PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ICELANDIC. THOSE WHO WISH TO TAKE THE COURSE IN ENGLISH SHOULD REGISTER IN THE DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE MOM102G. 

MOM101G is intended for students of foreign languages OTHER than English. BA-students in English and those who do not speak Icelandic should register in MOM102G.

The course is an introductory course in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. Its aims and purpose include an introduction of basic concepts and terminology in the field, exploration of critical thinking to increase reading comprehension of academic texts, implementation of practical learning practices and academic procedures to facilitate successful academic studies, discussion on plagiarism and academic integrity, evaluation of academic standards, etc. Students receive practical training in critical evaluation of academic texts, basic argumentation analysis, identification of rhetorical patterns and text structure in various text types, review of acceptable references, and an introduction to analytical reading. Furthermore, students will gain insight into the importance of academic literacy to enhance understanding and writing of academic papers, presentation of research findings, etc.

The course is taught in English and is intended for students in:

1. The English BA program.
2.  Students of foreign languages (other than English)

 *Those students that need ECT credits as a result of changes in the MOM courses, as MOM102G used to be a 5-credit course, need to add an individual assignment (MOM001G, 1 ECT) within the MOM102G course.

• This individual assignment is only intended for students who finished MOM202G (before the school year 2024-2025) and are now enrolled in MOM102G, and have thus only gained 9 credits in the two mandatory MOM courses.
• Students who intend to increase their credits with a 6 ECT course, within their departments, are free to do so – and do thus not take this additional individual assignment (in MOM102G).

To sign up for the individual project you must talk to the teacher of MOM102G.

The students get the opportunity to develop their knowledge in french grammar and they learn to talk about it (with the appropriate terms). Emphasis on verbs and personal pronouns.

Students are asked to be autonome in their studies and to prepare the courses.

Conversation practice in discussion. There will be one academic lecture per week (1x 40 min.) to teach students the basic concepts and methods of General Phonetics, and one and a half training session per week in a language-lab.

In this course students will practice both oral and written expression. Several topics will be studied and discussed, including music, cinema, youth culture, French society, etc. The course material will mainly be based on media and social media, articles and films. The students will be expected to take part in spoken interaction on the course‘s subject. The students will be trained in writing short texts and exercices on different topics, summarize, reword and structure their writing. They will be introduced to dictionaries and other useful tools.

In this course students will be trained in reading, analysing and translating French texts (easy to average difficulty) from French into Icelandic. Students will translate different kinds of texts (news, blogs, articles, literary texts) and discuss their characteristics, grammar, syntax, etc. Students will also be trained in the use of dictionaries and others important tools.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

This course will focus on the French language today, different registers and recent evolutions such as the feminine form of noun and Gender-neutral language. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports, podcasts, and documentaries. In addition, lyrics to contemporary musicians will be studied.

Furthermore, this course will examine in what ways the role of the French language in the international community has changed these past decades and the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies.

The focus will be on written assignments of various kinds and students will work on registers, style, choice of words, grammar, syntax and get a training in respecting certain traditions regarding form and structure. Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

French history from the origins to the twentieth century.

New elements studied: interrogation, determinants, relative pronouns, negative sentences and subjunctive.

Students should finish French grammar and written expression I before enroling in this course.

This course emphasizes on how to use grammatical concepts in their assignements.

Students must be well prepared before each lesson and are autonom in their learning process.

An introductory course in the BA program in French Studies.

Short stories, poems, excerpts from novels and plays from different periods will be read and studied. Students will become familiar with the principal literary texts, the terminology and methods of text analysis and interpretation.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

A two-week intensive course in French language skills at the Université de Rennes. Students will engage in conversation related to history, culture and contemporary issues in French society. The course takes place in weeks 7 and 8 during the spring semester. Max. 18 participants.

Evaluation:
Participation: 50%
Presentation: 25%
Written assignment: 25%

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA440GAutobiographies where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project no later than October 1, 2024.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

This course is a beginner’s course in Latin. No prior knowledge of Latin is assumed at the outset. It introduces the basics of Latin grammar and syntax. Chosen passages will be read in Latin, translated and thoroughly analysed. Teaching consists of 24 lectures on particular aspects of the Latin language and assigned readings.

This course is taught in Icelandic but students can get permission of the instructor to complete assignments and exams in English.

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

The aim of this course is to show students the importance of critical thinking by introducing its main concepts and methods as well as different understandings of the notion. Furthermore, the aim is to train students in critical thinking and argumentation, both in a philosophical and an everyday context. Special emphasis will be placed on analysing arguments. Common fallacies and stratagems will be discussed, with the aim of learning how to detect and avoid them. The relationship between critical thinking and ethics will be thoroughly examined.

The teaching involves both lectures and discussion sessions. Assignments will primarily be aimed at practical tasks relevant to everyday experiences.

The course aims to give a brief survey of selected topics in the philosophy of art; to introduce students to particular discussions, questions, theories and arguments in the philosophy of art through selected readings, both historical and contemporary; and to enable students to discuss topics related to aesthetics.

The course in an introduction to translation, the history of translation and translation theory. Students will become acquainted with the main concepts and theories in the field. The basics of interpretation will also be dealt with. The course consists of two parts: The theoretical and historical part is in the form of lectures and discussions. The teacher also provides a reading list. Assessment is in the form of an exam or an essay, based on the reading material. The practical part is based on seminars where students gain practice in translating (both literary translation and applied translation) as well as translation criticism. Assessment is based on written assignment(s). Students of Icelandic as a Second Language must have completed all courses of the first and second year.

In the course the main works of Western art from the early renaissance to the early 19. century. Geographically, the focus is on works of art from Italy and Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and England. Main methods and schools, academies and manifestations of art in religious, political and social contexts will be discussed. Painting, sculpture, architecture, the artisanal works and printmaking will be discussed. Efforts will be made to examine the extent to which art reflects society, how imagery reflects the life and worldview of people in different periods. Different approaches to time and space at any given time will be discussed, changes in the symbolic image of the body, the status and social role of the artist, and the interactions of art and institutions of power. In connection with these issues, key works of each period will be taken for detailed interpretation and their distribution history discussed.

The course is a continuation of LAT101G Latin I. Students will read a selection of Latin texts by various authors.

This course is taught in Icelandic but students can get permission of the instructor to complete assignments and exams in English.

The course introduces students to Roman social history. The period from 201 BCE to 180 CE will be emphasized. The main points of Roman history will be briefly discussed, as well as Roman institutions, the Roman social fabric,family life and gender roles, slavery, education, culture, religion, entertainment and daily life. In addition to secondary reading material, some ancient sources will be read in translation (English or Icelandic). No knowledge of Latin is assumed or required.

A historical overview of cinema from its emergence in the late 19th century to it contemporary role. The course will introduce students to influential film movements and styles from around the world, including Soviet Montage, French Impressionism, German Expressionism, classical Hollywood cinema, Italian Neorealism, Japanese Minimalism, the French New Wave, New German cinema, Third cinema, and Hong Kong action cinema. Diverse readings will provide a comprehensive overview supplementing screenings of key films. Particular emphasis will be placed on the aesthetic development of the film medium and its social and cultural relevance.

A survey of the development of visual art from the upheaval of Modernism at the beginning of the 20th Century and through the major 20th century progressive movements up to 1960. The main principles, politics and characteristics of Modern art and its impact on later times will be clarified. The relationship between art and politics, philosophy, and societal development will be discussed and thought will be given to the radical reevaluation of the concept of aesthetics in art of the 20th century. How are changed perceptions of time and space reflected in art? How do the above-mentioned art movements disturb the people's general perceptions of the environment and reality? What is "inner" reality? Must art be visible? What is the deifference between visual language, the language we speak, and other forms of sign languege? International art exhibits shown in Iceland will be visited and tied into the course if possible.

Most common methods and aids in translation will be covered in this course. Students will gain insight into the translators work and gain practise in translation. They learn how to analyze texts before translating them.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ICELANDIC. THOSE WHO WISH TO TAKE THE COURSE IN ENGLISH SHOULD REGISTER IN THE DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE MOM102G. 

MOM101G is intended for students of foreign languages OTHER than English. BA-students in English and those who do not speak Icelandic should register in MOM102G.

The course is an introductory course in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. Its aims and purpose include an introduction of basic concepts and terminology in the field, exploration of critical thinking to increase reading comprehension of academic texts, implementation of practical learning practices and academic procedures to facilitate successful academic studies, discussion on plagiarism and academic integrity, evaluation of academic standards, etc. Students receive practical training in critical evaluation of academic texts, basic argumentation analysis, identification of rhetorical patterns and text structure in various text types, review of acceptable references, and an introduction to analytical reading. Furthermore, students will gain insight into the importance of academic literacy to enhance understanding and writing of academic papers, presentation of research findings, etc.

The course is taught in English and is intended for students in:

1. The English BA program.
2.  Students of foreign languages (other than English)

 *Those students that need ECT credits as a result of changes in the MOM courses, as MOM102G used to be a 5-credit course, need to add an individual assignment (MOM001G, 1 ECT) within the MOM102G course.

• This individual assignment is only intended for students who finished MOM202G (before the school year 2024-2025) and are now enrolled in MOM102G, and have thus only gained 9 credits in the two mandatory MOM courses.
• Students who intend to increase their credits with a 6 ECT course, within their departments, are free to do so – and do thus not take this additional individual assignment (in MOM102G).

To sign up for the individual project you must talk to the teacher of MOM102G.

The students get the opportunity to develop their knowledge in french grammar and they learn to talk about it (with the appropriate terms). Emphasis on verbs and personal pronouns.

Students are asked to be autonome in their studies and to prepare the courses.

Conversation practice in discussion. There will be one academic lecture per week (1x 40 min.) to teach students the basic concepts and methods of General Phonetics, and one and a half training session per week in a language-lab.

In this course students will practice both oral and written expression. Several topics will be studied and discussed, including music, cinema, youth culture, French society, etc. The course material will mainly be based on media and social media, articles and films. The students will be expected to take part in spoken interaction on the course‘s subject. The students will be trained in writing short texts and exercices on different topics, summarize, reword and structure their writing. They will be introduced to dictionaries and other useful tools.

In this course students will be trained in reading, analysing and translating French texts (easy to average difficulty) from French into Icelandic. Students will translate different kinds of texts (news, blogs, articles, literary texts) and discuss their characteristics, grammar, syntax, etc. Students will also be trained in the use of dictionaries and others important tools.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

This course will focus on the French language today, different registers and recent evolutions such as the feminine form of noun and Gender-neutral language. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports, podcasts, and documentaries. In addition, lyrics to contemporary musicians will be studied.

Furthermore, this course will examine in what ways the role of the French language in the international community has changed these past decades and the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies.

The focus will be on written assignments of various kinds and students will work on registers, style, choice of words, grammar, syntax and get a training in respecting certain traditions regarding form and structure. Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

French history from the origins to the twentieth century.

New elements studied: interrogation, determinants, relative pronouns, negative sentences and subjunctive.

Students should finish French grammar and written expression I before enroling in this course.

This course emphasizes on how to use grammatical concepts in their assignements.

Students must be well prepared before each lesson and are autonom in their learning process.

An introductory course in the BA program in French Studies.

Short stories, poems, excerpts from novels and plays from different periods will be read and studied. Students will become familiar with the principal literary texts, the terminology and methods of text analysis and interpretation.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

A two-week intensive course in French language skills at the Université de Rennes. Students will engage in conversation related to history, culture and contemporary issues in French society. The course takes place in weeks 7 and 8 during the spring semester. Max. 18 participants.

Evaluation:
Participation: 50%
Presentation: 25%
Written assignment: 25%

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA440GAutobiographies where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project no later than October 1, 2024.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

This course is a beginner’s course in Latin. No prior knowledge of Latin is assumed at the outset. It introduces the basics of Latin grammar and syntax. Chosen passages will be read in Latin, translated and thoroughly analysed. Teaching consists of 24 lectures on particular aspects of the Latin language and assigned readings.

This course is taught in Icelandic but students can get permission of the instructor to complete assignments and exams in English.

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

The aim of this course is to show students the importance of critical thinking by introducing its main concepts and methods as well as different understandings of the notion. Furthermore, the aim is to train students in critical thinking and argumentation, both in a philosophical and an everyday context. Special emphasis will be placed on analysing arguments. Common fallacies and stratagems will be discussed, with the aim of learning how to detect and avoid them. The relationship between critical thinking and ethics will be thoroughly examined.

The teaching involves both lectures and discussion sessions. Assignments will primarily be aimed at practical tasks relevant to everyday experiences.

The course aims to give a brief survey of selected topics in the philosophy of art; to introduce students to particular discussions, questions, theories and arguments in the philosophy of art through selected readings, both historical and contemporary; and to enable students to discuss topics related to aesthetics.

The course in an introduction to translation, the history of translation and translation theory. Students will become acquainted with the main concepts and theories in the field. The basics of interpretation will also be dealt with. The course consists of two parts: The theoretical and historical part is in the form of lectures and discussions. The teacher also provides a reading list. Assessment is in the form of an exam or an essay, based on the reading material. The practical part is based on seminars where students gain practice in translating (both literary translation and applied translation) as well as translation criticism. Assessment is based on written assignment(s). Students of Icelandic as a Second Language must have completed all courses of the first and second year.

In the course the main works of Western art from the early renaissance to the early 19. century. Geographically, the focus is on works of art from Italy and Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and England. Main methods and schools, academies and manifestations of art in religious, political and social contexts will be discussed. Painting, sculpture, architecture, the artisanal works and printmaking will be discussed. Efforts will be made to examine the extent to which art reflects society, how imagery reflects the life and worldview of people in different periods. Different approaches to time and space at any given time will be discussed, changes in the symbolic image of the body, the status and social role of the artist, and the interactions of art and institutions of power. In connection with these issues, key works of each period will be taken for detailed interpretation and their distribution history discussed.

The course is a continuation of LAT101G Latin I. Students will read a selection of Latin texts by various authors.

This course is taught in Icelandic but students can get permission of the instructor to complete assignments and exams in English.

The course introduces students to Roman social history. The period from 201 BCE to 180 CE will be emphasized. The main points of Roman history will be briefly discussed, as well as Roman institutions, the Roman social fabric,family life and gender roles, slavery, education, culture, religion, entertainment and daily life. In addition to secondary reading material, some ancient sources will be read in translation (English or Icelandic). No knowledge of Latin is assumed or required.

A historical overview of cinema from its emergence in the late 19th century to it contemporary role. The course will introduce students to influential film movements and styles from around the world, including Soviet Montage, French Impressionism, German Expressionism, classical Hollywood cinema, Italian Neorealism, Japanese Minimalism, the French New Wave, New German cinema, Third cinema, and Hong Kong action cinema. Diverse readings will provide a comprehensive overview supplementing screenings of key films. Particular emphasis will be placed on the aesthetic development of the film medium and its social and cultural relevance.

A survey of the development of visual art from the upheaval of Modernism at the beginning of the 20th Century and through the major 20th century progressive movements up to 1960. The main principles, politics and characteristics of Modern art and its impact on later times will be clarified. The relationship between art and politics, philosophy, and societal development will be discussed and thought will be given to the radical reevaluation of the concept of aesthetics in art of the 20th century. How are changed perceptions of time and space reflected in art? How do the above-mentioned art movements disturb the people's general perceptions of the environment and reality? What is "inner" reality? Must art be visible? What is the deifference between visual language, the language we speak, and other forms of sign languege? International art exhibits shown in Iceland will be visited and tied into the course if possible.

Most common methods and aids in translation will be covered in this course. Students will gain insight into the translators work and gain practise in translation. They learn how to analyze texts before translating them.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ICELANDIC. THOSE WHO WISH TO TAKE THE COURSE IN ENGLISH SHOULD REGISTER IN THE DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE MOM102G. 

MOM101G is intended for students of foreign languages OTHER than English. BA-students in English and those who do not speak Icelandic should register in MOM102G.

The course is an introductory course in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. Its aims and purpose include an introduction of basic concepts and terminology in the field, exploration of critical thinking to increase reading comprehension of academic texts, implementation of practical learning practices and academic procedures to facilitate successful academic studies, discussion on plagiarism and academic integrity, evaluation of academic standards, etc. Students receive practical training in critical evaluation of academic texts, basic argumentation analysis, identification of rhetorical patterns and text structure in various text types, review of acceptable references, and an introduction to analytical reading. Furthermore, students will gain insight into the importance of academic literacy to enhance understanding and writing of academic papers, presentation of research findings, etc.

The course is taught in English and is intended for students in:

1. The English BA program.
2.  Students of foreign languages (other than English)

 *Those students that need ECT credits as a result of changes in the MOM courses, as MOM102G used to be a 5-credit course, need to add an individual assignment (MOM001G, 1 ECT) within the MOM102G course.

• This individual assignment is only intended for students who finished MOM202G (before the school year 2024-2025) and are now enrolled in MOM102G, and have thus only gained 9 credits in the two mandatory MOM courses.
• Students who intend to increase their credits with a 6 ECT course, within their departments, are free to do so – and do thus not take this additional individual assignment (in MOM102G).

To sign up for the individual project you must talk to the teacher of MOM102G.

The students get the opportunity to develop their knowledge in french grammar and they learn to talk about it (with the appropriate terms). Emphasis on verbs and personal pronouns.

Students are asked to be autonome in their studies and to prepare the courses.

Conversation practice in discussion. There will be one academic lecture per week (1x 40 min.) to teach students the basic concepts and methods of General Phonetics, and one and a half training session per week in a language-lab.

In this course students will practice both oral and written expression. Several topics will be studied and discussed, including music, cinema, youth culture, French society, etc. The course material will mainly be based on media and social media, articles and films. The students will be expected to take part in spoken interaction on the course‘s subject. The students will be trained in writing short texts and exercices on different topics, summarize, reword and structure their writing. They will be introduced to dictionaries and other useful tools.

In this course students will be trained in reading, analysing and translating French texts (easy to average difficulty) from French into Icelandic. Students will translate different kinds of texts (news, blogs, articles, literary texts) and discuss their characteristics, grammar, syntax, etc. Students will also be trained in the use of dictionaries and others important tools.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

This course will focus on the French language today, different registers and recent evolutions such as the feminine form of noun and Gender-neutral language. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports, podcasts, and documentaries. In addition, lyrics to contemporary musicians will be studied.

Furthermore, this course will examine in what ways the role of the French language in the international community has changed these past decades and the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies.

The focus will be on written assignments of various kinds and students will work on registers, style, choice of words, grammar, syntax and get a training in respecting certain traditions regarding form and structure. Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

French history from the origins to the twentieth century.

New elements studied: interrogation, determinants, relative pronouns, negative sentences and subjunctive.

Students should finish French grammar and written expression I before enroling in this course.

This course emphasizes on how to use grammatical concepts in their assignements.

Students must be well prepared before each lesson and are autonom in their learning process.

An introductory course in the BA program in French Studies.

Short stories, poems, excerpts from novels and plays from different periods will be read and studied. Students will become familiar with the principal literary texts, the terminology and methods of text analysis and interpretation.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

A two-week intensive course in French language skills at the Université de Rennes. Students will engage in conversation related to history, culture and contemporary issues in French society. The course takes place in weeks 7 and 8 during the spring semester. Max. 18 participants.

Evaluation:
Participation: 50%
Presentation: 25%
Written assignment: 25%

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA440GAutobiographies where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project no later than October 1, 2024.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

This course is a beginner’s course in Latin. No prior knowledge of Latin is assumed at the outset. It introduces the basics of Latin grammar and syntax. Chosen passages will be read in Latin, translated and thoroughly analysed. Teaching consists of 24 lectures on particular aspects of the Latin language and assigned readings.

This course is taught in Icelandic but students can get permission of the instructor to complete assignments and exams in English.

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

The aim of this course is to show students the importance of critical thinking by introducing its main concepts and methods as well as different understandings of the notion. Furthermore, the aim is to train students in critical thinking and argumentation, both in a philosophical and an everyday context. Special emphasis will be placed on analysing arguments. Common fallacies and stratagems will be discussed, with the aim of learning how to detect and avoid them. The relationship between critical thinking and ethics will be thoroughly examined.

The teaching involves both lectures and discussion sessions. Assignments will primarily be aimed at practical tasks relevant to everyday experiences.

The course aims to give a brief survey of selected topics in the philosophy of art; to introduce students to particular discussions, questions, theories and arguments in the philosophy of art through selected readings, both historical and contemporary; and to enable students to discuss topics related to aesthetics.

The course in an introduction to translation, the history of translation and translation theory. Students will become acquainted with the main concepts and theories in the field. The basics of interpretation will also be dealt with. The course consists of two parts: The theoretical and historical part is in the form of lectures and discussions. The teacher also provides a reading list. Assessment is in the form of an exam or an essay, based on the reading material. The practical part is based on seminars where students gain practice in translating (both literary translation and applied translation) as well as translation criticism. Assessment is based on written assignment(s). Students of Icelandic as a Second Language must have completed all courses of the first and second year.

In the course the main works of Western art from the early renaissance to the early 19. century. Geographically, the focus is on works of art from Italy and Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and England. Main methods and schools, academies and manifestations of art in religious, political and social contexts will be discussed. Painting, sculpture, architecture, the artisanal works and printmaking will be discussed. Efforts will be made to examine the extent to which art reflects society, how imagery reflects the life and worldview of people in different periods. Different approaches to time and space at any given time will be discussed, changes in the symbolic image of the body, the status and social role of the artist, and the interactions of art and institutions of power. In connection with these issues, key works of each period will be taken for detailed interpretation and their distribution history discussed.

The course is a continuation of LAT101G Latin I. Students will read a selection of Latin texts by various authors.

This course is taught in Icelandic but students can get permission of the instructor to complete assignments and exams in English.

The course introduces students to Roman social history. The period from 201 BCE to 180 CE will be emphasized. The main points of Roman history will be briefly discussed, as well as Roman institutions, the Roman social fabric,family life and gender roles, slavery, education, culture, religion, entertainment and daily life. In addition to secondary reading material, some ancient sources will be read in translation (English or Icelandic). No knowledge of Latin is assumed or required.

A historical overview of cinema from its emergence in the late 19th century to it contemporary role. The course will introduce students to influential film movements and styles from around the world, including Soviet Montage, French Impressionism, German Expressionism, classical Hollywood cinema, Italian Neorealism, Japanese Minimalism, the French New Wave, New German cinema, Third cinema, and Hong Kong action cinema. Diverse readings will provide a comprehensive overview supplementing screenings of key films. Particular emphasis will be placed on the aesthetic development of the film medium and its social and cultural relevance.

A survey of the development of visual art from the upheaval of Modernism at the beginning of the 20th Century and through the major 20th century progressive movements up to 1960. The main principles, politics and characteristics of Modern art and its impact on later times will be clarified. The relationship between art and politics, philosophy, and societal development will be discussed and thought will be given to the radical reevaluation of the concept of aesthetics in art of the 20th century. How are changed perceptions of time and space reflected in art? How do the above-mentioned art movements disturb the people's general perceptions of the environment and reality? What is "inner" reality? Must art be visible? What is the deifference between visual language, the language we speak, and other forms of sign languege? International art exhibits shown in Iceland will be visited and tied into the course if possible.

Most common methods and aids in translation will be covered in this course. Students will gain insight into the translators work and gain practise in translation. They learn how to analyze texts before translating them.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ICELANDIC. THOSE WHO WISH TO TAKE THE COURSE IN ENGLISH SHOULD REGISTER IN THE DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE MOM102G. 

MOM101G is intended for students of foreign languages OTHER than English. BA-students in English and those who do not speak Icelandic should register in MOM102G.

The course is an introductory course in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. Its aims and purpose include an introduction of basic concepts and terminology in the field, exploration of critical thinking to increase reading comprehension of academic texts, implementation of practical learning practices and academic procedures to facilitate successful academic studies, discussion on plagiarism and academic integrity, evaluation of academic standards, etc. Students receive practical training in critical evaluation of academic texts, basic argumentation analysis, identification of rhetorical patterns and text structure in various text types, review of acceptable references, and an introduction to analytical reading. Furthermore, students will gain insight into the importance of academic literacy to enhance understanding and writing of academic papers, presentation of research findings, etc.

The course is taught in English and is intended for students in:

1. The English BA program.
2.  Students of foreign languages (other than English)

 *Those students that need ECT credits as a result of changes in the MOM courses, as MOM102G used to be a 5-credit course, need to add an individual assignment (MOM001G, 1 ECT) within the MOM102G course.

• This individual assignment is only intended for students who finished MOM202G (before the school year 2024-2025) and are now enrolled in MOM102G, and have thus only gained 9 credits in the two mandatory MOM courses.
• Students who intend to increase their credits with a 6 ECT course, within their departments, are free to do so – and do thus not take this additional individual assignment (in MOM102G).

To sign up for the individual project you must talk to the teacher of MOM102G.

The students get the opportunity to develop their knowledge in french grammar and they learn to talk about it (with the appropriate terms). Emphasis on verbs and personal pronouns.

Students are asked to be autonome in their studies and to prepare the courses.

Conversation practice in discussion. There will be one academic lecture per week (1x 40 min.) to teach students the basic concepts and methods of General Phonetics, and one and a half training session per week in a language-lab.

In this course students will practice both oral and written expression. Several topics will be studied and discussed, including music, cinema, youth culture, French society, etc. The course material will mainly be based on media and social media, articles and films. The students will be expected to take part in spoken interaction on the course‘s subject. The students will be trained in writing short texts and exercices on different topics, summarize, reword and structure their writing. They will be introduced to dictionaries and other useful tools.

In this course students will be trained in reading, analysing and translating French texts (easy to average difficulty) from French into Icelandic. Students will translate different kinds of texts (news, blogs, articles, literary texts) and discuss their characteristics, grammar, syntax, etc. Students will also be trained in the use of dictionaries and others important tools.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

In a world increasingly awash in fake news, AI-generated deep fakes and denialism of scientific and historical facts, our ability to interpret politics, culture and society with critical discernment is more important than ever. 

Focusing on culture and linguistics, this course aims to give you the analytical tools you need as a student and citizen to critically interpret texts, visual culture and language. 

You will train your hermeneutical skills on short narratives, photographs and various characteristics of language, with help from selected readings in literary theory, cultural studies, visual culture(s) and linguistics. 

The emphasis in the class will be on critical thinking and group discussion,  allowing you to share your analytical discoveries with your fellow students and build interpretative communities.

Modules:

1. Deciphering texts
2. Understanding visual cultures
3. Figuring out language

This course will focus on the French language today, different registers and recent evolutions such as the feminine form of noun and Gender-neutral language. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports, podcasts, and documentaries. In addition, lyrics to contemporary musicians will be studied.

Furthermore, this course will examine in what ways the role of the French language in the international community has changed these past decades and the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies.

The focus will be on written assignments of various kinds and students will work on registers, style, choice of words, grammar, syntax and get a training in respecting certain traditions regarding form and structure. Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

French history from the origins to the twentieth century.

New elements studied: interrogation, determinants, relative pronouns, negative sentences and subjunctive.

Students should finish French grammar and written expression I before enroling in this course.

This course emphasizes on how to use grammatical concepts in their assignements.

Students must be well prepared before each lesson and are autonom in their learning process.

An introductory course in the BA program in French Studies.

Short stories, poems, excerpts from novels and plays from different periods will be read and studied. Students will become familiar with the principal literary texts, the terminology and methods of text analysis and interpretation.

A reading project in French literature. Students must contact the supervisor.

A pronunciation practice.

A two-week intensive course in French language skills at the Université de Rennes. Students will engage in conversation related to history, culture and contemporary issues in French society. The course takes place in weeks 7 and 8 during the spring semester. Max. 18 participants.

Evaluation:
Participation: 50%
Presentation: 25%
Written assignment: 25%

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA440GAutobiographies where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project no later than October 1, 2024.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

Emphasis on more complex elements such as relative pronouns, coordination of tenses, the subjunctice mood, prepositions and subordinated clauses. To examine how these grammatical elements are treated in modern french, we will look into different types of texts like newspapers, cartoons, plays, etc..

The course will examine the role of the French language today – both in France and worldwide.

The focus will be on written assignments and reading comprehension. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and work with news’s reports and documentaries.

Students will get a training in formulating an opinion as well as in summarizing the texts studied.

Fairy tales (Fr. conte féerique) have been an important part of French literature from the 12th century, as can be seen, for instance, in the Lays of Marie de France. In the late 17th century early modern audiences enjoyed the tales of Mme d‘Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, Mlle L‘Héritier de Villandon and many others, and shortly afterwards Antoine Galland published his translation of Thousand and one Night which further increased the interest in this literary genre. The story of the Beauty and the Beast by Mme de Villeneuve was published in 1740 and was one of the tales that were rewritten and adapted to children in Mme Leprince de Beaumont‘s Le Magasin des enfants, first published in London in 1756. In this course, fairy tales by various authors will be read and examined with regard to their social and cultural context (literary salons) and their characteristics. The main focus will be on fairy tales authored by women, collections, frame narratives and fairy tales in children‘s literature in the second half of the 18th century. Icelandic translations of French fairy tales will also be examined.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students can also enroll in FRA505G Directed study: French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment 4e.

A survey of French literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will examine the main literary trends of the period, i.e. the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Realism, as they appear in various literary forms; the novel, autobiography and poetry. Special attention will be paid to the great changes that occurred in this period in the wake of the revolution and industrialisation and its effect on the development of French literature. Among the authors are Voltaire, Rousseau, Stendhal, Balzac, Georges Sand, Flaubert, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire.

The course deals with the political and historical background of why French is spoken, or was spoken, in various parts of the world. Among the topics that will be discussed are the impact that French has on foreign societies and the attitude of language users towards French. The problems involved in using French as an educational language in multilingual societies will also be broached as well as the future of French and the competition with other international languages like English or Arabic. The situation of French in the following countries will be investigated: Belgium, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, and Canada.

This course will focus on relations and exchanges between Iceland and France from a historical perspective. Economic, cultural, and political exchanges in the present will be studied through different documents and sources. For three centuries (starting in the 17th c.), the presence of French fishermen in and around Iceland also had a considerable influence in the country. Cultural exchanges go back to the Middle Ages when French literature translated into Old Norse was conserved in Icelandic manuscripts and left its mark on Icelandic literature and culture. The image of Iceland and the North in French culture will also be presented and discussed.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.

In this directed studies students can work on a specific project in connection to the course FRA434G French fairy tales: from Marie de France to the Enlightenment,

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

This course is a beginner’s course in Latin. No prior knowledge of Latin is assumed at the outset. It introduces the basics of Latin grammar and syntax. Chosen passages will be read in Latin, translated and thoroughly analysed. Teaching consists of 24 lectures on particular aspects of the Latin language and assigned readings.

This course is taught in Icelandic but students can get permission of the instructor to complete assignments and exams in English.

Optional course for students of the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, in their 2nd or 3rd year of the BA-programme. The students read and study a well-known play that has been translated into several languages. The students will read the text in the target language. The students choose scenes from the play for the production.

Teachers from the target languages will assist the students with pronunciation.

Maximum number of students in this course is 15.

The course deals with autobiographies, life writings and texts of memory from the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century in France and other French-speaking countries, such as Senegal, Algeria and Morocco.  What will be explored is to what degree core elements of the autobiography  – the self, the live story and history – come together or collide in the works of different authors. The emphasis will be on autobiographical writings based on memories of social, cultural, and political experiences and conditions.  A key focus will be on the roles of memory and forgetting as well on the boundaries between fiction ad reality in autobiographical narratives.  

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for the students of the Department of French Studies.

Students of the course can take a 4 ECTS Directed Study alongside it, FRA605G, and must contact the teacher to enroll before October 1 to sign up for it. 

In this directed study in French students can further develop their skills in translating from French to Icelandic. Texts are chosen in collaboration with the teacher.

The objective of this course is to introduce trends and developments in the French novel from the late 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. The emphasis will be on auto(bio)graphical female writing where the status of women or gender discrimination is the core focus. The syllabus includes works that have been influenced by feminist discourse and have been at the forefront of new understandings of sexual differences, both in France and in other French speaking countries, such as Morocco and Algeria. Some of the works that will be discussed have been influenced by the #MeToo movement or have been read as an important contribution to it.

We examine how French developed progressively from Latin after the fall of the West-Roman empire and became little by little the language we know today. We look into the language from different historical periods like, for example, the Middle Ages, Renaissance or the 18th century. The fate of other languages than French once spoken on French soil and of French dialects will also be examined. We will also look into the current state of modern French and try to predict its future.

French history and culture in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries was characterized by the rise and fall of absolutism, which reached its peak in the reign of Louis XIV and ended in the French Revolution. This course, students will focus on the representation of history in several French films, new or recent, and analyze them in terms of interpretation of history and/or as adaptations of literary texts. Emphasis will be placed on the political upheavals that shook French society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment: the wars of Religion in the 16th century, the revolts of the nobility in the 17th century, the French Revolution in the 18th century.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, with one weekly extra hour in French for students of the Department of French Studies.

In addition, students have the option to enroll in FRA604 Directed study: French film from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment 4 ECTS, where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students can take this 4 ECTS directed study alongside the course FRA412G Representations of early modern France in film where they can conduct an individual research on an aspect of the course.

Students must contact the supervisor to request registration into the project.

This course is an introduction to the social structure and the political system of France. The main turning points in French politics in the 20th and 21st centuries will be discussed, with an emphasis on current trends. Rhetoric will be considered, and a few key speeches will be analyzed and interpreted with regards to their respective historical and political contexts. Prominent characteristics of French culture and society will be analyzed and interpreted, including the concept of laïcité (separation of church and state), its historical rationale and its reception and interpretation in postcolonial France. The concept of vivre ensemble will be discussed, in a professional context as well as in everyday life. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected book chapters and articles and engage with news reports and documentaries, along with dedicated vocabulary acquisition exercises.

French is the official language and the primary or second language of many international organisations. In addition, French is the second most important language of diplomacy and the fifth most spoken language in the world.

A good proficiency in French is, therefore, important for those who aspire to work in the field of international relations.

The course will give an overview of the reasons why French acquired its status as an international language, leading to it being a primary or second language of many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Red Cross, and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to examining the influence of the language policy in France on its former colonies. The focus will be on vocabulary acquisition in the field of international relations. To that end, students will read selected articles in newspapers and magazines and engage with news reports and documentaries.

This course focuses on creative writing. Students will be initiated to writing very short texts and poems of different kinds in French. They will write a short story together, with inspiration from the road movie. Students will also be introduced to different types of short texts, from the writings of La Bruyère in the 17th century to the New Novel (Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet), OuLiPo, Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec, along with various other types of short texts. The course ends with an event at the Alliance française. Students work under the guidance of the French writer Alexandre Labruffe, author of four novels, who is particularly interested in the short form in literature.

BA-thesis in French. The students chooses topic and supervisor in consultation with the head of French Studies.

Assessment: 20% oral presentation, 80% subject material and language usage.

Directed study project, please contact the Head of French Studies.