French and Francophone Studies
Welcome to new students in French
Bonjour et soyez les bienvenu.e.s dans l'École des Langues et Cultures de Sheffield! We hope that you have had a good summer and, for those of you who have just completed your A-Levels, or equivalents, congratulations on your results. All the staff in the School look forward to meeting you. We aim to do all we can to help you achieve your academic goals and make the most of what University life has to offer over the next four years.
Prof. Jan Windebank (semester 1) & Dr David McCallam (semester 2) - Subject Director of French and Francophone Studies
Your first year in French and Francophone Studies
Find out more about what we do and how we work in French Studies by watching our video. Also have a look at the French and Francophone modules, reading lists, and how you can build French into your degree. Whether you are a post A-level student or whether you are joining our Beginners' course, we want you to feel at home with us.
This video gives you a good impression of how we approach language and culture studies in French. It also introduces you to what we do outside of our schedules hours. After all, you are not just studying with us, you are joining a community too.
What can you expect in the build up to week 1?
During Welcome Week, we will host a special session for students of French. In this meeting, you will have the opportunity to meet some of your tutors and, more importantly, to ask questions – we are sure that you will have plenty! If you want to have a chat before coming to Sheffield, have questions about courses or registration, please email: slc-enquiries@sheffield.ac.uk.
We will also be holding a French Film screening (free) for all first-year French & Francophone students at 4pm, Thurs 21st September. This is in conjunction with the Students' Union Film Unit and the Cercle Français (the Student Society for all things French - make sure you join them!). Watch your emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc. for updates on this event!
But we also know that getting into University, with all its meetings and information, can be a confusing time and we want you to know that we will be there to help and assist. Lecturers will have ample occasion to introduce themselves to you over the course of the coming weeks.
We would very much like you to follow us on Twitter @FrenchSheffield We regularly tweet about things going on in the section and the School at large and we would very much like you to tweet us during Welcome Week (and beyond) with your impressions!
A bientôt!
If you would like to do even more French, you can also pick up this extra optional module:
MDL115 - Intersections: Text, Image, Thought in the French-speaking world
The aim of the module is to introduce students to significant French texts (with "text" taken in its largest sense of book, film, art work, piece of music, cultural product, etc.), and to illustrate and explore a range of possible critical approaches to them, including cross-media or intermedial reinterpretations.
We look at two important French "texts" per semester. Each text will form the basis for a close reading, followed by analyses using French cultural, historical, literary and critical theory approaches as well as adaptations into other media (such as film, art and music) where appropriate. The module will be taught and assessed in English, but the materials will be made available in both French and English, with French students required to use and cite the French materials.
In recent years, we've looked at "texts" that deal with the fraught legacy of French colonialism and slavery, the Occupation of France by German forces in WW2, gender and desire in 19th-c. France, and decadent poetry.
