- Docente: Valeria Illuminati
- Credits: 6
- SSD: L-LIN/04
- Language: English
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Forli
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Corso:
First cycle degree programme (L) in
International relations and diplomatic affairs (cod. 8048)
Also valid for First cycle degree programme (L) in International Studies (cod. 5949)
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in International relations and diplomatic affairs (cod. 6058)
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from Sep 16, 2024 to Dec 03, 2024
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to follow a lesson in French, to read a complex text about social or political sciences and make a fluent oral report on it in French. To this purpose they should reach a minimum level of B1 (Council of Europe framework) for spoken and written French, while the ideal level is B2. Moreover, they should be capable of writing a text in French (minimum level B2).
Course contents
The course is organized in lectures and a language laboratory, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (30 hours) aim to enhance students’ reading, writing, and speaking skills, while also expanding their cultural skills and knowledge in the French-speaking context.
Language laboratory (40 hours) is organized as seminars and aims to use class materials and practice the skills acquired during the 30-hour course through exercises, focusing in particular on French grammar and morphosyntax.
The division into lectures and seminars is specified in the program that follows.
For the seminar section (language laboratories), students will be divided into 2 groups, according to their language level: 1 GA laboratory (B1 level students) and 1 GB laboratory (A2 level students). A total of 70 classroom hours (lectures+seminars/language lab) are scheduled for each student.
The 30-hour course (lectures) is organized into two modules:
- one module will be devoted to reading and analyzing written texts on topics relevant to the degree course. The texts will focus on current political and socio-cultural issues, with a focus on the French presidents of the Fifth Republic (Ve République) and their social reforms related to human and civil rights in the French-speaking context, and on the argumentative text in its various forms. The aim of this module is to initiate students to the morpho-syntactic and discursive features of different textual genres, in particular of the argumentative text, as well as to a specialized lexicon related to socio-political issues, while also exploring some crucial periods in 20th century French history.
- The second module will be devoted to presenting and discussing the topics covered in the texts and to improving writing skills in French.
Topics covered in the language laboratory will include:
- la situation dans l’espace (suite)
- l’accord du participe passé (difficultés)
- le comparatif, le superlatif, l’analogie
- l’impératif
- l’infinitif passé
- les pronoms personnels compléments
- la double pronominalisation
- le conditionnel présent et passé
- la forme hypothétique
- la place de l’adjectif
- la phrase nominale
- la phrase passive
- le subjonctif présent et passé
- indicatif / subjonctif
- le gérondif / participe présent
- le discours indirect au présent et au passé
- le futur dans le passé
- les pronoms relatifs composés
- les pronoms indéfinis
- l’expression de la cause
- l’expression de la conséquence
- l’expression du but
- l’expression de l’opposition et de la concession
During the laboratory, students can also give an oral presentation in small groups on a (relevant) topic of their choice, thus improving their oral expression and argumentation skills. The presentation will be followed by a short discussion on the topic with the other students.
Readings/Bibliography
The texts to be analyzed during classes will be available weekly on the Virtuale e-learning platform in electronic format.
For the language laboratory:
Maia Grégoire, Odile Thievenaz,Grammaire progressive du français, niveau avancé, 3ème édition, Paris, Clé International, 2017.
Dictionary: Le petit Robert : dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française, Paris, Dictionnaires Le Robert, 2020 (or previous/following editions).
Reading list:
1. Charles Giol, De Jaurès à Hollande : histoire de France de 1914 à nos jours, Paris, PUF, 2015.
2. Jean-Jacques Becker, Histoire politique de la France depuis 1945, Paris, Colin, édition 2015.
3. Jean Baubérot, Histoire de la laïcité en France, Paris, PUF, coll. «Que sais-je?», 2013.
4. Jacques Donzelot, La France des cités : Le chantier de la citoyenneté urbaine, Paris, Fayard, 2013.
5. Christine Bard, avec Frédérique El Amrani et Bibia Pavard, Histoire des femmes dans la France des xixe et xxe siècles, Paris, Ellipses, 2013.
6. Magali Lafourcade, Les Droits de l’homme, Paris, PUF, collection «Que sais-je?», 2018.
Teaching methods
Lectures aim to enable students to understand and interpret written and oral specialized texts, and to write texts in French. The course will be taught in French.
The language laboratory is based on a grammar book and on practical exercises using “communicative methods.” It aims at allowing students to reach a good command of linguistic and communicative competence.
Assessment methods
Students attending classes:
Overall assessment will be based on two written mid-term tests and a final oral exam. The first mid-term test includes a reading comprehension with open-ended questions and a grammar test. In the second mid-term test students are expected to write a short text in French (texte argumentatif), along with a grammar test.
The oral exam will consist of a discussion of selected chapters from one of the books in the reading list included in the bibliography section.
In addition to the reading of selected chapters, each student will choose one or two recent articles from the online press dealing with a topic related to the chosen essay and the chapters selected. The first part of the oral exam will focus on the essay and will assess the knowledge acquired through the reading. In the second part, the student will briefly present the chosen article(s) (sources, topics covered, interest and relevance of the articles in the current context, journalist’s opinion, tone of the articles – polemic, neutral, etc.) – and express their personal opinion on the article(s) and related topic(s).
Students not attending classes:
Students who do not attend the course can take the exam as follows:
- A written exam consisting of a grammar test, a reading comprehension with open-ended questions, and the writing of a short argumentative text (texte argumentatif) in French.
- An oral exam consisting of a discussion of selected chapters from one of the books in the reading list included in the bibliography section. All books are available at the Ruffilli library (Please note: selections of chapters to be studied are listed under each book title).
In addition to the reading of selected chapters, each student will choose one or two recent articles from the online press dealing with a topic related to the chosen essay and the chapters selected. The first part of the oral exam will focus on the essay and will assess the knowledge acquired through the reading. In the second part, the student will briefly present the chosen article(s) (sources, topics covered, interest and relevance of the articles in the current context, journalist’s opinion, tone of the articles – polemic, neutral, etc.) – and express their personal opinion on the article(s) and related topic(s).
1. Charles Giol, DeHollande à Sarkozy: histoire de France de 1914 à nos jours, Paris, PUF, 2015.
Selection of chapters:
- Introduction, chapters 1, 2, 3
OR
- chapters 1, 4, 5
OR
- chapters 6, 7 + conclusion
2. Jean-Jacques Becker, Histoire politique de la France depuis 1945, Paris, Colin, édition 2015. (ebook available)
Selection of chapters:
- chapters 1, 2, 3
OR
- chapters 4, 5, 6 (in chapter 6, only the following sub-chapters are to be studied: 1, 2, 3, 4 [La présidence de Georges Pompidou ; L’évolution de la vie politique ; La croissance économique ; La mort du président])
OR
- chapter 6 (sub-chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 [La présidence de Georges Pompidou ; L’évolution de la vie politique ; La croissance économique ; La mort du président ; La présidence de Valéry Giscard D’Estaing; Les présidences de François Mitterrand])
OR
- chapter 6 (sub-chapters 6, 7, 8 [Les présidences de François Mitterrand ; La première présidence de Chirac ; La deuxième présidence de Chirac]), and chapter 7
3. Jean Baubérot, Histoire de la laïcité en France, Paris, PUF, collection « Que sais-je ? », 2013. (ebook available)
Whole book.
4. Jacques Donzelot, La France des cités : Le chantier de la citoyenneté urbaine, Paris, Fayard, 2013. (ebook available)
Selection of chapters:
- Préambule + première partie: ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
OR
- chapter 6 (Première partie) + Deuxième partie: ch. 1, 2, 3, 4
5. Christine Bard, avec Frédérique El Amrani et Bibia Pavard, Histoire des femmes dans la France des xixe et xxe siècles, Paris, Ellipses, 2013.
Selection of chapters:
- chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
OR
- chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
6. Magali Lafourcade, Les Droits de l’homme, Paris, PUF, coll. «Que sais-je?», 2018. (ebook available)
Whole book.
Teaching tools
PC and Internet; Virtuale e-learning platform; online resources.
Texts to be analyzed and other teaching materials will be made available in advance on Virtuale and it will be the students’ responsibility to bring them to class in the format they are more comfortable with.Office hours
See the website of Valeria Illuminati
SDGs
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.