French Cultural Studies Major

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The French Cultural Studies (FCS) major is intended for students whose interests in the French and Francophone world are primarily cultural and historical.

This interdepartmental major combines courses from the department of French with those in Africana studies, art, history, music, political science, or any other department offering courses on France or Francophone countries.

The French department’s courses in history and society are the core of the program. These courses examine institutions, political and social movements, and the mass media, using methodologies grounded in the social sciences, primarily history and sociology. Other French department offerings in the field include courses that place literature and film in a social context. French Cultural Studies majors ordinarily work closely with two advisors, one from the French department and one from their other area of concentration.

Goals for the Major

· Students will achieve skill in speaking, writing, reading, and understanding French at the advanced level, as detailed in the ACTFL proficiency guidelines.

· Students will be able to identify major themes in the histories and in the contemporary cultures of France and other Francophone places.

· Students will learn to recognize and construct well-formed arguments about cultural artifacts and historical events that rely on clear writing and in-depth understanding of both primary and secondary sources.

· Students will learn to grasp the complexity of cultural differences. They will know how to spot clichés and avoid using them in thinking about France and the Francophone world in particular, and other cultures in general. As global citizens, they will come to value tolerance, appreciate diversity, and be prepared to face the challenges and reap the benefits of living in an increasingly interconnected world.

Requirements for the Major

The major in French Cultural Studies consists of a minimum of eight units. At least four units in the French department above FREN 201 are required, including FREN 207 and one of the following: FREN 210, FREN 211 or FREN 212.

In special cases, an upper-level culture course in French approved by the program director may be substituted for FREN 207. At least two units in French at the 300 level are required. FRST 350, FRST 360 and FRST 370 do not normally count towards the minimum requirement of two 300-level courses for the major. In exceptional cases this requirement may be waived by the FCS director and/or the chair of the French department. No more than two courses taken credit/noncredit at Wellesley College may be applied to the French Cultural Studies major. Students planning to major in French Cultural Studies should consult with advisors to the major. 

Students planning to major in French Cultural Studies should consult with Scott Gunther, advisor to the major.

Honors in French Cultural Studies

The only route to honors in the major is writing a thesis and passing an oral examination. To be admitted to the thesis program, a student must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 in all work in the major field above the 100 level; the department may petition on her behalf if her GPA in the major is between 3.0 and 3.5. Students must complete a 300-level course or its equivalent before the fall of senior year. In addition, a 300-level course is to be taken concurrently with FRST 360-FRST 370.

Related Courses For Credit Toward the French Cultural Studies Major

AFR 242 / REL 214

New World Afro-Atlantic Religions 

1.0

AFR 264 / ARTH 264

African Art: Powers, Passages, Performances

1.0

AFR 341

Africans of the Diaspora

1.0

AFR 345

Enslaved Women in the Atlantic World

1.0

ARTH 100

The Power of Images: An Introduction to Art and its Histories

1.0

ARTH 224

Modern Art Since 1945

1.0

ARTH 228

Modern Architecture

1.0

ARTH 259

 The Art and Architecture of the European Enlightenment

1.0

CAMS 202

Between Magic and Reality: A Century of Cinema, Part 2

1.0

CPLT 247 / ENG 247 / MER 247

Arthurian Legends

1.0

CPLT 275

Translation and the Multilingual World

1.0

CPLT 375

Translation and the Multilingual World

1.0

FREN 235 / PEAC 235

Antislavery Literature and Abolition in Nineteenth-Century France

1.0

HIST 205

The Making of the Modern World Order

1.0

HIST 208

Society and Culture in Medieval Europe

1.0

HIST 232

The Transformation of the Western World: Europe from 1350 to 1815

1.0

HIST 233

In Search of the Enlightenment

1.0

HIST 234

The Holy Roman Empire

1.0

HIST 279

Heresy and Popular Religion in the Middle Ages

1.0

HIST 302

Seminar: World War II as Memory and Myth

1.0

HIST 334

Seminar: World Economic Orders, 1918-2008

1.0

HIST 352

Seminar: Mental Health in European History

1.0

HIST 379

Heresy and Popular Religion in the Middle Ages

1.0

MES 263 / REL 263

Islam in the Modern World

1.0

MUS 201

Music History II: The Classical and Romantic Symphony

1.0

MUS 230

Opera: Its History, Music, and Drama

1.0

PHIL 221

History of Modern Philosophy

1.0

POL2 202

Comparative Politics

1.0

POL2 306

Seminar: Revolution

1.0

REL 226

The Virgin Mary

1.0