460
Seminar on French Theatre
Fall 2009
Reid
T 5:30-8:20
Office Hours:  M/W 10-11 and by appt.
Office: WIH 357
 438-7894
E-Mail: jhreid@ilstu.edu
Reid Homepage: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid/

Grammatical Correction Abbreviations 
Le passé composé vs.l'imparfait
Les articles:  du de la, des vs. le, la, les
Content correction signs for Guides de Lecture Critique (GLC)
Common French Grammatical Errors
Comment taper les accents dans Microsoft Word et Mac
Full conjugations of French Verbs

A.  SUBJECT AND OBJECTIVES

      This course provides the opportunity for an in-depth study of some of the greatest French plays from the seventeenth through twentieth centuries. We begin with Pierre Corneille's seventeenth-century, pre-classical Le Cid, with its mixture of comedy and tragedy and its dramatization of the century's struggle between the already outdated noble values of "honneur" and "gloire" and the centralizing power of the monarchy.  It will be followed by Jean Racine's great classical tragedy, Phèdre, with its classical struggle of reason and political power against passion. We will then read an eighteenth-century comedy, Le Jeu de l'Amour et du hasard by Pierre Marivaux whose atmosphere of pleasure and game reflects eighteenth-century pre-revolutionary court ideals.  We will then turn to the later eighteenth-century comedy of Beaumarchais's comedy Le Mariage de Figaro, with its implicit revolutionary values.  After that we will explore a nineteenth-century "drame romantique," On ne badine pas avec l'amour by Alfred de Musset, which dramatizes a tragic struggle between love and catholic belief.  We will then move to the twentieth century  and read Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophical and existentialist pièces à thèse, Huis Clos and  possibly Les Mouches, with their call to define one's life through action and self-awareness in a philosophically absurd world.  Finally we will enjoy a recent comedy by Yasmina Reza, Art, which makes fun of French snobbism about art and high culture.

The general objectives of this course are to: 

1) explore the developing form of French plays over the last four centuries

2) study how these plays reflect contemporary cultural, social, and political issues

3) practice and refine skills of thoughtful and reflective reading.


B.  SCHEDULE:
*All assigned passages are to be read and the guide de lecture critique completed by the beginning of the class for which they assigned

Aug. 18  Introduction au dix-septième siècle français et à la tragédie, Introduction au théâtre

Aug. 25 Corneille, Le Cid Actes I-II; GLC Cid I Short Biography of El Cid; Vocabulaire de la tragédie grecque; La tragédie classique français

Sept. 1 Le Cid Actes III-V; GLC Cid II

Sept. 8 Racine, Phèdre Actes I-II; GLC Phèdre I-II

Sept. 15 Phèdre Actes III-V; GLC Phèdre III-V

Sept. 22 Marivaux, Le jeu de l'amour et du hasard Acte I-Acte II scène 8; GLC Jeu de l'amour I-II; Vidéo; MAKE APPOINTMENT TO DISCUSS TERM PAPER

Sept. 29 Le jeu de l'amour et du hasard Acte II scène IX-Acte III, Beaumarchais, Le mariage de Figaro Acte I, GLC MarivauxBeaumarchais

Oct. 6 Beaumarchais, Le mariage de Figaro Actes II-V, GLC Figaro II-V

Oct. 8, Thursday PROSPECTUS FOR TERM PAPER DUE. PROSPECTUS GUIDELINES.

Oct. 13 Musset, On ne badine pas avec l'amour GLC Badine pas ; Lisez cet article; Erreurs trop communes.

Oct. 20 On ne badine pas avec l'amour Actes III; Sartre, L'Existentialisme est un humanisme, GLC avec extraits

Oct. 27 Sartre, Huis clos, GLC Huis clos

Oct. 29 Thursday 4 p.m.

FIRST DRAFT OF TERM PAPER due.  No extensions

Nov. 3 Beckett, En attendant Godot;  GLC Beckett I

Nov. 10 Godot suite; GLC Beckett II

Nov. 17 Godot fin; GLC Beckett III

Nov. 20 Friday12 noon, FINAL DRAFT OF TERM PAPER due, no extensions

Nov. 24 Thanksgiving Vacation

Dec. 1 Art, Yasmina Reza, GLC Art


Dec. 8 Final Exam 5:30-8:20


C.  COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Guides de Lecture Critique

I expect all questions on the question sheets to be answered thoughtfully before coming to class.  I encourage you to rethink, revise or supplement your answers during the class.  You will turn them in at the end of class.

Answer each question by  reflecting on the passages that are relevant to the question.  Refer to details and events to illustrate your answer.  Take into account different ways of seeing the issue.

Term Paper

Each student will complete a 13-15 page term paper on:  1) a play read in class; 2) a comparison between two plays read in class.

A prospectus will be due . A hyperlink to the guidelines for the prospectus can be found on the on-line syllabus. Read these guidelines before beginning your prospectus and follow them carefully.  The prospectus will include a bibliography (MLA style) of works that you will probably use in writing your term paper and three or four paragraphs that state your preliminary thesis, a summary of your possible argument.   The summary will refer to texts in the bibliography that will help you explore aspects of your argument.

There will be two drafts of the term paper.  Both drafts should be fully researched, composed, and interpreted.  The first draft is not a rough draft.  The second draft will be based on your reflections since the first draft and your responses to my comments on that draft.

The prospectus and both drafts must be turned in on time.

You will receive grades on the prospectus and both drafts.

Final Examination

There will a final examination, written in French, covering all required reading, lecture, and class
discussion. 

D.  FINAL GRADE:

The final grade will be calculated as follows:  

Participation

  

15

Reading Guides

  

20

Papers

  

40

Final Exam

  

25

Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contract Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5833 (voice) or 438-8620 (TTY).

Students are expected to behave in a manner consistent with being in a professional environment. Open discussion and disagreement are encouraged in a respectful manner. Open hostility, rudeness, and incivility are discouraged and will result in appropriate action. Mechanical disruptions (cell phones, pagers, electronic toys, music players, etc.) are also strongly discouraged.

Students acting in a disruptive or uncivil manner may be dismissed from the class for the remainder of the class period. If necessary, referrals may also be made to Community Rights & Responsibilities for violations of the Code of Student Conduct.