KFLC 2008KFLC 2008

From Villon to Voltaire, OnlineNathan L. Love

Western Kentucky Universitywww.wku.edu/~nathan.love

(19-April-2008)

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The syllabus for French 325, Survey of French Literature I (beginnings of French literature through the 18th century), is online and interactive. Students see the Digby 23 manuscript of the Chanson de Roland as displayed by the Bodleian Library, follow French versification with a PowerPoint, sample at any point in the course various authors and literary movements by clicking on an esquisse de l’histoire de la littérature française, listen online to a recitation of Du Bellay’s Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, hear François Villon’s Ballade des Dames du temps jadis sung by Georges Brassens, consider Rodin’s visualization of another Villon ballade, Les Regrets De La Belle Heaulmière, and find themselves challenged, perhaps, by an interactive exercise concerning some of the Lumières of the 18th-century France, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau. The thrust of all this interactivity is to appeal to the senses and infuse the course with energy.

From Villon to Voltaire, OnlineFrom Villon to Voltaire, Online

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Outline of ContentOutline of ContentLiterature courses recently taughtChallenge 1Challenge 2Challenge 3Challenge 4

IIIIIIIVV

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Literature courses taught recentlyLiterature courses taught recently

French 325 Survey of French Literature I

French 314 Introduction to French Literature

French 426 French Literature of the 20th Century

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Literature courses taught recentlyLiterature courses taught recently

French 325 Survey of French Literature I

French 314 Introduction to French Literature

French 426 French Literature of the 20th Century

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Challenge 1Challenge 1

convince students that they want to read texts proposedexplain all the course objectives

Nos objectifs principaux: Familiarité avec les grandes lignes de l’histoire de la littérature française jusqu’au 19e siècle.Connaissance et appréciation approfondies de plusieurs chefs d’oeuvre littéraires, lus en entier.Compétence en la lecture et la compréhension de textes rédigés en français (moderne).Connaissance de quelques notions générales de la critique littéraire traditionnelle.Élargissement de vocabulaire français.Amélioration de l’expression orale et écrite en français.Préparation linguistique permettant à l’apprenant de suivre des cours de français avancés.

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Challenge 1Challenge 1

convince students that they want to read texts proposedorient students within some frame of context

esquisse de la littérature française

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Challenge 2Challenge 2

show students the relevance of the readings of many centuries ago

indicate how concerns of the past resemble concerns of the present

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Challenge 2Challenge 2

show students the relevance of the readings of many centuries ago

indicate readings of the past are relevant firstly to their own past

relate readings to historical stages of language, situation of the writer in the society of each literary period, and the like.

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Challenge 3Challenge 3

provide students with some critical concepts and terminology

have numerous handouts and then quiz over them

list of terms used in literary criticism

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Challenge 3Challenge 3

provide students with some critical concepts and terminology

demonstrate them and create interactivities

literary terminology activity

powerpoint on French versification

exercise on some of the Lumières of 18th-century France

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Challenge 4Challenge 4

play up and illustrate the beauty of literary texts as memorable artistic achievement

use extensive quotations from subsequent authors about those authors who preceded.

quote what Voltaire says of Molière

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Challenge 4Challenge 4

play up and illustrate the beauty of literary texts as memorable artistic achievement

use images, visual art (e.g., Rodin : Belle Heaulmière)

use sound (e.g., Brassens: Ballade des Dames du temps jadis)

use images, visual art (e.g., la commedia dell’arte)

use sound (e.g., Charles d’Orléans > Wheaton College Vive Voix)

use images, visual art (e.g., la chanson de Roland & Chartres)

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ConclusionConclusion

Perhaps the sounds, images and interactivities engage the senses and challenge the mind enough to induce the student to explore texts that otherwise fail, seemingly, to reach out from their foreignness and remoteness to speak to the reader.