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Modern Languages Department
College of Arts and Letters
Northern Arizona University
French 350: Francophone Literature I, In Translation: Focus
on Africa
3 units
Fall 2005
Melissa Marcus, Ph.D., Professor of French
Office: Babbitt Academic Annex, Room #217
Phone: 523-6781
Class Time: Monday and Wednesday, 4:00-5:15
Office Hours: MW, 3:00-4:00
Tuesday: 12:45-1:45
Course Prerequisites:
English 105 and at least Sophomore Status
Maximum Class Enrollment: 22
Course Description:
The canon of French literature has been studied in the
original, and in translation, by many generations of
readers and students. Increasingly, in the past few years,
Francophone literature is demanding more attention and is
the subject of intense study, discussion and debate, in
North American and Western European universities.
Francophone literature is literature written in French by
non-French citizens whose native language(s) is/are not
French. It comes from diverse French-speaking areas around
the world, including Canada, the Antilles, French Guiana,
Haiti, Mauritius, North Africa and the Middle East, SubSaharan Africa and Madagascar. An increasing body of
Francophone literature now exists in English translation.
This course will be taught in translation.
In this course, we will focus on Francophone literature
from Africa. This literature originates from rich bi- and
multi-lingual cultures, in part as the French colonial
legacy. Through the reading of some of the major works in
the canon of African francophone literature, some of the
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themes studied will include: people caught between
societies of the traditional and the modern (African versus
French), the development of a political consciousness in
opposing French colonial rule, the major elements of the
Negritude movement, the struggle of Algerian women for
liberation, the Algerian war of independence from France
(1954-1962), language issues in colonial and post-colonial
Africa (to write in French, or to write in ones indigenous
African language?), Islam in Africa, African languages, and
many more.
I am particularly well-suited to teach this course, as I am
a published translator, from French into English, of
Francophone literature from North Africa, West Africa and
the Middle East. I am currently translating a fifth novel,
Des Enfants et des chats (Of Twins And Cats), by the
Egyptian Francophone author, Fawzia Assaad.
This course will fully meet the Diversity expectations.
Students will acquire an understanding of the historical,
political, cultural, religious and social perspectives of
non-Western peoples from a variety of African countries,
through reading some of their most important works of
literature.
Student Learning Expectations/Outcomes for this Course:
Among the topics studied will be the following:
1. What Francophone literature is.
2. The major groups of Francophone literature around the
world.
3. A brief history of French colonialism and the colonial
legacy that has created an international body of
Francophone literature in Africa.
4. Historical, cultural, political and religious
highlights from each of the countries whose literature
we will be studying.
5. Language and tribal groupings of Africa.
Students will read a selection from some of the most famous
works of African literature. They will also select an
additional work to study on their own as a semester-long
project. By the end of the course, they will have in hand a
substantial bibliography of literature and critical works
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on this literature, which will allow them to continue
reading on their own, as their own interests might dictate.
Course Structure and Approach:
The course will combine the professor’s lectures with a
mostly seminar format in which the selected texts will be
thoroughly discussed and analyzed. Students will be
expected to fully participate and write out their comments
on, and reactions to the literature, on a weekly basis. In
addition to reading the literature, students will also read
and study materials, on reserve in Cline Library, and/or
photocopies, that will provide them with needed historical,
cultural and political background, and a context in which
the literature was written.
Required Textbooks:
Bâ, Mariama. So Long A Letter (1979)
An epistolary novel from Senegal. Two women friends
correspond. They are both married to men who renege on the
promise of monogamy by following the Islamic practice of
taking a second wife. These first wives must decide how to
respond, and in the process, they come to discover their
own voices and wills. Bâ explores the tensions created by
conflicting value systems in the newly independent Senegal
of the 1960’s and 1970’s, when major social and cultural
changes were occurring during a resurgence of Islamic
fundamentalism.
Djebar, Assia. A Sister to Scheherazade (1987).
Djebar seeks to liberate the odalisques, the female
concubines in the Oriental harems of old, and their
present-day representatives, Isma and Hajila. They are
compared to Scheherazade, the bride of the bloodthirsty
sultan, and her sister Dinarzade, in the tales of the
Arabian Nights. The novel criticizes the oppression of
women around the world; it does not target Islam or Moslems
in general.
Feraoun, Mouloud. Journal: 1955-1962. Reflections on the
French-Algerian War. (1962)
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“Feraoun’s painfully candid yet engaging journal of the
French-Algerian war constitutes an unusually poignant
record of one of Africa’s cruelest colonial conflicts and
one of 20th century France’s darkest moments. Journal… will
surely supplant Frantz Fanon as the definitive text on
French Algeria in particular and on colonialism in
general.” (Julia Clancy-Smith)
King, Adèle. Editor. From Africa: New Francophone Stories.
(2004)
A host of new voices emerges from this collection of
stories, in translation, from French-speaking Africa.
Authors from Togo, Chad, Cameroon, Congo, Rwanda, Ivory
Coast Guinea, and Madagascar, are herein represented. These
are the stories of a new generation of writers now living
in France or the United States. Their stories have emerged
from the postindependence world and they show the influence
of European and American short-story traditions, as well as
African folk tales, myths, and oral story-telling
tradition.
Ousmane, Sembène. God’s Bits Of Wood (1957) A Senegalese
historical novel which dramatizes the West African
resistance to French colonialism and imperialism in the
middle of the 20th century.
In addition to these texts, students will choose another
work, in consultation with the professor, by a Francophone
author, to read as a semester-long project. They will write
their final papers on this work and present them to the
class at the end of the semester.
Supplementary Background Materials on French colonialism,
African history, Islam, etc., will be on reserve in Cline
Library or distributed via photocopy by the professor.
The following is a Partial List of Supplementary Materials
(I am still developing the course and choosing appropriate
materials and selected chapters):
Accad, Evelyn. “Assia Djebar’s Contribution to Arab Women’s
Literature: Rebellion, Maturity, Vision” (800-812)
Belinda Jack. Francophone Literatures, An Introductory
Survey
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Donday. “The Multilingual Strategies of Postcolonial
Literature: Assia Djebar’s Algerian Palimpsest.” (27-37)
Horn. A Savage War of Peace. (10-12, 23-79)
Lazreg, M. The Eloquence of Silence. Ch. 10: “Women’s Rise
To The Word.” (195-208)
Ruedy, John. Modern Algeria. The Origins and Development of
a Nation.
Sebbar, Leïla. “The Richness of Diversity.” The Literary
Review. Winter 1998. (236-237)
Sellin and Abdel-Jaouad. “An Introduction to Maghrebian
Literature.” The Literary Review, Vol. 41, No. 2, Winter
1998. (161-172)
“On The Art of Translation” (11-16)
“On Language and Words” (32-35)
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Several films will be shown throughout the semester. All
Films are subtitled in English. The shorter films will be
shown in class, and the longer films will be on reserve in
Cline Library:
“The Battle of Algiers”
“My Journey, My Islam” (Kay Rasool, 56 minutes, 1999)
“Covered: The Hejab in Cairo, Egypt” (Tania Kamal-Eldin, 25
minutes, 1995)
“Beyond Borders: Arab Feminists Talk about Their Lives…
East and West” (Jennifer Kawaja, 50 minutes, 1999) (This
film includes interviews with Algerian women)
“Africa Dreaming” (Namibia, Senegal, Mozambique, Tunisia,
1997)
“Ainsi Meurent Les Anges” (And So Angels Die) (Senegal,
2002)
“Femmes aux yeux ouverts” (Women With Open Eyes) (Togo,
1994)
“Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask” (United Kingdom,
1996)
Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes/Timeline for
Assessment:
Students will be graded based on the following:
1. Five (5) 5-6 page papers: 45%
Each paper will be due approximately every two or three
weeks. There will be one paper assigned per novel read.
2. Two (2) Quizzes: 15%
Two short quizzes will be given during week three and seven
of the semester. Format: short answer and multiple choice.
3. Final Paper: 20%
This paper will be 9-10 pages long and will be based on an
individually chosen novel that the student will read and
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analyze. It will be due during the fourteenth (14th) week of
class.
4. Oral Presentation: 5%
The oral presentations will be held during the last two
weeks of class. Each student will speak for 15 minutes
about the text he/she has chosen. Students will present and
discuss the following:
The author’s background and other works written.
The main theme and subject of the book.
The relevance of, and place of the book to the broader
field of African Francophone literature.
5. Weekly Participation in Class Discussions: 15%
Each student will be expected to fully participate in class
discussions. To help improve the quality of student
participation, students will be required to regularly turn
in type-written comments on the readings. In addition, each
student will be responsible for presenting one of the
assigned readings to the rest of the class.
Course Policies:
1. In accordance with Modern Language Department policy,
attendance is required. Unexcused absences (an absence is
excused if a student is ill, has a serious personal
emergency, or an NAU institutional excuse) will lower a
student’s grade.
2. Late work will not be accepted, unless student has an
excused absence. No make-up quizzes or oral presentations
will be allowed, unless student has an excused absence.
3. I have a zero tolerance policy on cheating and
plagiarism. Students will automatically fail the course if
they are caught cheating or plagiarizing. Students must
know the policy as stated in the student handbook. (I will
photocopy it or refer them to the specific page in the
student handbook).
All University policies will be attached to the syllabus.
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CALENDAR OF WORK
Week 1
Class 1: Introduction to Course; what is Francophone
literature?
Class 2: French Colonial History
Readings: Selected readings on reserve
Week 2
Class 3: French Colonial History
Class 4: French Colonial History
Readings: Selected readings on reserve
Week 3
Quiz #1
Class 5: Ousmane, God’s Bits of Wood
Class 6: God’s Bits of Wood
Week 4
Class 7: God’s Bits of Wood
Class 8: Bâ, So Long a Letter
Selected readings on reserve
Week 5
Class 9:
Paper #1 Due
Film Showing
So Long A Letter
Class 10: So Long A Letter
Week 6
Selected readings on reserve
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Film Showing
Class 11: Djebar, A Sister to Scheherazade
Class 12: Djebar, A Sister to Scheherazade
Paper #2 DUE
Week 7
Class 13: Djebar, A Sister to Scheherazade
Class 14: Feraoun, Journal
Quiz # 2
Week 8
Film Showing
Selected readings on reserve
Class 15: Journal
Class 16: Journal
Paper #3 DUE
Week 9
Class 17: Film Showing
Class 18: Journal
Week 10
Class 19: Film Showing
Class 20: King, From Africa: New Francophone Stories.
Paper #4 DUE
Week 11
Film Showing
Class 22: King, From Africa: New Francophone Stories.
Class 23: Film Showing
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Week 12
Class 24: King, From Africa: New Francophone Stories.
Class 25: Summation of The Semester’s Readings; Discussion
and questions.
Paper #5 DUE
Week 13
Class 26: Summation of The Semester’s Readings; Discussion
and questions.
Class 27: Oral Presentations
Week 14
Final Papers DUE
Oral Presentations
Week 15
Oral Presentations