French

Journalist. Teacher. Linguist. World traveler. Diplomat. Professor. Librarian. Government official. Arts administrator. Businessman or woman. Computer specialist. Midwife. Training in a foreign language can prepare you for anything -- just ask the graduates of Lawrence's French department. More than just intensive language training, a French major teaches you to think and analyze, to approach problems creatively, and exposes you to some of the most dynamic cultures in the world.

The French department is grounded in a historical approach to the study of literature and culture of the French-speaking world. This encompasses both classical French literature and Francophone literature from Canada and the French-speaking nations of north and west Africa.

The goal of French language instruction is to develop a student's capacity to read, write, and speak French, with only French being spoken in the classroom from the very first class. Immersion experiences are provided for students each year, including an off-campus retreat at Björklunden complete with French cuisine.

Curriculum -- The French Major

To major in French, you take a minimum of ten courses in language, civilization, and literature. If possible, you study in a country where French is spoken, whether France, West Africa, or Canada. Generally, part of the freshman year is spent taking language and grammar classes. After that you are free to choose from a variety of literature and cultural courses offered by the department. All French majors are required to do an independent project during their senior year, usually in a capstone seminar course.

The department offers a concentration within the major in French and Francophone literature. You take six classes in literature, representing several centuries and styles of French writing. Additionally, you take at least one advanced course outside the department in European history, anthropology, art history or music history.

The French Minor

Students interested in a French minor must complete six courses beyond the intermediate level of language study, including Introduction aux études littéraires or Conversation à travers le cinéma and Cours pratique. French minors are strongly encouraged to study for at least a term in France or Sénégal.

Advanced Work in French

As you reach the advanced level in your French studies, you may develop a personal interest in a particular topic and want to pursue it further in tutorial with a professor. The senior seminar offers you the most exciting opportunity to pursue your interests. Seniors choose the course topic and select the common readings, then work on projects which may be presented to other students and faculty in the Lawrence community. Under the rubric of seminar topics such as l'Exotisme, le Colonialisme et le monde post-colonial, and Vivre en exil, students have developed a variety of projects, including a comparative study of the autobiographies of West African women, an examination of the diaries of a 17th-century Jesuit missionary writing about North American Indians, and a collaborative presentation on the masculine vision of women in 19th-century art and poetry.

Study Abroad: Three Options, Three Cultures

France: Students may choose to study for one term, two terms, or a full academic year in Besançon, France. Students initially take an intensive course in French and then pursue study in French language and culture. Typically, students are placed in French families and take excursions to Paris, the Loire valley and its châteaux, Chartres, and Mont Saint-Michel

Senegal: Students participaing in this seminar live with a family in Dekar for one academic term. They study French and Wolof (the national language), Senegalese history, culture, music and African literature written in French. Students interested in developing an understanding of non-Western culture have found this to be a very exciting program.

Chicoutimi: The French department's newest program combines study of language and culture with an internship in Quebec province's beautiful Chicoutimi. Students live with a family and study language and Quebecois culture for the first part of their 15-week stay. After a trial placement in a business or organization, students return to the classroom to prepare for their last month as interns. The seminar includes cultural excursions and exploration of the Quebecois landscape -- in French, of course!

Language Study

As of the fall 2000, Lawrence has a new humanities computer lab housing twenty state-of-the-art computer stations in addition to computer projection capabilities from an instructor's station. Students can enhance their language skills and cultural knowledge through use of tapes, software, and the Internet.

The Seeley G. Mudd library has an extensive collection of French books, academic journals, and periodicals, including Le Monde, Jeune Afrique, L'Express, and Le Nouvel observateur. The Media Center has many French and Francophone African videos, CDs, tapes, and records for you to use and receives French television stations to supplement your language study.

Every year the department sponsors a French assistant, a native French speaking student. In addition to providing tutoring, the French assistant lives in the language house French majors. The French assistant also organizes a weekly French table in the dining commons, which provides an informal place for students and faculty to converse in French.

Björklunden, Lawrence's 425-acre estate located on the shore of Lake Michigan, offers a unique opportunity for the French department. Students and faculty can spend an entire weekend away from the Lawrence campus, speaking only French, eating French food, and discussing issues of French culture. This allows for true immersion in the French language. The French department currently holds the record for the most students attending a Björklunden weekend -- 52 students plus the entire French department faculty and their families!

Special Projects

In 1999, five senior women, Claire Breaux, Erica Moore, Katie Jo Moore, Sarah Phelps, and Elizabeth Ritzenthaler, took on the task of translating 150 letters from the Mlle Amélie Sérafon (a professor at Milwaukee-Downer College) to Bessie Wolfner, a former student who also became a teacher of French. Over a two-year period, students researched the women's lives and perfected their translations. Three of those Lawrence graduates who majors in French, Katie Jo Moore, Sarah Phelps, and Elizabeth Ritzenthaler, presented a culmination of their work -- A Common Bond: Letters from Amélie Sérafon -- to Milwaukee Downer alumnae on their October, 2001 sesquicentennial celebration.

After Lawrence

• Erik Moen, '00, is pursuing graduate study in French at Middlebury. * Erica Moore, '00, completed her M.A. at Middlebury College in Paris and teaches at a private school in Maryland.
• Katie Jo Moore, '00, received a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship. She works in the Lawrence Admissions Office.
• Rebecca Harris, '99, and Kendra Cuthbertson, '97, received Fulbright Teaching Fellowships to teach in France.
• Jeanine Marks, '96, received a five-year fellowship for graduate study in French at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
• Renee Rousseau, '93, served as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in France following graduation.
• Tom Cook, '92, served with the Peace Corps in Tunisia.
• Jeffrey Peters, '90, won a Fulbright-Hayes Grant to teach English at the Lycee S. Apollinaire in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Having completed the Ph.D. in French at the University of Michigan, he is now teaching at the University of Kentucky-Lexington.
• Miraan Sa, '90, has been employed by Amnesty International and Church World Services. She studied at the Institute of Human Rights in Straasbourg and now works with Haitian refugees in Miami.
• Irene Serewicz served with the Peace Corps in Zaire and now manages private equity at Seymour Pierce Limited in London..
• Beverly Larson, a French and government double major, won a Watson Fellowship, enabling her to spend a year in France researching French attitudes concerning former African colonies. She later completed the M.A. in French studies and journalism at New York University and now works for U.S. News & World Report.
• Charles Hunter earned the Ph.D. in French at Stanford University and is working for the United States Foreign Services in Oman.
• Katharine Jensen earned the Ph.D. in French at Columbia University. She now teaches at Louisiana State University and has published a book about the French epistolary novel.
• Peggy Waller holds the Ph.D. in French from Columbia University and teaches at Pomona College. She recently published a book on the French romantic novel.