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Handbook 1997 : Faculty of Arts : French

Faculty of Arts

French

French involves the study of the language and of the cultural traditions and transformations of one of the world's great civilisations. France has exerted a major influence on the cultural and political history of the modern world and it has a central position in the European Union. French is also the language of numerous other countries and cultures - in Europe, Africa, North America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, and it is one of the main languages used by international bodies such as the United Nations.


Career Opportunities

Graduates in French are equipped to excel in numerous professions, including radio and television, the diplomatic service, international trade, the law, and administration. They may also undertake further training for professions such as journalism, teaching, interpreting, and librarianship. At the international level, French is widely used, and competence in French can open doors to a variety of opportunities.


Prerequisites

The French Section offers separate entry points for those students who have passed VCE French, those who have completed four or five years of study, and those who have little or no prior knowledge of the language. It has a strong commitment to language teaching, and employs the most recent advances in teaching technologies. These include the use of the computer laboratory at the Horwood Language Centre, and French television via satellite. The Section is also committed to the critical examination of the French language cultural tradition and offers students a number of pathways to competence in this area.

The language stream or level in which a student enrols will be determined by the department. Placement will be based on the students' VCE results, other language study record or a placement test. A placement test is held for Post-VCE and intermediate candidates during Orientation Week each year. Enrolment will remain provisional until confirmed or, alternatively, altered according to students' needs as determined during the first weeks of teaching. As far as possible, changes will be notified in the first two weeks of the semester. Changes in weeks 3 and 4 will have to be reported to the Associate Dean.


Post-VCE French stream

For admission to first-year subjects (French Part 1), students should normally have obtained a pass in the VCE French examination or its equivalent.


Intermediate stream (first year only)

Students with four or five years of high-school French or equivalent enrol in the Intermediate stream (116-103 Intermediate French 1 and 116-104 Intermediate French 2). Upon successful completion of the programme, students obtaining at least H2A results may proceed to 116-214 French Part 2 (Post-VCE stream). Those obtaining less than H2A results may continue on to 116-201 French Part 2A (Elementary stream).


Elementary stream

Admission to Introduction to French 1A/2C and French 1A/2C will be limited to students who have no knowledge or very little knowledge of French. Admission to French 2A/3C will require a pass in French 1A/2C or in Intensive Beginners French (Summer School), or equivalent.

A Beginners subject (French 2C) is available to students wishing to begin French in the second year of their course; French 3C is offered in the following year.


Requirements of a major

There are two ways of completing a major sequence in the French Section:


(a) Major in French (Elementary stream)

Five x 16.7 points subjects at 2/3 level including French Part 2A (Units 1 and 2) and French 3A.

The two remaining 'content' based subjects are chosen from a list of second and third-year level subjects offered by the Department.

It is possible to be admitted to the Post-VCE French stream through the elementary stream or the intermediate stream. Through the elementary stream, the requirements are: (a) at least an H2A in French Part 1A; (b) subsequent enrolment and pass in both French Part 2A (Units 1 and 2) and French Part 2. Through the intermediate stream, the requirements are: (a) at least an H2A in Intermediate French 2, and (b) subsequent enrolment and pass in French Part 2. Students may then complete the requirements for the major sequence (Post-VCE French stream).


(b) Major in French (post-VCE French stream)

Five x 16.7 points subjects at second and third-year level including French Part 2 and French Part 3 (Units 1 and 2).

The two remaining 'content' based subjects are chosen from a list of second and third-year level subjects offered by the Department. At least one of these subjects must be taught in French. Students achieving a level of H2A in Unit 1 for French Part 3 may elect to replace Unit 2 by a further content based subject.

Students wishing to take Pure French Honours are strongly advised to enrol in additional French subjects at second and third-year level.


Additional Subjects Offered by Other Departments at 2nd/3rd Year Levels

Students are encouraged to consider choosing additional subjects (literary, cultural, linguistic) related to French studies offered in other departments. Please note, they cannot be counted toward the French major.

Fine Arts

111-245/345 Passion, Power and Perception: French Art in the 19th Century

History

131-244/344 Class, Gender and Revolution: France 1814 - 1914

131-245/345 Socialism, Communism and Resistance: France 1919 - 1994

Politics

166-240/340 European Integration: The Politics of the European Community

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

175-200/300 First Language Acquisition

175-201/301 Second Language Learning and Teaching


Entry to Honours

Admission to fourth-year honours is subject to completion of the requirements of a pass degree with a major in French (Post-VCE French stream) with a average grade over the major of at least H2B.


Honours Requirements

1. Pure Honours: French Part 4 Language (all-year subject 16.7 points), three single-semester research seminars (50 points) and a thesis of 10,000 words (33.3 points), all in the French Section.

2. Combined Honours: French Part 4 Language (all-year subject, 16.7 points) and one single-semester research seminar in the French Section (16.7 points), a thesis of 10,000 words in the French Section, or a thesis in the other area of study (33.3 points), and subjects in the other area of study (33.3 points).


Study Abroad

The French Section offers various possibilities for suitably qualified students to gain credit for study in France and elsewhere through exchange and other programs. Through the School of Languages a number of travelling scholarships are available. Interested students should consult the departmental handbook for more details.


Opportunities for further study

Diploma in Modern Languages - French Studies, Graduate Diploma in Arts (Modern Languages - French Studies), Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (French Studies), Masters, PhD.


For more information

For more information please contact:

Department of French and Italian

(03) 9344 5178/5179

Elementary stream first-year subject descriptions

116-101 Introduction To French Part 1A
116-102 French Part 1A
116-205 Introduction To French Part 2C
116-206 French Part 2C
116-173 Intermediate French I
116-174 Intermediate French II

Elementary stream second and third-year subject descriptions

116-201 French Part 2A, Unit 1
116-202 French Part 2A, Unit 2
116-306 French Part 3C, Unit 1
116-307 French Part 3C, Unit 2
116-302 French Part 3A

Post-VCE stream first-year subject descriptions

116-114 French Part 1: Contemporary France I
116-115 French Part 1: Cultural Perspectives

Second and third-year subject descriptions

116-214 French Part 2: Language
116-314 French Part 3: Language and Communication I
116-315 French Part 3 Language and Communication II

Additional French subject descriptions

116-220 Classical and Contemporary Novel
116-221 Performing the Text: Tragedy and Comedy in French Theatre
116-222 Poetics and Poetry
116-223 France and the Pacific
116-224 Varieties of French
116-225 Spoken French: Theory and Practice
116-227 Introduction To Romance
116-228 French Reading Course for Beginners
116-230 En-Gendering Culture: Women and Representation in French Society
116-231 Special Study Program
116-233 French Cinema 1940/1968: Aesthetics and Ideology
116-234 French, Foreigners, and Aliens: Culture and Identity in Contemporary France
116-235 European Spectacle 1918-1968
116-242 The Rise of the Individual: Art and Literature in France and Italy From 1820 To 1930
116-243 The Word and the Image: Art, Music, Literature and Society in 19th and 20th Centuries France
116-277 Paris: Capital of the Nineteenth Century
116-278 Foreignness, Integration and Exclusion: Culture and Identity in Contemporary France and Germany
116-279 Puzzles and Mazes: Experimental Writing in Twentieth-Century France

Fourth Year Honours subject descriptions

116-432 Imaging Change: French Cinema Since the New Wave
116-461 French Part 4: Advanced Spoken and Written Language
116-449 Special Reading Course
116-450 Topics in French Syntax and Semantics
116-456 Espaces Francophones: Converging and Diverging Cultures
116-451 Themes in Contemporary Literature
116-452 Applied Literary Theory
116-454 Translation Theory and Practice
116-455 War and Identity: the French and the Second World War
116-464 French Honours Thesis
116-470 French Erotic Literature, 1560-1954


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Handbook 1997 : Faculty of Arts : French
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