Beyond providing mastery of the language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) of modern French needed for all purposes of daily life, the major introduces students to a central tradition of western and world culture. Since the Middle Ages, French literature, thought, taste, and art have helped shape the essential experience and self-understanding of humanity at large. Survey courses and upper-division seminars offer a range of exposures to the French cultural past and the far-flung ethnic and national diversity of the French-speaking present. The major explores distinctively French contributions to world culture, such as Arthurian romance, troubadour poetry, and Gothic architecture; the love sonnets of the Pléiade, the comic novels of Rabelais, and the essays of Montaigne; the neoclassical theatre of Corneille, Molière, and Racine and the critical philosophy of Descartes and Pascal; the Enlightenment philosophies of Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau; the psychological refinements of French fiction from Mme de La Fayette to Proust; artistic revolutions like impressionism and surrealism; the renewal of artistic conventions in the Theatre of the Absurd, the New Novel, and the cinema of the New Wave; the French-language literature of Africa, Canada, and the Caribbean; and the vital presence of French writers in major movements of 20th century thought like existentialism, structuralism, feminism, psychoanalysis, and contemporary cultural studies and multiculturalism.
The undergraduate degree in French emphasizes knowledge and awareness of:
In addition, students completing the degree in French are expected to acquire the ability and skills to:
The major provides the language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) of modern Italian needed for all purposes of daily life. Moreover, by combining courses offered by the faculty of the Department of French and Italian with courses of Italian interest taught in other units, including film studies, fine arts, and history, the program promotes an understanding of the role of the Italian literary and cultural tradition within western civilization at large. As the birthplace of Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, Ariosto, Tasso, Marino, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Da Vinci, Italy is the cradle of the Renaissance. Italy projects a powerful, formative influence into our own day through the work of 19th- and 20th century writers like Leopardi, Manzoni, Pirandello, Levi, and Calvino; operatic composers like Rossini, Puccini, and Verdi; philosophers and critics like Croce, d’Annunzio, Gramsci, and Ginzburg; and filmmakers like Fellini, Pasolini, and Bertolucci. Thus, in addition to supplying the necessary background for advanced professional study and specialization, the Italian major introduces students to a rich literary, artistic, and intellectual history at the roots of the modern world.
Students wishing to major in Italian are required to have a thorough advising session with the Italian program advisor. In this session the student program of study is outlined in detail. Students are required to see the advisor in the event that any of their major courses are canceled so that substitutions and revisions in their programs can be made. The department will not approve a major in Italian unless the student has been advised by the program advisor.
For courses in other departments with an Italian emphasis (e.g., comparative literature, fine arts, history, honors, etc.), see those sections.
The undergraduate degree in Italian emphasizes knowledge and awareness of:
In addition, students completing the degree in Italian are expected to acquire the ability and skills to:
Course codes for these programs are FREN and ITAL.
Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the required courses listed below. Students wishing to pursue an Honors major should also consult the Honors requirements listed below.
Note: Students undertaking a major in French should expect to have regular conferences with a college advisor to ensure that they are making adequate progress and that requirements are being met in a timely way. The department will not certify majors for graduation when a failure to satisfy requirements is the fault of the student.
A minimum of 30 upper-division hours in French must be completed (see below for specific courses). FREN 2120 or its equivalent is the prerequisite for admission to courses required for the major.
Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours
Honors candidates must meet all of the regular requirements for the major plus the following:
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. The concept of “adequate progress” as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress in French, students should meet the following requirements:
A minor program is offered in French. Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at CU-Boulder, regardless of college or school.
To declare a French minor, please go to http://www.colorado.edu/aac/pas.html.
Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the required courses listed below. Thirty-six hours beyond the first year with a 2.00 (C) grade point average or better are required, as listed below.
Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours
Italian Lower-division—9
Italian 3000-level—12
Italian 4000-level—9
Upper-division Electives—6
Honors candidates must meet all of the regular requirements for the major plus the following:
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. The concept of “adequate progress” as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress in Italian, students should meet the following requirements:
A minor program is offered in Italian. Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at CU-Boulder, regardless of college or school.
To declare an Italian minor, go to www.colorado.edu/aac/pas.html and make an appointment with the Italian advisor.
Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours
A total of 18 hours beyond the first year level is to be earned for the minor, as follows:
Lower-division—9
Upper-Division—9
CU-Boulder offers French study abroad programs in Annecy, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg, and Toulouse, France. In addition, students may study in Quebec, Brussels, Geneva, and in the Francophone African nations of Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, and Senegal. CU-Boulder offers Italian study abroad programs in Ferrara, Florence, and Perugia, Italy. Students may obtain course-credit equivalences for work done while abroad. For further information about study abroad programs, students may visit departmental advisors or the Office of International Education. CU-Boulder also supports a summer program in Italy that focuses on Italian history and culture in Rome. Credits earned on this program may be applied to the Italian major. Students may also take a summer film class in Rome and/or Paris (in alternate years). This class is taught in English. The Ayer Romance Language Scholarship is available for majors who plan to study abroad; it is awarded by the Department of French and Italian.
The department also administers a concurrent undergraduate and graduate degree program in French, offering students the opportunity to graduate with a BA and an MA in French in five years. Students interested in this program should consult a college advisor and the associate chair for graduate studies for details. Students should also read the relevant guidelines available in the main department office.
Students wishing to pursue graduate work in French leading to candidacy for an advanced degree should read carefully Requirements for Advanced Degrees in the Graduate School section. A graduate teaching exchange at the University of Tours is available to students who have earned a master’s degree.
Prerequisites. The following are prerequisite to graduate study in French: the ability to read, write, speak, and understand spoken standard French; general knowledge of French literature and civilization; and ability to read one language in addition to English and French. This last requirement may be fulfilled by passing a reading examination offered by the department. See department guidelines for the specific requirements for the MA in French.
Prerequisites. Doctoral candidates should possess excellence in reading, speaking, writing, and understanding spoken standard French; general knowledge of French literature and civilization; and knowledge of one language other than English and French (see below).
Required Courses. See department guidelines for PhD candidates.
Language Requirement. A sound reading knowledge of one modern language other than English and French is required. Such reading knowledge must be certified by the student passing a reading examination in the language. The examination normally consists of a timed translation of a literary text or a text dealing with literature (e.g., literary criticism). A dictionary is permitted. This language should be relevant to the student’s academic program.