Course Descriptions

An introduction to the basic grammatical concepts of French. Instruction will be based on the communicative approach, stressing the four competencies of language learning: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Tutorial hours
Note: Students with credit for French 20 (Grade 11 French), French 30 (Grade 12 French), or any more advanced high school or university-level course in French cannot take this course for credit. FREN 103 does not count towards a major in French. Non French/Modern Languages majors can use FREN 103 as a Humanities or Language course in the Breadth Requirement of Arts and Science programs.

A continuation of the basic grammatical concepts of French addressed in FREN 103. The communicative approach will be used with greater emphasis on oral expression, interaction, and listening comprehension in French.

Prerequisite(s): FREN 103.3
Note: Students who have completed a more advanced university-level course in French cannot take this course for credit. FREN 104 does not count towards a major in French. Students may only receive credit for FREN 104 in combination with FREN 103 or FREN 106 as offered through the USASK Explore Program. Non-French/Modern Languages majors can use FREN 104 as a Humanities or Language course in the Breadth Requirement of Arts and Science programs. Students may only receive credit for two of FREN 104, 123, or 215.

A continuation of the basic grammatical concepts of French addressed in FREN 103. The communicative approach will be used with greater emphasis on reading and writing.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Tutorial hours
Prerequisite(s): French 20 or FREN 103.
Note: Students who have completed French 30 or any more advanced high school or university-level course in French cannot take this course for credit. FREN 106 does not count towards a major in French. Non-French/Modern Languages majors can use FREN 106 as a Humanities or Language course in the Breadth Requirement of Arts and Science programs.

For students who have an adequate mastery of the basic grammatical concepts of French. Practice in aural comprehension, speaking and writing, and an introduction to reading.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Tutorial hours
Prerequisite(s): French 30 (Grade 12 Core French) or FREN 106.
Note: Students with French 30 or FREN 106 must register in FREN 122. Students having graduated from Grade 12 in an Immersion program, as well as students with an additional background in French beyond the Grade 12 level, will not be allowed to register in FREN 122 for credit.

For students who have an adequate mastery of the basic grammatical concepts of French. The communicative approach will be used with greater emphasis on oral expression, interaction, and listening comprehension in French.

Prerequisite(s): French 30 or FREN 106.3.
Note: Students with French 30 or FREN 106 (only) will also register in FREN 122. Students with credit for FREN 122 will take FREN 125 with FREN 123. Students who graduated high school from an immersion, designated or École fransaskoise program more than 5 years ago may take FREN 122 and FREN 125. Students who graduated high school in the last 5 years from an immersion, designated or École fransaskoise program may not take FREN 122 and FREN 125. Students may only receive credit for FREN 123 in combination with FREN 122 or FREN 125 as offered through the Explore Program. Students may only receive credit for two of FREN 104, 123, or 215.

A continuation of the language study done in FREN 122, with more emphasis on reading.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Tutorial hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 122.
Note: Students having graduated from Grade 12 in an Immersion program will not be allowed to register in FREN 125 for credit. Students with an additional background in French beyond the Grade 12 level should consult the Department before registering.

This class is designed to offer students an introduction to the field of “star studies” by focusing on some of the most prominent actors and actresses in the history of French cinema. Through the range of films and texts selected for the class, students will get familiar with some of the most prominent films in the history of French cinema. They will also develop an appreciation for the aesthetic qualities of the medium, as they will be asked to approach film from a narrative and visual perspective in order to discuss and analyze the specificities and most salient features of stardom in a French context.

Notes: Though this class is taught in English, some previous experience studying French will be helpful, but is not necessary for success in this course. Students with high-level French may choose to complete their assignments in French.

This course introduces students to the structural analysis of the French language at the level of phonetics, phonology and morphology. Students will develop the skills required to formally describe and analyze the structure of French at various levels of representation: phonemes, syllables, words, and sentences.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125.3 or FREN 212.3

A French language course that builds on skills acquired in FREN 122, 125 or equivalent. Greater emphasis is placed on the practical application of grammar through reading, writing and discussions.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Tutorial hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125, École fransaskoise Grade 12, or designated (or immersion) school Grade 12.
Note: If it has been more than five years since graduation from a high school immersion, designated or École fransaskoise program, students may take FREN 122 and 125. Students with credit for FREN 128 may not take this course for credit.

This course aims to introduce students with pertinent theoretical and practical aspects of the science of translating. Topics of emphasis include the following: an examination of relevant translation notions, the presentation of major translation methods and procedures, an examination of the various cognitive mechanisms and resources mobilized during the translation process, a discussion of pertinent notions such as language register, and style, and the translation of relatively short texts in a wide range of fields, from English into French.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 212, or permission of the instructor

Covers the rudiments of French reading comprehension as an introduction to translation from French into English. This course is aimed at students who wish to prepare themselves for advanced French literature courses, students whose programmes require proof of a language credit in the form of a translation, and is a prerequisite for French 314.3.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125 or FREN 212.

A French language course that builds on skills acquired in FREN 122, FREN 125 or equivalent. The communicative approach will be used with greater oral expression, interaction and listening comprehension in French.

Prerequisite(s): FREN 122.3, FREN 125.3, École fransaskoise Grade 12, or French designated (or immersion) Grade 12.
Note: If it has been more than five years since graduation from a high school immersion, designated or École fransaskoise program, students may take FREN 122 and 125. Students may only receive credit for FREN 215.3 in combination with FREN 212.3 or FREN 218.3 as offered through the Explore Program. Students may only receive credit for two of FREN 104, 123, or 215.

A continuation of FREN 128 and FREN 212, this course enhances writing and oral skills through intensive grammar and vocabulary practice. Reading skills will also be strengthened through a variety of writing styles.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 212.

An introduction to literary studies in French. The course will combine two elements: how to approach a French literary text, and a general introduction to French literature. It will study a selected number of French authors from the different genres and the various periods of French literature.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125 or FREN 212.

An introduction to some of France's most prominent films and directors, from the beginnings to the present time. Students will learn about the most significant aesthetic trends of French cinema and acquire the appropriate vocabulary to discuss specific aspects of mise-en-scène, such as scenery, lighting and framing. Students will be able to identify the majors aesthetic innovations that shaped French cinema, as well as the directors whose vision helped define French cinema. Some of the topics covered will include the silent era, the Avant-Garde, Poetic Realism, the New Wave and cinéma du look. This course will present students with some emblematic directors (François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda) and more newly-established ones (Mia Hansen-Løve). This course is taught in French. This is an online course.

Prerequisite(s): FREN 125 or FREN 212 or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to the literature of 20th-century French Canada. A study of the main literary genres; short story, novel, plays, poetry and poetic prose; in their relationship to everyday life.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125 or FREN 212.

This course is designed to study French civilization from the Middle Ages through the 19th Century. The historical, political, social and artistic evolution of France will be brought to light through the study of different texts such as historical testimonies, novels, or comics. The first part will be devoted to the Medieval and Early Modern period in France, particularly the reigns of Kings Clovis, Charlemagne, François I and Louis XIV, the Sun King. We will then study the changes associated with the French Revolution and Napoleon’s coup d’état. Finally, we will focus on Modernity, particularly the era of prosperity and the institutions developed during the 3rd Republic. Important elements of French culture will also be examined such as the construction of certain monuments (Versailles, the castles of the Loire Valley), fashion or cuisine. This course is taught in French.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125.3, FREN 212.3 or permission of the department.
Note: Students who graduated from Grade 12 in an Immersion program and take, or have taken, FREN 212 as their first university-level FREN course will be granted a prerequisite waiver to register in this course. Please contact languages.department@usask.ca to request the waiver.

A study of the cultural evolution in France (history, politics, religion, education, language, song, cinema, culinary arts, etc.) with emphasis on contemporary society (from World War II to the present). This course will tackle societal issues such as – but not limited to – sexuality, family, immigration, racism, or the healthcare system, with a view to highlight the uniqueness as well as some of the idiosyncrasies of French society. Class time will mostly be devoted to discussions and debates.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125 or FREN 212 or equivalent.

An intermediate course in business French, introducing topics such as big and small business, banks, international business as well as material on resumes, letters and job interviews and basic information on computers and the Internet, focussing on both Canada and France.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125.3, FREN 212.3 or permission of the department.

With this course, students will be introduced to some of the most prominent themes and issues connected to the representation of LGBTQ2SA+ individuals in French cinema as well as on television. This course is not intended as a historical survey of the evolution of the representation of LGBTQ2SA+ individuals, as the works studied span the period from the 1990s to the present time. The focus of this course is to introduce students to the various meanings of ‘queer’ by showcasing some prominent contemporary films/made for TV movies and directors while observing how the various representations offered are tied to the concept of “sexual citizenship” in a French context. Through the readings selected for this course, students will gain awareness of some of the specificities and idiosyncrasies of French culture and French Republicanism when it comes to the recognition of gender and sexual diversity.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 106.3, FREN 122.3, FREN 125.3, FREN 212.3, WGST 112.3, or permission of the instructor.
Note: Though this class is taught in English, some previous experience studying French will be helpful, but is not necessary for success in this course. Students with credit for French 30 will be granted a prerequisite override to register in this course – please contact the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultural Studies. Students pursuing a degree or Minor in French are offered the possibility to complete their assignments in French.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours

This course introduces students to basic concepts, terminology, key methods, and analytical tools necessary for the formal analysis of modern French. The first part of the course will deal with the syntax of French. Students will learn the specifics of the rules guiding phrase and sentence formation in French. Major topics in this part include syntactic analysis and syntactic ambiguity, sentence modalities, coordination and relativization in French. The second part will focus on semantics, i.e., the construction of meaning in French at the word and sentence levels. Topics to be covered include semantic analysis, synonymy, antonymy, and polysemy. The final part of the course will deal with pragmatics of French. Emphasis will be placed on the study of context-dependent meaning. Major topics include reference, presupposition, implicature, and speech acts in French texts.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125.3 or FREN 212.3

This course aims to study the main varieties of the French language across Francophone nations and cultures around the world. It will enable students to familiarize themselves with key differences between standardized, non-standardized varieties, as well as semi-creolized and creolized varieties of French as it is spoken and written in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and in nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Special emphasis will be placed on concepts of language change, internal and external variation, linguistic restriction, convergence and divergence, the linguistic market, and social networks. Students will also be introduced to the main variables and social factors used in variationist sociolinguistics. They will be required to give oral and written presentations, drawing on relevant cases in Canada and the French-speaking world.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125.3 or FREN 212.3
Note: Students with credit for FREN 398 French Variations across Nations and Cultures may not take this course for credit.

This course will focus on the rules of grammar and the use of expressions and writing strategies that will improve the quality of your written work in French. Students will learn to draft and polish summaries, reviews, bibliographies, and essays, and will write a brief biography and a creative work. The goal of this course is to have students discover the pleasures of writing in French while perfecting their grammar and editing skills.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 212.3, FREN 213.3, FREN 214.3, or FREN 218.3.
Note: Students with credit for FREN 312 or FREN 810 may not have credit for this course.

With an emphasis on Translation Studies, this course will explore themes in modern Translation Theory and their practical application in the translation of texts which challenge or defy traditional translation approaches, such as poetry, theatre, subtitles, and song.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 213.3 or FREN 214.3
Note: A grade of 70% or above is desirable. Students may receive credit for only one of FREN 314 or FREN 814.

This course aims to build sensitive, thoughtful, and informed translators with the linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to properly transfer French-language Indian Residential School documents to readers of English. Translating Indian Residential School documents is an overwhelming task, foremost because of the horrors they depict and the impact on generations of Survivors. Other challenges include the sheer volume of documents, the time constraints posed by the urgency to access their content, and often opaque handwriting and terminology. This course is designed to address both orders of difficulties: the first half of each class is led by Indigenous scholars and community members to provide context and help translators process the information in these documents. The second half of each class sees this knowledge practically applied to translations of document excerpts, as students analyze their work for accuracy, openly discuss process, and troubleshoot any online translation tools used for this application.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 213.3 or FREN 214.3, and INDG 107.3; or permission of the instructor.

Representative authors, works, and literary movements will be studied.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230.
Note: Students may have credit for only one of FREN 317 or FREN 817.

A study of the writers of 18th-century France who were most influential in the development of the philosophe movement, with particular emphasis on Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230.

Representative authors, works, and literary movements will be studied.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230.

Beginning with Proust, the course will cover major writers and literary movements in the novel, the theatre and poetry, but will concentrate on the novel at the beginning of the century, the literature of the absurd, and the nouveau-roman.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230.

Designed to examine literary works written in the French language from different perspectives, and will include interdisciplinary approaches to literary creations from different centuries. Through this comparative analysis, the aesthetic, poetic, pragmatic and rhetorical concerns particular to each century will be brought to the fore. The analysis will centre around either a theme (such as: "Images and Fascination") or a genre (such as theatre or the novel). This course is taught in French.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or FREN 230 or permission of the department.
Note: Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the Department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

Studies the development of the novel in Quebec with emphasis on contemporary works.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230.

Studies the development of theatre in French Canada with emphasis on the contemporary period.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230.

A study of the Francophone literature of the Canadian West from 1870 to today. Covers major writers in the novel, poetry and theatre. Students will be made aware of the representative authors and their works produced in French on the Canadian prairies.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230.

This course will examine the evolution of Francophone literature and cinema in North Africa, from the colonial era to the present. We will proceed chronologically to discuss the various generations of artists who used literature and cinema to bring into light socioeconomic as well as political points of contention such as French colonization of North Africa, the Algerian War of Independence, decolonization, emigration, and sexuality. We will approach these topics by reading literary as well as historical writings. We will also study films from some of North Africa’s most prominent directors.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220 or 230

This course will focus on the representation of youth in a broad way (childhood, adolescence, young adults) in French cinema from the 1930s to the present time. We will watch and discuss both classic French films and lesser-known works to explore the role that cinema has given to youth throughout its history. Through the topic of youth, we will explore the main societal changes that have shaped French society of the 20th and 21st century. Students will also learn the necessary analytical tools to approach a film from a narrative and aesthetic perspective.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220.3 or FREN 230.3

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Students will participate in a French-speaking milieu. All students graduating with an Honours degree in French are required to have completed a stay in a French-speaking milieu. Students must contact the Department for further information regarding this requirement.

Permission of the department of Languages & Linguistics required.
Restriction(s): Admission to the honours program in French.
Note: Students will be provided with additional information once accepted into the French Honours program. Upon evaluation and successful completion of this stay, the student will be assigned a grade of a Pass to indicate completion of this Honours requirement.

One of the following topics will be studied: the theatre of Corneille and Racine, the novel (from Uté to Lafayette), or secondary genres (fables, sermons, maxims, portraits, correspondence).

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 2 Tutorial hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220.3 or FREN 230.3

This course will cover topics in 19th century French literature, such as representation and reality of women writers, intertextuality and the novel, or the works of H. de Balzac.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 220.3 or FREN 230.3

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

This course will focus on the rules of grammar and the use of expressions and writing strategies that will improve the quality of your written work in French. You will learn to prepare and perfect bibliographies, summaries, reviews and essays, and write a biography, a review of a play, or a creative work to be sent to l’Eau vive, the Francophone newspaper, or its Horizon-Chronique littéraire, or to À ciel ouvert, the Francophone online magazine for Western and Northern Canada. The goal of this course is to perfect your grammar and editing skills and allow you to write better essays as well as conference papers in French.

Note: Students with credit for FREN 310 may not have credit for this course.

Students will explore the landscape of artificial intelligence and machine-generated translation. Using a variety of online translation platforms on a series of (French language) literary texts, students will identify the strengths and weaknesses of each, and think critically on the rapidly-evolving role of the human translator.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 213 or FREN 214.
Note: Students with credit for FREN 314 will not receive credit for this course.

In a given year, a special topic in French literature of the 17th century will be studied, e.g., the theatre of Corneille and Racine; the novel; secondary genres (fables, sermons, maxims, portraits, correspondence).

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): Admission to graduate studies in French.
Note: Students may have credit for only one of FREN 317 or FREN 817.

This course will focus on a special topic in French literature of the 19th century, for example, the second disillusioned romantic generation (Flaubert, Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Mallarme), which idolizes art as the antithesis of money.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): Admission to graduate studies in French.
Note: Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the Department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

In this course, a particular aspect of 20th-century literature will be studied in depth, for example, the absurd and engagement, 20th-century attempts at tragedy, Dada and Surrealism, and the Nouveau-roman.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): Admission to graduate studies in French.

This course will focus on a special topic in the Quebec novel, for example, women writers, the social novel, the nouveau-roman, etc.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): FREN 343 and admission to graduate studies in French.
Note: Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

This course will present a survey of historical, political and cultural events leading to the creation and development of anti-establishment Québécois theatre in the period from the late 1940s to the late 1970s. A study of the works of renowned Quebec playwrights, based on an analytical approach, will illustrate that period.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s):Admission to graduate studies in French.

This course will examine the representative 20th century French writers of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The objectives are to examine the cultural and historical background behind the different genres, demonstrate a critical understanding of and appreciation for these works and identify similarities and common culturally specific themes between works.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to French graduate studies within the College of Graduate Studies and Research. Students must have a Four-year or Honours degree in French or equivalent.

This course is designed to offer students an insight into the culture of the Maghreb, through the study of some of its most prominent literary figures and film directors. This course will also provide students with important historical information regarding Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

This course is designed to introduce students to the connections between cinema and society. We will more particularly observe how cinema has been documenting some of the major societal events that have shaped contemporary French society since the 1990s.

Note: Students with credit for FREN 861 cannot receive credit for this course.

This course will introduce students to the topic of youth in French and Francophone cinema. Films will be analyzed from a sociohistorical and aesthetic perspective, as both the reflection in the history of French and Francophone societies and as an artistic mode of expression.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally in special situations. Students interested in these courses should contact the department for more information.

Weekly hours: 3 Reading hours
Restriction(s): Admission to graduate studies in French.

Offered occasionally in special situations. Students interested in these courses should contact the department for more information.

Weekly hours: 3 Reading hours
Restriction(s): Admission to graduate studies in French.

Students taking the project-based M.A. must register for this course, which requires appropriate work leading to the completion of the 25-30 page research project in French.

Prerequisite(s):Admission into the M.A. project-based program.

Students writing a Master's thesis must register for this course.

Restriction(s): Admission to graduate studies in French.

Students writing a Ph.D. thesis must register for this course.