Study of extracts from scholarly publications in students' areas of research. Prepares students to take the graduate foreign language certification exam. Major developments in the French essay, letter, novel and other prose forms from the Renaissance to 1900. Readings from such authors as Montaigne, Sevigne, Lafayette, Rousseau, Sand, Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert. A small-group study of a topic in literature resulting in either a substantial essay or series of essays by each student.
Topics vary each semester.