A successful French major will:
- Demonstrate advanced French linguistic skills in speaking, writing, reading and listening:
- Demonstrate cultural competence:
- Ability to communicate with a native speaker in a nuanced manner;
- Ability to read and understand a French or Francophone text or cultural product within its cultural context;
- Ability to function in French and Francophone cultures and to understand and appreciate their uniqueness;
- Demonstrate critical thinking:
- Demonstrate the ability to conduct close readings and critical interpretations of a variety of cultural products from countries where French is spoken
- Demonstrate an awareness of social and historical contexts from geographic areas where French is spoken;
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of literary and cultural traditions from France and Francophone countries;
- Demonstrate the ability to make connections between French and Francophone cultures and other disciplines;
- Demonstrate research competency:
- Demonstrate ability to do independent research using sources written in French;
- Produce a senior thesis in French that adheres to proper scholarly format, develops a clear thesis, properly uses secondary sources, and develops a convincing argument;
- Present a coherent oral presentation of the research for the senior thesis in French before an audience;
- Demonstrate knowledge of major concepts in literary and cultural studies.