French and Francophone Culture

Undergraduate course

Course description

Objectives and Content

The course gives an introduction to French society and the French-speaking world (la francophonie). The course will hone students' ability to read French texts and converse in French about curriculum-related topics.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the course, the student is expected to:

Knowledge

  • have a good knowledge of the constitutional, political and social situation in France and of the French-speaking world today

Skills

  • be able to converse in French about French society and the situation in French-speaking countries and territories
  • have developed skills in expressing him/herself in standard French and in reading high-level French-language texts

General competence

be able to follow and evaluate French and French-language societal debate on the basis of the knowledge attained during the course

Place of Instruction

Online course on the learning platform MittUiB and ZOOM. This course is also offered as an on-campus course: FRAN124
Required Previous Knowledge
No formal requirements, but all teaching is conducted in French and good proficiency in French is a prerequisite.
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Proficiency in French at least equivalent to advanced French in high-school/upper secondary school, is a prerequisite in order to obtain a good result in this course.
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Due to certain academic overlaps, the credits awarded for taking FRAN624 are reduced by 10 ECTS if combined with FRAN124, and by 5 ECTS if combined with FRAN114, FRAN115, or FRAN103.
Access to the Course
The course is open to all students admitted through UiB Vidare.
Teaching and learning methods

Before the teaching starts, the students have access to preparation material on the learning platform MittUiB. The material may include e.g. introduction videos, videotaped lectures, notes, assignments and a discussion forum. The teaching is conducted on ZOOM and presupposes that the students have worked actively with the preparation material. The teaching session is used to elaborate the videotaped lecture and to discuss newspaper articles related to the topic.

Approximately one hour of teaching per week during twelve weeks. The teaching starts in week 34.

Provided that there are sufficient resources available, assignment seminars will be organized.

If less than five students sign up for the course, the teaching may be adjusted to fit the number of students, e.g. by replacing lectures with seminars or other forms of individually suited teaching. If this should occur, students will be notified about the alternative teaching arrangements before the registration deadline.

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

In connection with teaching, students must obtain approval on a written essay of about 1000 words on French or French-language cultural knowledge. In addition, students must attain approval on an oral presentation of about five minutes in the discipline the student elects not to submit his/her written assignment in. The deadline for submission / presentation of assignments to be completed will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Students must attend at least 75 % of the digital classroom sessions in order to be eligible to take the final exam.

Mandatory assignments are valid for one additional semester following the semester of instruction.

Forms of Assessment
The assessment in the course is a twenty-minute oral exam (digital).
Grading Scale
The grading scale is A-F, where F is a fail.
Assessment Semester
Fall. Students with valid approvals on their mandatory assignments may also be assessed early in the spring semester.
Reading List

Bernard, De Gunten, Martin og Niogret: Les Institutions de la France (Nathan)

Sanaker, Holter og Skattum: La francophonie, une introduction critique (Unipub).

The reading list provides information about what text are on the curriculum at any given time.

The reading list will be ready by 1 Jul for the fall semester.

Course Evaluation
Evaluation of the course is carried out in accordance with the University of Bergen quality assurance system.
Examination Support Material
None