French, Undergraduate, Department of French and Italian, Northwestern University

Honors, Awards, Activities

Annual Prizes 2008-2009

Business French: Alexandra Valinsky
French 309 (Simone Pavlovich)

2nd year awards: Dina Jachi
French 121 (Aude Raymond)

3rd year language: Daniel Johnson
French 202 (Margaret Sinclair)
“Les péres contraires”

3rd year literature: Claire Shea
French 271 (Nasrin Qader)
“Un Etranger parmi nous: les formes d’étrangeté dans le roman d’Albert Camus”

4th year literature: Toni Mills
French 314 (Michal Ginsburg)
“L’expérience de la modernité et l’effet de l’éternité dans le poèmes de Baudelaire”

4th year literature: Juliet Fox
French 396 (Doris Garraway)
“L’universalité au prix du refoulement: l’analyse de Schnapper en vue de l’analyes de Kristeva”

Destinguished Essay in English: Sarah Smierciak
French 277 (Scott Durham)
“The Dichotomaous Imagine: Construction (In) Destruction”

Recontre Internationale de jeunes: Claire Shea

AATF Outstanding Senior in French: Juliet Fox

Departmental Honors

The Honors program in French and Italian gives outstanding students the opportunity to carry out a course of independent study on a topic of their choice under the supervision of a faculty member.

Juniors who have a grade point average of 3.4 or higher in the major
are invited by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or any other faculty member of the department to consider writing an honors thesis in their senior year. If they decide to do so, they should declare their intention of doing honors work no later than the spring quarter of their junior year by contacting the DUS and submitting a brief proposal on the topic they wish to investigate. Based on this description and in conversation with the student, the DUS will assist the student in finding a thesis director. Often students already have someone in mind for this work. In this case, a formal request by the DUS and the student will be made to the particular faculty member. After these preliminary processes are completed, the student may register for a 399 with his/her thesis director.

The honors project is produced through two quarters of 399 which will count towards the 15 required credits for the major in French. It
can build on but must not duplicate previous work done abroad or in a 300-level course.

Guidelines for students and thesis directors:

The honors thesis should be at least 25-30 pages long. It cannot be a simple collection of data or summary of primary or secondary sources, but must show strong evidence of significant research, interpretation, analysis, and original thought. It must be written in correct French.

The Student must get in contact with his/her thesis adviser before the end of the spring quarter of the Junior year in order to discuss his/her idea with the advisor and receive instructions for preliminary reading and research. At the beginning the following fall quarter, the student should have a clear idea of the problem he/she wishes to explore and have a two page preliminary proposal ready for the thesis advisor.

By the end of fall quarter, students are required to have a bibliography and a 10 page paper reporting on their preliminary findings and their argument. This paper must elaborate on the original proposal and show progress in the ways in which the student has conceptualized the
problem under study. At this time, an evaluation will be made as to whether the paper can be expanded into an honors thesis. If it is judged not to be of honors caliber, the student will receive one credit for the work done in the fall quarter

By the beginning of winter quarter, the student must determine who will be the second reader of the thesis. The second reader must be a member of the French department and will be chosen in consultation between the student and his/her advisor. It is the responsibility of the student to approach this faculty member in a timely fashion and ask him/her to read the thesis for the final report. Students may have a third reader on their committee, especially if the thesis is highly interdisciplinary. This third member can be from outside the French department.

By the end of winter quarter, students are required to have completed the first draft of the thesis. The spring quarter will be dedicated to revisions of the thesis for final submission to the Honors Committee for evaluation. As soon as the DUS receives the deadlines for submission from WCAS, he/she will communicate them to the thesis director.

Cercle Francophone

The cercle francophone is a student-organized club sponsored by Margaret Dempster (m-dempster@northwestern.edu) and Aude Raymond (araymond@northwestern.edu) and other language faculty in the French department. The group meets on a regular basis to have an opportunity to speak French in a relaxed and fun setting. Activities include film screenings, preparing and enjoying French cuisine, guest speakers and outings to French cultural events in Chicago. In addition to the cercle francophone events, students have a weekly opportunity to engage in informal French conversation with students and instructors at lunches held in the dining room of the International Studies Residential College. For information about the French Table lunches, contact Margaret Dempster (m-dempster@northwestern.edu).

Rosa la Rose

"Rosa la rose" is an annual literary magazine in which all members of the French and Italian Department (undergraduates, graduates and faculty) are invited to publish their creative work, whether written (in either language) or artistic. Students can volunteer to help the Faculty Adviser (Mme Stella Radulescu) prepare the magazine. Volume 13, Spring 2009, is now available.

French Government Youth & Sports Grants

Every year the Department selects one or more undergraduates to be the recipients of the French Government "Youth and Sports Grants." This fellowship allows students to improve their understanding of French culture by spending a short period in one particular region of the country. The fellowship pays all their expenses while in France. Funds for the students' travel to France are provided by the Department from the Norman Spector Scholars' Fund. The selection process takes place and is announced in the winter quarter. Interested students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies in French, Dominique Licops (d-licops@northwestern.edu), for details about the application.

Writing & Tutoring Centers

Did you know that the Department of French and Italian provides free tutoring to students currently enrolled in 100-level French courses? The FIT Tutor Center, housed in Kresge 2-402, offers drop-in tutoring in all aspects of the French and Italian programs, including the opportunity to practice language skills with your peers. Tutors are available Monday through Friday. Please contact the FIT office at 847-491-5490, or refer to the Tutor Center door, for a complete schedule of availability.

The French Writing Center
frenchwritingcenter@northwestern.edu

This year the French department is revamping its Atelier d’écriture into a new French Writing Center that will be located in Kresge 2-402, which also houses the Tutoring Center (for 100-level courses).

The mission of the center is to help students in French courses 210 and above (but excluding 301, 302, 303) to improve their overall writing ability, become more self-reliant writers and gain a better comprehension of French grammar and writing styles.

Here is how it will work:
Once you have prepared a first draft of your paper, you can e-mail frenchwritingcenter@northwestern.edu for a 30-minute appointment during which the professor will help you with questions of structure, vocabulary and style – and grammar when necessary. You will need to send a copy of your paper, along with the original assignment directions, before the meeting and identify areas for which you seek advice. Please be aware that this is not a proof-reading service!

In Kresge 2-402 you will find grammar manuals and dictionaries available for consultation outside of your appointment hours.