The Shadow of the Enlightenment

Syllabus: Fall Quarter, 2006

Faculty:
Stacey Davis, Sem II C 3104, 360.867.6761, davisst@evergreen.edu
Susan Fiksdal, Sem II C 3106, 360.867.6329, fiksdals@evergreen.edu
Judith Gabriele, Sem II B3127, 360.867.5487, gabrielj@evergreen.edu

Revised Program Description:
In France today, there are growing tensions as people reconsider what it means to be French. The notion of French identity has been challenged by many things, including immigration, consumerism, mass media, multilingualism, and France’s changing role in Europe and the world. This identity crisis is occurring in other European countries, but the challenges are greater in France with its large population of Muslims and its cultural heritage. By closely examining Enlightenment principles, we will explore the origin of long-held beliefs that have formed the underpinnings of French social organizations and to which writers, thinkers and artists have been reacting for centuries and we will explore competing ideologies about what it means to be French.
The Enlightenment, an 18th-century phenomenon, rejected tradition and underscored the importance of reason and science. The philosophes who were the chief architects of this movement, were convinced that civilization was advancing and that rapid human progress was both obtainable and desirable. In Paris, salon writers critiqued existing social, political and cultural structures, and they created surveys, classifications and dictionaries in all fields of knowledge for a growing literate public. A major goal of our program is to understand the principles, context, and long-lasting impact of these beliefs and to determine the depth of the “shadow.” Rather than work in a strict chronological fashion, we will discuss recent events in France concerning unemployment, mass demonstrations, and social unrest and then study their historical and linguistic underpinnings.
We will draw primarily upon history, sociolinguistics, discourse, language study, and literature in order to better understand the notions of identity in contemporary France. Specifically, students can expect to gain insight into the ways power and language intersect in creating and maintaining identity through our study of sociolinguistics. By studying French language as an integral part of our program, students will gain a personal perspective on the ways in which language acquisition interacts with language variation and change. There will be an emphasis on learning to read texts in French at all levels of study with the goal of reading French literature, although speaking and listening will also be important. By studying historical interpretations of events and primary texts, students will gain a historical and critical perspective of French intellectual thought and social movements.
Our major themes will be secularism and religion, democracy and political participation, equality and racism, language and power, and the ways gender intersects each of these. Each week we will have a lecture and seminar related to our program themes, a workshop on sociolinguistics, and a series of classes in French language study. We will offer French at beginning, advanced beginning, intermediate, and (possibly) advanced levels. Sociolingusitics will include a study of language and gender fall quarter and language policy and discourse in winter.
Fall quarter we will begin with Voltaire’s Candide, then examine key current events in France to examine the notion of collective identity. We will then delve into a study of Enlightenment principles and the ways gender relations affected and were affected by the French Revolution. We end the quarter with an examination of how children are socialized in modern France through education.
Winter quarter we will focus on resistance to this collective French identity by women and people of color both at the societal level and the individual one. We will continue to examine Enlightenment principles as they affected colonization, the Algerian war, and the social upheaval of mai ’68. Our work in sociolinguistics will include language policy in France and the Francophone world as well as the importance of this policy in everyday discourse.

Fall Quarter Learning Objectives

• Understand and articulate the main themes of the French Enlightenment.

• Demonstrate the connection (and the limits of that connection) between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

• Explain the complex causes of the French Revolution with reference to several different interpretations.

• Articulate the major changes in ideology that occurred over the course of the Revolution.

• Describe the lasting impact (both in terms of concrete social, political and cultural changes and in terms of ideas) of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution on France today, especially in the realms of citizenship; the relationship between the individual and the state; secularization and religion; civil liberties.

• Demonstrate an ability to interpret French literature in the original (if you are an advanced beginner or intermediate student of French) and in translation through close textual analysis.

• Demonstrate an understanding of sociolinguistic theory through a study of language and gender including gender and language ideologies, speech act theory, conversational turn-taking, positioning ideas, and linguistic variation.

• Articulate the ways in which identity is created through linguistic practices in theory and in practice.

• Identify and analyze linguistic metaphors.

• Apply theory to practice by carrying out two sociolinguistic projects.

• In French language demonstrate acquisition of grammar rules, verb conjugation, vocabulary acquisition, pronunciation, and communicative competence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing according to goals set in each level.

• In French literature, demonstrate comprehension and analysis through class participation and compositions.

Weekly Schedule
Note that all students will attend all morning classes. All students will also have French class every day and the schedule will depend on your level. Generally, students who have not studied French previously or who have had 1-2 years of high school French should take Beginning French. Students who have 2-3 years of high school French or it has been some time since they studied French at any level should take Advanced Beginning French. Students having the equivalent of one year of college French or 4 years of high school French should take Intermediate French. Students who have studied in France through one of our language and culture programs or who have the equivalent of 2 years of college French should contact Susan Fiksdal as soon as possible (fiksdals@evergreen.edu) regarding Advanced French.

Explanation of assignments each week by class session: You will need 40 hours a week to complete this work at a minimum. If you do not have the time to devote to these studies, please choose another program.

Seminar. You will have around 250 pages to read and reflect on for seminar each week;
Sociolinguistics. You will read a chapter or more of a linguistic textbook to read, have concepts to learn, and write a workshop each week;
French language. You will read a chapter or more of a French textbook, memorize grammar and vocabulary, complete homework. Every two weeks you will have a quiz which you must pass at 70%.
French literature. You will read short selections in French each week and be prepared to discuss them in terms of comprehension and thematic content in French (as well as ask questions about language structure!).
Language Lab. We require that you spend at least 1 hour in Evergreen’s Community Language Lab, Sem II A3116A, where you can work on improving your language acquisition.

Writing Assignments : There will be four types of writing in the program:

1. Expository essays. There will be 2 essays (3-5 pages) due fall quarter, each of which must undergo revision with help from your peers and the writing center tutors. Both drafts must be submitted, and the final draft should be well developed in terms of ideas and the argument, and it should be carefully proof read for complete and well- crafted sentences, correct grammar, academic vocabulary (rather than a colloquial or casual style), and evidence of learning from our texts, workshops, films, and lectures.
2. Forum. Each week you will submit a paragraph to the electronic forum on our program web page. This paragraph should be a synthesis of the week’s work, due every Friday by 5:00pm. A synthesis is an attempt to make connections between concepts and ideas in the week’s readings. You should begin by considering the theme for the week, think back to previous weeks, and then work on the connection(s) you find.
3. Sociolinguistics. You will have workshops to write either collaboratively or individually on each chapter or our text each week. Because these are written in class, you will need to formulate your ideas carefully before writing because academic writing will be required. In addition, you will conduct two small projects designed to teach the methodology of sociolinguistics and the way in which research is presented in journals using APA format.
4. French essays. No matter what level of French you are studying, you will write a brief essay each week in order to practice thinking in French. Beginners will progress from a few sentences to short essays by the end of the program.

Exams. There will be a final, take-home exam for the program and an in-class, open-book exam in Sociolinguistics.