Intermediate French I Emphasis on increased control and proficiency in the language through audiovisual, conversational, and drill methods. Readings and film enlarge the student's view of French life and culture.

Travelers and Migrants in French and Francophone Literature Multiple forms of traveling emerged with the expansion of the French empire, from colonial ventures to forced migration. In this course we will study how writers represent such experiences. We will discuss fictions that focus on mobility, passages, and border-crossing, and question what these fictions reveal about the cultures in contact. How do travel and migration narratives reconfigure the relation between here and there, self and other, the individual and the community?  Studying literary texts in their historical contexts will allow us to discuss varied topics, such as nationhood, slavery, exoticism, identity, and difference, as well as to explore several artistic movements that have shaped French and Francophone culture. Writers will include Montesquieu, Balzac, Baudelaire, Madame de Staël, Gide, Césaire, Glissant, and Sinha.

Intensive Beginning French For students who have not previously studied French, an introduction to listening, speaking, reading, and writing in French, providing the syntactic and semantic foundation of the French language in a concentrated program of grammar presentation, drills, laboratory work, and discussion. Primary emphasis will be placed on the student's active use of the language, and weekly attendance at the French language table will be required. This course does not fulfill the foreign language distribution requirement. Students are expected to continue with FREN 0102 in the winter term after successfully completing FREN 0101, and with FREN 0201in the spring.

Toward Liberated Expression A course designed to increase and perfect the ability to express oneself in spoken and written French. Emphasis on precision, variety, and vocabulary acquisition. Sections limited to 15 students. (FREN 0201, 0203 or placement) This requirement for the major and the minor may be satisfied by placement at a higher level.

French Ecofictions The climate crisis challenges us to rethink our relation to the environment beyond extractive goals. How can literary arts help us reflect upon traditional perceptions of nature and enable new ways of relating to nonhuman beings?  In this course we will study the role of the environment in French-language fictions from the start of the industrial revolution to the present. We will explore how writers from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds (France, the Caribbean, Québec) make us attentive to the multiple ways in which humanity interconnects with the nonhuman world. Different strategies of representation will be discussed from wilderness narratives to activist prose and post-apocalyptic fiction. Writers include: Rousseau, Lamartine, Giono, Saucier, Volodine, Roumain, Chawaf, and Damasio.

Self and Society: Effective Writing in French In this course, students will deepen their knowledge of the French language and French-speaking cultures while developing their reading and writing skills through examination of a variety of texts and media. This course facilitates the transition from language-oriented courses (FREN 0205) to content-oriented courses  (such as FREN 0220 and FREN 0230)  by introducing students to strategies for interpretation and discussion, with a focus on effective writing. Course materials may include essays/articles, theater, fiction, poetry, videos, and films.

Animal Encounters in French Literature In this course we will explore representations of animals in French literature. Animals have played an important role in literature, yet, in post-Darwinian modernity their depiction became increasingly tied to a questioning of the human/animal divide. What are the recurrent motifs and concerns that shape depictions of animals in 19th and 20th century French literature?  What ethical and social questions do they raise?  We will study fictional works of animal metamorphosis, and literary accounts of zoos and animal spectacles, as well as ways in which animals have been used as a rhetorical device to de-humanize "Others"—women and foreigners, in particular. We will read texts by Baudelaire, Balzac, Maupassant, Flaubert, Colette, Vercors, and Darrieussecq. (FREN 0220-0229 or by waiver).

Julien Weber

Reviews and ratings for Julien Weber at Middlebury College.Julien Weber teaches Intermediate French I, Travelers and Migrants, Beginning French Part One and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Julien Weber good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

This was a relatively easy French class. There was a lot of reading with 1-2 short writing assignments a week, but they were helpful in developing strong writing skills in French. Some of the readings were interesting, others less so. 

Professeur Weber did a wonderful job teaching Travelers and Migrants. He is passionate about his content and truly is a fair grader. In this course you will engage in discussion daily as well as presenting once to the class. There are no exams but there is a copious amount of reading in French. Some books are more difficult to read than others. You will learn a lot about forced migration, displacement and integration into foreign language. I also recommend taking the CW section of this course as it is only two extra essays. All in all, I really do recommend this course with Weber.

Professor Weber is a great teacher -- a quick and fair grader, easy to understand, and passionate. Compared to 101 and 102, I found the textbook to be more confusing, but 201 was great for solidifying grammar concepts, and for working on my speaking, reading, and writing skills. Quizzes are straightforward, are all structured the same, and happen about every 2 weeks. 