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.

Gender & Sexuality in Medieval French Literature How did medieval French literature debate issues of gender and sexuality? How do cultural artifacts like books and illuminations shape ideas about “normative” or “non-normative” gender expression and sexual behavior? We will read chivalric romances, songs, and letters that introduce us to the history of gender and sexuality. Seminar discussions will focus on themes like femininity and masculinity; reproduction, same-sex relationships, and marriage; non-binary gender. We will read and respond to modern scholarship on medieval French literature to bring our own voices into past and present conversations. We will be introduced to medieval French literature, learn how to engage with academic scholarship, and frame research questions and projects in French. No prior knowledge of medieval French necessary.

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.

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.

Beginning French This course is a continuation of FREN 0101, dealing with more complex French. Oral skills are stressed and students participate in the French language table at lunch. This course does not fulfill the foreign language distribution requirement.

Violence, Tolerance, Resistance: French Literature Around the Age of Enlightenment In this course we will explore how different genres of French & Francophone literature from the 16th-19th centuries debate the sociopolitical contexts of their times: the status of women, religious coexistence, the transatlantic slave trade, the French Revolution, and the French Empire. Through texts like the first French novel, Honoré d’Urfé’s L’Astrée and Haitian General Toussaint L’Ouverture’s Mémoires, we will learn to analyze literary representations of violence, tolerance, and resistance, and to channel our analysis into academic writing. By the end of this course, we will know how to analyze a variety of literary genres, write advanced academic essays in French, and consider different historical approaches to conflict.

Rebirth and Renaissance: Narrating the Past, Present, and Future in 16th- and 17th -Century France What is the French Renaissance? If naissance means “birth,” what (or who) is being (re)born in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France? Who are its parents or ancestors? Who or what has passed away to make space for this “birth”? In this course we will introduce ourselves to, and critically question, the possible “births” of the French Renaissance through three modules: the rebirth of the classical and medieval pasts; the birth of “the New World” as a European conception of already existing homelands of Indigenous peoples; the birth of France as a (pre)modern nation-state. We will analyze a wide variety of Francophone materials, including poetry, prose, paintings and prints.

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.

Therese Banks

Reviews and ratings for Therese Banks at Middlebury College.Therese Banks teaches Beginning French Part One, Gender & Sex in French Past, Intermediate French I and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Therese Banks good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

The content of this class is fairly fast paced, we covered a lot of material/historical time in a short amount of class time. The history is super interesting but the old literature read can definitely be dry or hard to understand at times. 

There is lots of homework, at least for me. The course is very fast-paced. But parts of the contents are the same with the last semester. Many exams. My grammar got improved a lot but maybe not much on speaking.

This was a good stepping stone in my french education. I am happy I took the course, but it was mostly a review of high-school french for me. College french really stresses that you know the specific rules. For me, I really just wanted to read the literature and have conversations in French, so it got a little frusturating a times. Overall, decent course.