2009 Courses

French Language (all levels: FRE1070.92; -2070.92; -3070.92)

Students who have had no French are placed in a Beginning section. Those who have studied French will be placed in a class appropriate to their level, after a brief placement exam.  All classes are carried out exclusively in French with emphasis on the spoken language.  The aim of Beginning French and also Intermediate French is to allow students to acquire as quickly as possible the ability to express themselves in order to negotiate their immediate surroundings.  Elements of grammar and syntax are introduced and reviewed, and are complemented by readings from newspapers and other sources relevant to everyday life.  Advanced French students will use material such as television, magazines, newspapers, and literature to increase their knowledge of the language while introducing them to various aspects of French life.  Students will also review and refine their knowledge of grammatical structures, and work at gaining a familiarity with idiomatic language and slang. (4 credits)

Taught by ELFCA staff

Note:  Classes described below are structured to accomodate both students experienced in either of these areas, and those "taking the plunge" for the first time.  Although students choose one elective and work intensively in that subject, two projects, including a final project, will be based on a joint effort by students from Creative Writing and Photography working together.

Creative Writing Workshop: Writing and Reading the Region (CWR3105.92)

Using the city of Hyeres and selected readings (fiction and non-fiction) related to the area, students will explore their context and their own responses through their writing.  Students will meet at various locations in the town, ranging from castles ruins to a local cafe, where they will be given writing assignments drawing on place and setting.  Each week, students will select one of their on the spot  works which they will revise and develop into a short piece of fiction for submission.  Emphasis will be on capturing the nuances of one's surroundings and experiences of these surroundings, and on how to use setting as a main character in writing. (4 credits)                   

Professor Emeritus Naomi Holoch, Purchase College

Reporting the Region(xxx0000.00)

(taught in English: no prequisites)
Students will explore Hyeres and the surrounding region to produce a variety of journalistic reports which will include both writing and photography. Assignments will include stories on the challenges facing an average French family, the local implications of an issue in French politics, a social issue facing the community, and a travel piece. The goal will be for students to write as a foreign correspondent would, to convey the community's views, struggles, sights and sensations to an audience back home. This class is open to students who have had previous experience in journalism as well as to those for whom it is the first exposure. (4 credits)

Professor Ross Daly, Purchase College