French

• Instructors
• Courses offered
• The French House
• Study abroad

We have a well-structured, comprehensive program that allows our students to attain a high level of competency in the language, as well as in the culture and literature, of France and the other Francophone countries. After having taken language courses at Nazareth College, the students spend one year abroad in Rennes, France where they acquire the mastery of the language.

When they return from France, classes in culture, literature, theater, and commercial French prepare them for graduate studies or a rewarding career. They find in the Maison Française where they live and participate in language and cultural activities. Ninety percent of our students are accepted to graduate schools. In the past ten years, several Nazareth students have been the recipients of a tutorial scholarship or a teaching assistantship in Votré, France.

Instructors

Prof. Candide Carrasco, Chair of the Department, is a native speaker of French and Spanish. He received a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Contemporary French Theater with a minor in Contemporary Latin American Literature. Prof. Carrasco has been teaching French and literature for thirty years. Teaching French goes beyond building the language acquisition skills. It includes exposing the students to another world of culture, and allowing them to discover not only the aesthetic values of a literary text but also the universal bridges existing between themselves and the works of art. Among Prof. Carrasco's many interests, he is an accomplished playwright. He has written and produced plays in French, Spanish, and English.

Prof. Octave Naulleau is a French native. He graduated from the University of Poitiers in France. He was invited to join the Nazareth College faculty in 1968. An expert in language, civilization, commercial French, translation and Francophone studies, he has been a strong motivator and a constant inspiration to his many students all over the world.

He is the Director of the Nazareth College Junior Year Abroad program in Rennes, France. It is one of the best structured programs for foreign students. It provides Nazareth students an edge on the competition.

Mireille Le Breton, Assistant Professor, teaches French literature, francophone and film studies, and cultural trends in contemporary France as well as advanced composition and conversation courses at Nazareth.   She also enjoys teaching French language courses, which she did in the past, at all levels of proficiency.  Before relocating to the Rochester area, she taught at the University of Delaware, Maryland and Stanford University.  She is the Director of the French House and the French Club Advisor. Mireille received her Ph.D. from Stanford University (French and Italian Department, 2008).  She also is an alumna of the University of Maryland, at College Park, where she received her MA, and of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, rue d' Ulm, in Paris.  Her research interests include immigration, politics and the novel; ethnicity, identity and human rights in contemporary literature and film; images of women in comtemporary French and Francophone cinema; literary and film theory.

Courses Offered

FRN 312 Advanced Grammar and Stylistics

Advanced language and grammar course specializing in in-depth study of grammatical structures, stylistics and translation with extensive exercises in writing.

3 credits, 3 hours

Frn 201, 202. Advanced Composition and Conversation
Extensive exercises in writing and speaking. Review of finer points of grammar. Development of oral expression and aural comprehension in everyday French.
3 credits each semester, 3 hours

Frn 401. 19th Century: Ideal and Reality
A study of humanity facing "le mal du siecle" through the perspectives of romanticism, naturalism, realism, symbolism and parnassianism.
3 credits, 3 hours

Frn 203, 204. The Francophone World
A study of France and the Francophone countries in their geographical, economic, political, and cultural aspects. For students with three years of foreign language study or departmental approval.
3 credits each semester, 3 hours

Frn 402. 20th Century: Literary Trends
Attempts to define the "Moi" in Sartre, Gide, Genet, Duras and Tahar Ben Jelloun. The new literary criticism from structuralism to semiotics.
3 credits, 3 hours

Frn 301. 17th Century French Classicism
An exploration of the human confrontation between passions and rules in 17th century French literature. The triumph of classical aesthetics in Moliere, Racine and Corneille.
3 credits, 3 hours

Frn 457. Curriculum Methodology, Middle School and Senior High
Methods, materials and techniques of modern language teaching emphasizing current language objectives.
3 credits, 3 hours

Frn 302. 18th Century French Enlightenment
The search for freedom in Voltaire, Beaumarchais, Diderot and Chaderlos de Laclos.
3 credits, 3 hours

Frn 479. Student Teaching, Middle School and Senior High
The field-based practicum in French.
6 credits

Frn 303. French Theatre (Perspectives II Literature course)
Semiotic analysis of several plays and a production of one French play. Course will enhance communicative abilities of students and reinforce their mastery of analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
3 credits, 3 hours

Frn 485, 486. Independent Study
By invitation of the department. Special literary or linguistic problems under direction of a member of the language staff.
3 credits each semester, 3 hours

Lan 300. Study Abroad
Study abroad required for all foreign language majors and modern foreign language majors.
0 credits, 0 hours

The French House

Maison Française at Nazareth College has a dual function. It is a residential hall for thirteen students interested in the French language, or in Francophone culture, and also serves as a cultural meeting place for Le Cercle Français and Francophile in the Rochester community. Movies, dinners, lectures, theatrical readings, or exhibits are scheduled every Thursday. Some annual events include:

• Dejeuner Conversations
• Christmas parties
• Mardi-Gras
• trip to Montreal
• Quebec festival
• African night
• Breton dinner
• Cultural diversity celebrations

Address: 4225 East Avenue, Rochester NY, 14618-0900
Phone: (716) 389-4637

Study Abroad

In affiliation with the Université de Haute-Bretagne, Nazareth College offers an academic year in Rennes, France. The core program for French majors includes the following basic courses: language-composition, conversational-structural analysis and explication de texte, phonetics, literature, contemporary French civilization, and history of art. Students may choose elective courses from a variety of areas including history, English, fine arts, foreign languages (Celtic, German, Spanish, Russian) and literature and economics.

Dates: First week of September to end of December (Fall)
End of January to beginning of June (Spring)

Eligibility requirements:
Open to sophomores, juniors, seniors
Coursework in French. 2.5 GPA

For more information:

Octave Naulleau
Director, Rennes Program
Nazareth College of Rochester
4245 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14618-3790
Ph.: (716) 389-2685
Fax: (716) 586-2452 or: (716) 321-1463
E-mail: ccarras8@naz.edu