Courses - Fall 2026
FREN103
Intensive Elementary French
Credits:
4
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: Must have appropriate World Language Placement (WLP) score.
Restriction: Must not be a native/fluent speaker of French.
Covers speaking, reading, writing, listening, and culture of French-speaking world.
FREN203
Intensive Intermediate French
Credits:
4
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN103; or must have appropriate World Language Placement (WLP) score.
Restriction: Must not be a native/fluent speaker of French.
Credit only granted for: FREN201 or FREN203.
Covers speaking, reading, writing, listening, and culture of French-speaking world.
FREN204
French Grammar and Composition
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN203; or must have appropriate World Language Placement (WLP) score.
Restriction: Not open to native/fluent speakers of French.
Intensive study of French grammar and composition.
FREN243
Masterpieces in French and Francophone Cinemas
This course, taught in English, will present a large array of films directed by famous French directors (Jean Renoir, Robert Bresson, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, etc..) and Francophone filmmakers (Arcand, Sembene) who were internationally known in their time and have had a considerable influence on today's filmmakers in the U.S. (Tarantino, Lynch, Lee, etc..) and abroad (Sissoko, Angelopoulos, VonTrier, ect..).
Cross-listed with CINE298A. Credit only granted for FREN243 or CINE298A.
FREN250
Introduction to Cultural and Textual Analysis
Prerequisite: FREN204; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Restriction: Must not be a native/fluent speaker of French.
Credit only granted for: FREN250 or FREN250H.
Introduction to cultural and textual analysis of selected readings from various genres in French literature. Taught in French.
Jointly offered with FREN 250H.
FREN250H
Introduction to Cultural and Textual Analysis
Prerequisite: FREN204; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Restriction: Must not be a native/fluent speaker of French.
Credit only granted for: FREN250 or FREN250H.
Introduction to cultural and textual analysis of selected readings from various genres in French literature. Taught in French.
For general honors students only. Jointly offered with FREN 250.
FREN301
Composition and Style
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN250; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Restriction: Must not be a native/fluent speaker of French.
Grammatical analysis, elements of style; range of written genres.
FREN313
Current Issues in the French-Speaking World
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN301; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
Analysis and discussion of current events and institutions in the French-speaking world using various French-language media resources with an emphasis on countries and regions outside of France.
FREN351
From Romanticism to the Age of Modernism and Beyond
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN301; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
A survey of the chief authors and major movements of French literature from Pre-Romanticism to the present.
Jointly offered with FREN 351H.
FREN351H
From Romanticism to the Age of Modernism and Beyond
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN301; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
A survey of the chief authors and major movements of French literature from Pre-Romanticism to the present.
Cross-listed with FREN351.
FREN386
Experiential Learning
Credits:
3 - 6
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
Prerequisite: Permission of ARHU-School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures department.
Restriction: Junior standing or higher.
FREN387
Critical Writing on France and the French-Speaking World
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN301.
Restriction: Not open to Native speakers.
Intensive writing course based on focused study of issues and concerns drawn from French and Francophone literatures, films, and cultures. Elements of style, review of grammar. Taught in French.
Topic: Catastrophes.
FREN399
Directed Study in French
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg
Supervised work under professor of student's choice with permission of instructor. Contact department for details.
FREN439L
Studies in 17th Century French Literature and Culture; The Cultures of Absolutism in the Age of Louis XIV
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN387
Decamping from Paris to establish the royal court at Versailles, Louis XIV, the self-proclaimed "Sun King," outlawed Protestantism, cultivated state control of the arts, and encouraged colonial expansion based on slave labor in the Americas. Focusing on documents produced during the "grand siecle" itself, we will examine the theory and practice of Louis's authoritarian initiatives as well as expressions of resistance to them, with a special emphasis on journalism and poetic literature.
Decamping from Paris to establish the royal court at Versailles, Louis XIV, the self-proclaimed "Sun King," outlawed Protestantism, cultivated state control of the arts, and encouraged colonial expansion based on slave labor in the Americas. Focusing on documents produced during the "grand siecle" itself, we will examine the theory and practice of Louis's authoritarian initiatives as well as expressions of resistance to them, with a special emphasis on journalism and poetic literature.
FREN459V
Studies in 19th Century French Literature and Culture; Victor Hugo: Life, Works, and Afterlives
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN387.
An advanced study of Victor Hugo s major works across genres (poetry, theatre, fiction) in their historical and cultural contexts, with particular attention to reception, legacy, and cross-cultural adaptations. Readings situate Hugo within Romantic aesthetics, the political upheavals of the nineteenth century (1830, 1848, exile), and debates on authorship, the public sphere, and social justice. Traces Hugo s afterlives through critical reception and global reworkings in translation, illustration, theatre, film, and musical adaptations. Primary texts may include selections from Hernani, Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Contemplations, and Les Miserables, alongside critical and media materials.
An advanced study of Victor Hugo s major works across genres (poetry, theatre, fiction) in their historical and cultural contexts, with particular attention to reception, legacy, and cross-cultural adaptations. Readings situate Hugo within Romantic aesthetics, the political upheavals of the nineteenth century (1830, 1848, exile), and debates on authorship, the public sphere, and social justice. Traces Hugo s afterlives through critical reception and global reworkings in translation, illustration, theatre, film, and musical adaptations. Primary texts may include selections from Hernani, Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Contemplations, and Les Miserables, alongside critical and media materials.
FREN495H
Honors Thesis Research
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Must be admitted to the departmental honors program.
The writing of a paper under the direction of a professor in this department and an oral examination. Required to fulfill the departmental honors requirement.
FREN499G
Special Topics in French Studies; Global Black France
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: FREN387.
Examines the historical, economic and cultural dimensions of France s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and colonial slavery. Also demonstrates how these systems of exploitation continue to shape contemporary France as well as other French territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyana. Students will learn the role of slavery and colonialism in France s wealth, global influence and cultural capital incities such as Nantes, La Rochelle and Bordeaux.
Examines the historical, economic and cultural dimensions of France s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and colonial slavery. Also demonstrates how these systems of exploitation continue to shape contemporary France as well as other French territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyana. Students will learn the role of slavery and colonialism in France s wealth, global influence and cultural capital incities such as Nantes, La Rochelle and Bordeaux.
FREN659F
Special Topic in Nineteenth Century French Literature; Engaged Writing and Public Debate in the Nineteenth-Century Francophone Atlantic
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud, S-F
Examines forms of engaged writing and public debate across the nineteenth-century Francophone Atlantic, with attention to how literary and journalistic texts intervened in major political and moral controversies. We focus on debates around the abolition of slavery, the death penalty, women s rights, colonialism, and citizenship, and we consider the genresand media through which such arguments circulated (periodicals, pamphlets, speeches, petitions, fiction, and print polemics). Combines close reading with methods from media and cultural history, including work with archival materials and periodical research.Students will alsobe introduced to core practices of scholarly editing, annotation, and translation (in print and digital environments).
FREN699U
Seminar; Francophone Caribbean Literature & Culture of the 20th and 21st Centuries
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud, S-F
Through the lenses of writers such as Maryse Conde, Aime Cesaire, Kettly Mars, Evelyne Trouillot, Gisele Pineau and Fabienne Kanor this course proposes an interdisciplinary approach to study contemporary French Caribbean literatures and cultures. Examine the distinct yet interconnected histories and cultures of Haiti the world's first black republic and theFrench Departements d Outre-Mer (DROMs) of Martinique and Guadeloupe.A mong the themes we will discuss are religion, politics,immigration, gender equity and ecological disasters and climatejustice.
FREN709
College Teaching of French
Credits:
1
Grad Meth:
S-F
Restricted to FRIT and FRMS graduate students unless permission granted by instructor.
Explores the theory and methodology of teaching French at the university level, combining practical study with hands-on experience.
Explores the theory and methodology of teaching French at the university level, combining practical study with hands-on experience.
FREN798
Master's Independent Study
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
FREN799
Master's Thesis Research
Credits:
1 - 6
Grad Meth:
S-F
FREN889
Doctoral Independent Study
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
FREN898
Pre-Candidacy Research
Credits:
1 - 8
Grad Meth:
Reg
FREN899
Doctoral Dissertation Research
Credits:
6
Grad Meth:
S-F
Flagship Institution of the University System of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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301.405.1000
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