Weekly Responses: Each week students will write a 300 word response to the texts / film(s) for the week. These responses must articulate an argument about the week’s materials. Students may submit responses in French. Students can skip one response (typically the week they give a presentation, but this is flexible). Students must print these themselves, and they are due at the beginning of each discussion session. You can respond to the given questions, or you can formulate your own Response Questions.
Presentation / Film Pitch: Working in groups of 2 or 3, students will give one 10–15 minute oral and visual presentation about a film and readings. Presentations will be chosen from a list of possible films / topics. These topics propose alternate films / texts that we might have studied as a group each week. And I expect you to make the “pitch” for why the group should have studied this group of materials instead. Thus the presentation must:
- Articulate an argument
- Explain why this film is important
- Address its status as a “classic” of French film
- Engage with the texts listed as presentation sources
- End with two questions to engage the class in discussion about the film
Presentations must present an argument about the material and will be graded on content, clarity, engagement with the topic, and oral communication skills.
Presentation Topics and Resources
Outside Film-going Experience Review: Students will attend one French film screened outside of our class and write a 1500 word paper about this experience. The paper will review the film and the film-going experience. It might address the following elements of the experience:
- The theater (looks – ambiance, etc.)
- The public (number of attendees, profiles, etc.)
- The audience’s reaction (Did they laugh, cry, make noise at all? Did they express reverent silence?)
You might want to interview people afterwards to hear what they thought of the film and reflect on the differences between watching a film in the theater and alone on your computer screen. Papers must also address the question of whether this film is a “classic” of French cinema.
Citations: All written assignments must employ a standardized citation system (i.e., MLA, Chicago). Students must submit a list of resources consulted for their oral presentations.
