What is a seminar? The focus is on the students' research. Students play a larger role in the classroom, often taking responsibility for class time. There is more time for writing and preparation. Students consult frequently wtih the professor as they write their major paper, a chunk at a time. They are able to try out their ideas in class before rewriting. More than in other courses, we consider related literary theory.

Frequently we explore a new direction. Sometimes the direction is new for me, too. In 2000 the topic was "Le français en Amérique du nord: Textes littéraires, contextes culturelles." One course led to another and another: French 304 was born: "Cultures francophones de l'Amérique du nord."

For this seminar, the topic is travel writing. The writing will cross borders of all kinds: national borders, gender boundaries, race and class lines.

The class: 9-11 daily except Wednesday, 1-3 MTh. Your presence in class is required and always expected. Wednesday 9-11 reserved for group work and conferences.

The professor: extension: x4206. Or call me at home.
email: jboney@cornellcollege.edu
office hours: 311 College

Texts:

René et/ou Atala. Chateaubriand. <photocopies provided>
Poésie du XIXe siècle (Baudelaire, Dominique Rouquette, et al) <photocopies provided>
"La Chasse-galerie." <photocopies provided>
Manon Lescaut. <buy the inexpensive paperback>
Le Petit prince. <buy the inexpensive paperback>
La vagabonde. <buy the inexpensive paperback>
Autour du monde en quatre-vingts jours. Jules Verne. <download and print or buy the inexpensive paperback>

Supplemental:

Marie de l'Incarnation. <photocopies provided>Charlevoix. Natchez.
Paul et Virginie. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. <photocopy or inexpensive paperback>
Mobile. Butor
Montaigne. Voyages en Italie.
Montesquieu. Lettres persanes.
Indiana. George Sand.<download and print or buy the inexpensive paperback>

Required materials:
Gibaldi, Joseph and Walter S. Achtert, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Sixth edition. New York: MLA, 2002.
A good French reference work on grammar. The one you used for French 301 is excellent.
A big French or French/English dictionary. It is possible to use the one in the library (Petit Robert) if you don't mind spending some time every day there. You will also use the on-line version of this dictionary in the Humanities Lab.
Two places to save your work (H drive, diskette, hard drive, CD, flash memory, whatever). Back it up.

Suggested materials:

Hollier, Denis. A New History of French Literature. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1989. Cole Ref 840.9 N42.

Important:

Your enthusiastic participation in class is required; a substantial part of your final grade will be an evaluation of this participation.

Plagiarism, including electronic translation, is strictly forbidden in any form. Read the pertinant section in the Compass now.

One last point: Late work is not accepted. If you find it necessary to be absent, please be in touch with me as soon as possible.

Goals

This seminar's purpose is to give you an experience with graduate-level work. Whether or not you are planning to continue your studies in French and in literature, this course will provide you an opportunity to complete the accomplishment that your French major represents.

• Participation in a seminar. You will work in collaboration with a colleague to present works and to lead discussions on those works.
• Writing project. You will produce a piece of your most polished writing on a subject connected to the material of the course. This may be something you've already begun (e.g., you might continue working on a paper if it's relevant to our topic or you might continue working in a critical or thematic direction you've begun elsewhere). It may be on a work you've chosen to present. It may be related to an interest of yours (e.g., nineteenth century, feminist criticism). This will involve collaboration with classmates and with the instructor.
• Secondary sources. Literary criticism and critical theory to accompany texts. You will use these not only for your report and presentations, but also for class participation. You will give me copies of your reading notes for at least five article-length works (articles or chapters), at least one each week. I encourage you to view this as an opportunity rather than as a requirement.
• Compilation of a short bibliography of the essential criticism on a text or a genre. This will involve the use of computer databases, such as the MLA bibliography. It will also require the mastery of the MLA bibliographical style, that is, getting all the commas and parentheses in the right place.
• Coordination of resources. This course will put demands on your ability to organize your time, energy, and priorities. Because of the nature of the course's scheduling and the presentations, there will be days when you have two different major projects to work on.

I am here as a resource person. This means that members of the class will, in large measure, do the teaching. I will participate actively as a participant. For example, like you, I will be working on a piece of polished writing having to do with travel writing; I will value the seminar's input on this piece of writing.

Details:

Grades will be based on the following distribution, which is subject to change:

Required regular activities:

Each student is at a different level. I need to know, for example, if you find discussion too fast, the reading too long or difficulty, or if I speak too slowly. Please come discuss this with me. And if there is something that you don't understand, please ask a question in class.