Reviews of French 012L - Introduction à l'Analyse Littéraire |
Name: Lillie Dremeaux | Year: Omitted | Major: Omitted | Professor: Colette Windish | Taken Fall 2000 | Recommends? sometimes |
This course, conducted entirely in French, was a good introduction to studying literature in another language. We read a variety of genres, including plays (Racine), essays (Montaigne and Rousseau), poetry (Verlaine, Baudelaire and Ronsard), short stories (Supervielle and Maupassant) and modern fiction (Hébert). Professor Windish is extremely knowledgeable about French literature and often brings interesting elements of biography and history into literary discussion. Her specialty is poetry, and the poetry unit also seemed to be the one most enjoyed by the class. Windish does have a tendency to talk too much in a class that would be best conducted by student discussion. Another aspect of her teaching style that really turned off some students was the way she laughed if you mentioned an interpretation she did not agree with and graded papers based on how valid she thought your ideas were rather than how well you argued your points. This was very intimidating for many students who had never been an entirely French class before, so dicussion in my section usually consisted of the prof plus three confident students. The course does wonders for your comprehension skills, but definitely not your speaking skills. Although it is a very good survey of literature, the professor's method of discussion is sometimes ineffective. I definitely enjoyed the readings a lot more than the actual class. I would recommend it to students who have a genuine interest in French literature but not those who just need to fulfill a requirment. |