In this section, you will find sample syllabi, adaptable for gender studies classes, upper levels of French, and History and Cultural Studies classes. Some I have more developed into a full-fleshed syllabus, some are just indicative of subjects that I could/would be interested in teaching.

The last two classes are syllabi from classes I have recently taught at Alfred University.

French 101 & 102

This class is the first of a two-sequence class in French, teaching beginners, and bringing students to the level of intermediate 1 fluency.

The textbook for this class is Espaces, 3rd edition. Find the syllabus for 102 here.

Mysteries of Africa/Dire l’Afrique Mystérieuse

This class explores the colonization of Africa through the incorporation of travelers accounts. Find a description of the class here, along with some examples of works studied.

Introductory Literary Analysis

This class is an introduction to French and francophone literary analysis, tackling different genres and how to write about them. Find the complete syllabus here (in French).

Sick Bodies, Weak Minds, Silent Voices: Representing the Female Body

This class examines the relationship between the female body and the discourse on colonization. Find a more complete description, along with examples of work studied here.

Composition in French

This class is meant to be heavy in grammar, and composition in French. It teaches students the variations between different types of writing exercises, and how to adapt their writing to it. Find a more detailed syllabus here (partially in French).

Note: in an effort to keep this class accessible to students on financial aid, I purposely chose a grammar book that was 1) easy to find on any online seller’s website, 2) could resell easily, 3) contained both sets of exercises with their keys, and grammar lessons that were simple and easy to understand. CLE Intermediate Grammar filled that purpose–and since the last edition was more expensive, I instructed students to get the previous, if they wished.

The Cannibal and the Explorer

This class is a freshman writing seminar, meant to explore ethical questions in describing the Other, and teach students about different genres of travel writing. Find a more detailed syllabus here.

Note: similarly to the composition class I taught at Montclair, I aimed to keep this class as accessible as I could, especially for students on financial aid, and especially given that Cornell offers comprehensive full-ride financial aid packages–I know students tend to have expensive textbook in some classes, so keeping this class cost conscious helps students with other classes where buying textbooks with online components is unavoidable. The one book I asked students to buy was the Jules Verne, mostly because there is not a single good online edition that gathers both the Five Weeks in a Balloon novel, and Around the World in 80 Days in a good translation. The students had the option to buy the Lery from the bookstore too, but I only required them to buy the $5.99 Verne. I had the library do online book reserves for secondary literature.

Note also that I could not find a translation from Olympe Audouard’s the Far-West, which we will read in addition to Verne, so I simply translated the excerpt I will give my students. Voltaire, Diderot, and Montaigne were all found online, or scanned as needed.