonomy of courtisanes, lorettes, grisettes, filles de joie etc., in male-authored works from Manon Lescaut (1731) through the apogee of literary obsession with “fallen women” in the 19th century. Over the course of the century the romantic “whore with a heart of gold” trope (Dumas’s Dame aux camélias) coexisted with Mérimée’s fatal gypsy Carmen, Flaubert and Baudelaire’s insistence on prostitution as metaphor, Maupassant’s analyses of bourgeois hypocrisy in this regard, and, finally, Zola’s irresistible and destructive Nana. The 20th century saw more nuanced depictions of both female and male prostitution from such authors as Colette and Jean Genet. We will conclude with 21st-century first-person accounts of sex work by Nelly Arcan (Putain, 2001) and Virginie Despentes (King Kong théorie, 2006).
FREN GU4082
Rebel Literature (in French)
Emmanuel Kattan
“Quand on refuse, on dit non,” said Ivorian novelist Ahmadou Kourouma towards the end of his life. Taking this stance as a starting point, this seminar will explore, through the lens of the novel, major political upheavals in the Francophone world during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. We will shed light on the history of decolonization, May 68, the feminist movement, and struggles against racism and injustice by delving into the imaginary worlds of six leading Francophone novelists: Marguerite Duras, Ahmadou Kourouma, Assia Djebar, Hélène Cixous, George Perec and Édouard Glissant.
FRGER 4000
Language Pedagogy
Jutta Schmiers-Heller
What kind of teacher would you like to become? What experience, knowledge, and opinions regarding learning and teaching a language and language and communication do you bring to class? How can theoretical and practical literature help us augment our personal experiences? How do we plan and execute lesson plans? What role do institutional expectations play? What can we learn from how others teach? How can we ensure that we welcome a wide spectrum of students into our classes? How can we grow as educators through self-reflection, our interactions with colleagues, and through our understanding of theoretical and practical knowledge that goes beyond planning the next class?
Collaboratively, we will discuss these and other questions using our concrete experience, practical and theoretical literature, and opportunities for professional development. We will apply our knowledge and create materials together, visit colleagues in other language and reflect on our learning and teaching experience.
Please note that while these are the courses we expect to offer, there may be some minor modifications to the curriculum.
3000-Level Courses:
FREN UN3405 (in French)
Read, Think, Write in French
2 sections. Alexandra Borer and Pascale Crépon
3405 enables students to hone and perfect their reading and writing skills while improving their ability to express and organize thoughts in French. In this engaging advanced language class, students are exposed to major texts in fields as diverse as journalism, sociology, anthropology, politics, literature, philosophy, and history. Stimulating class discussions, targeted reviews of key grammatical points in context, and an array of diverse writing exercises all contribute to strengthen students’ mastery of the French language. This course also works as a bridge class between Intermediate French II and courses that focus on French and Francophone cultures, history and literature (such as 3409 and 3410). Students who take this class will be fully prepared to take advanced content classes or spend a semester in a Francophone country. This class is required for the French major and minor.
FREN UN3409 (in French)
Introduction to French and Francophone History
Instructor TBA
Who were the Gauls and when was Paris the "capital of modernity"? What caused the French and Haitian Revolutions? Why do the French care so much about religion, nation, empire or, for that matter, food and fashion? This class surveys the history of France and the Francophone world from the Middle Ages to the present. It provides an introduction to major events and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions of people in France and across the world, in its former colonies. From feudalism and absolutism to imperialism, capitalism, and republicanism, we explore how questions of identity and difference play out in politics, culture and society. The class is based in lecture and discussion and relies on close readings of primary sources. The course is taught entirely in French and is one of two core courses for the major and minor in French. Students are encouraged to take FREN 3405 prior to this course.
FREN UN3410 (in French)
Introduction to French and Francophone Literature
Instructor TBA
This class offers students an introduction to major works that have marked the history of literature in French from the Middle Ages to the present. Our focus will be on close reading and discussion, but works will also be placed in historical context. We will look at a variety of literary genres (sonnet, short story, comedy, autobiography, narrative poetry, novel), and our readings will be complemented by visual materials such as paintings and films. The course is taught entirely in French and is one of two core courses for the major and minor in French. Students are encouraged to take FREN 3405 prior to this course.
FREN UN3412 (in French)
Contemporary French Literature: Goncourt Selection
Laurence Marie
This contemporary French and Francophone literature course designed for undergraduate students is part of the “Choix Goncourt USA” (US Goncourt Prize Selection), an initiative led by the Goncourt Academy in France and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy (Villa Albertine) in the United States.
The course provides students with the unique opportunity to read the latest French contemporary fiction through the lens of critical literary tools, to experience being part of a literary prize selection committee, to interview outstanding contemporary writers, and to practice writing book reviews, in addition to more traditional essays and close readings. This course is entirely conducted in French (readings, discussions, and writing).
FREN UN3200 (in French and English)
Translation Workshop
Sophie Queuniet
In this course we mostly practice translation from French to English, while also exploring theories of translation and historical shifts in translation practice. We will consider the specific challenges posed by genres such as lyric poetry and contemporary news media, and the complex dynamics of inter- or trans-cultural translation. Throughout the course we will consider how the study and practice of translation illuminate the processes of reading and writing and the elements of style. The main objectives of the course are: to improve comprehension and production of written French; to attune students to aspects of literary style in both French and English; and to foster understanding of the historical, aesthetic and cultural questions raised by translation.
FREN UN 3244 (in French)
French Through Current Events
Samuel Skippon
Gain a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts structuring French society through the lens of live news. Designed as an advanced language course, we will use the study of current events to help students develop high-level French proficiency. By analyzing how major events—such as the 2027 presidential election—unfold within the French media landscape, students refine their linguistic precision through a dynamic selection of French press, television, and digital sources. Throughout the semester, students will provide regular press reviews to practice and perfect their command of the language in a real-world context. The course explores the essential pillars of French society, including the structure of government, the role of political parties and unions, the welfare state, and the complexities of “cultural exceptionalism.” Students will further develop their fluency by engaging with topics of national identity, immigration, demography, and France's evolving role in European and global politics. This course is ideal for students across CC, SIPA, and Teachers College looking to consolidate advanced fluency in French.
FREN UN3XXX (in English)
The Birth and Death of Enlightenment
Joanna Stalnaker
This course will offer an introduction to Enlightenment philosophy and literature through the lens of eighteenth-century conceptions of birth and death. How did Enlightenment philosophers and writers understand conception, pregnancy, childbirth? What role did these motifs play in the genesis of their philosophical ideas? At the other end of the life spectrum, how did they view death and dying? What role did they attribute to doctors and midwives in an enlightened society and how did they seek to prepare their readers to die without fear? In a world with no secure belief in the afterlife, how did these philosophers and writers think about the meaning of human existence and their own legacy?
In keeping with the capaciousness of Enlightenment thought, this course is geared towards students interested in philosophy, literature, intellectual and cultural history and medical humanities. It requires no advance knowledge of the period. The course will be taught in English, with readings available in English and French. Students majoring and minoring in French can count the course as an elective (and fulfill the pre-1800 requirement) if they write their papers in French.
FREN UN3XXX (in French)
Writing Desire: Sex and Sexual Politics in Modern French Literature
R.J. McIntyre
This seminar examines how French and francophone writers have given form to desire in novels, memoirs, poetry, polemic, and film from the nineteenth century to the present. French writing has been uniquely preoccupied with sexuality, its representation, its regulation, and the scandal that erupts when private life becomes public text. Flaubert was prosecuted for Madame Bovary, Colette scandalized and seduced in equal measure, and Duras made the novel a repository of erotic memory. In the twenty-first century, writers such as Édouard Louis, Abdellah Taïa, and Vanessa Springora have turned to memoir and autofiction to reckon with questions of queer desire, sexual violence, and consent. Moving across two centuries, we will read works that explore the boundaries between confession and fiction, between liberation and exploitation, and between secrecy and exposure. Authors include Flaubert, Baudelaire, Colette, Gide, Leduc, Duras, Ernaux, Taïa, Louis, and Springora alongside films by Malle and Campillo. This course will be taught in French.
FREN UN3995
Senior Seminar
Elisabeth Ladenson
This is the required capstone course for the French major. French minors are also welcome to enroll in their senior year.
4000-Level Courses
CLFR W4716
Francophone Romance Love, Sex, Intimacy (in English)
Madeleine Dobie
The domination and violence that have characterized the phenomenon of empire have always been interwoven with forms of intimacy. Personal relationships have been vectors of colonial power; they have also been sites of resistance. In this course we consider various ways in which love, desire and intimacy have emerged as questions in the French colonial context. The course covers a broad historical span, stretching from the age of plantation slavery to the era of decolonization. Geographically, it explores colonial context extending from the Caribbean and Louisiana to Vietnam and Africa. We consider the transmission of categories and practices across these diverse colonial contexts as well as historical transitions and regional specificities. The course methodology is interdisciplinary, drawing on insights from history, sociology and law. The primary lens, however, is that of literature, a medium in which the personal dimensions of empire have often found expression. We consider how recurrent themes and figures of colonial desire and intimacy took shape in different genres and registers of writing.
CLFR GU 4722.
Annie Ernaux. Writing as a Knife (in French)
Thomas Dodman
This course offers a deep dive into French contemporary novelist Annie Ernaux’s auto-socio-biographical fiction, through an analysis of some of her major works. Close readings of texts will be paired with research notes and recent film adaptations, sociological and theoretical work that has inspired Ernaux, her growing critical reception (amplified by her recent Nobel prize), as well as other writers whom she has drawn from and in turn inspired. Themes covered include: what is auto-socio-biography? exploring women’s desire and sexuality; Ernaux’s feminism and political militancy; ethnographies of contemporary France and the baby-boomer generation; how to write about the experience of time, history and memory. Throughout, we will consider what kind of genre Ernaux’s writing is, and what writing as a knife can do. Class taught in French (students with limited French will be allowed to read texts and write papers in English. Please consult with the instructor).
FREN GU4XXXX (in French)
Theater, Controversy, and Cultural Authority in 17th- and 18th-Century France
Alexis Stanley
This seminar examines the turbulent world of French theater from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a period in which the stage became a privileged site of aesthetic innovation, ideological conflict, and political negotiation. Far from being mere entertainment, early modern French theater functioned as a laboratory for debates about morality, genre, gender, spectatorship, censorship, and the shifting boundaries between public and private spheres. Through close readings of plays, polemical pamphlets, critical prefaces, censorship dossiers, and theatrical memoirs, students will explore how dramatists, critics, and audiences used theatrical controversy both to challenge and to reinforce notions of cultural authority.
The seminar moves chronologically from the Querelle du Cid, which crystallized debates about classical decorum and the authority of the newly founded Académie française, to the theatrical politics of Louis XIV’s court and commercial stages, through Régence libertinage and the emergence of bourgeois drama, and finally to the ideological stakes of pre-Revolutionary theater. Special attention will be paid to the intersections of performance and power; the moral panic surrounding actresses; the rivalry between the Comédie-Française, Comédie-Italienne, and fairground theaters; disputes over comic vs. tragic decorum; and the Enlightenment’s attempt to transform theater into a pedagogical and civic institution.
Students will engage critically with major early modern French playwrights and theorists. The course also incorporates recent scholarship in performance studies, cultural history, and gender studies to reconsider canonical controversies and recover lesser-known debates. By the end of the semester, students will develop a nuanced understanding of how theater shaped, and was shaped by, the political, philosophical, and social transformations of early modern France. This course fulfills the pre-1800 requirement for the French majors.
FREN GU4819
Images of the French Revolution (in English)
Caroline Weber
Along with the American Revolution which immediately preceded it, the French Revolution was the most important political event in modern history. The bloody end of the 18th century ushered in modernity, retrospectively marking a definitive break between “early modern” and “modern” eras. The French Revolution has been endlessly and variously mythologized and analyzed, as well as depicted in polemical writings, novels, poetry, theater, film, and opera. This course is designed as an overview of responses to the ten-year event, concentrating on popular depictions in Francophone and Anglophone works. We will start with contemporary responses and move on through 19th- and 20th-century literary representations of the Revolution, including plays and films, both adaptations of literary responses and original treatments. Readings will include works by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Burke, Wollestonecraft, Sade, and Dickens, along with more recent responses. This course fulfills the pre-1800 requirement for the French major.