French

In the context of the language requirement (the first and second years), this implies a competence premised on students’ ability to achieve, by Intermediate French II, oral and written fluency. Students will be able to use all tenses in the indicative and subjunctive, to deploy pronouns appropriately and understand the expressive and grammatical utility of conjunctions, rhetorical devices, and so on. Students will have the ability to write a cogent essay in French on a literary or cultural topic, and will possess a vocabulary beyond basic French, including rhetorical and conceptual vocabulary. In the context of the major requirement (the third and fourth years), students will progress to a greater competence in French, including advanced speaking skills, particularly in terms of discussing literary and cultural topics, and writing extended analytical essays. The culmination of a student’s progress is the one-semester cap stone experience in the spring semester of the senior year, where she will write a substantial thesis on a topic of her choice, supervised by senior members of the department, and defended before an appropriately selected committee.