MA-thesis in French Studies (FRA441L)

MA-thesis in French studies.

Theories in Humanities (FOR709F)

The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.

Individual Project. Political System, History and Culture (FRA103F)

A thorough overview of the political system, history and culture of France. Taught in French.

Languages and Culture I (MOM301F)

This course concerns the diverse connections between culture and language, as seen from the perspective of cultural history, social sciences and linguistics. Ancient and modern world languages will be introduced and their origins, influence and effects investigated. Written and spoken language will be discussed: what sorts of things are written, why and how? Rules and alternate perspectives on the nature of language will be considered, raising the question of how we understand man with respect to thought and language.

Contemporary French Literature and the Women‘s Rights Movement (FRA433M)

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.

Individual Project: French Translations (FRA102F)

The student translates a text in collaboration with a supervisor from the Department of French Studies. He also writes a report in French on the translation work.

Individual Project (FRA804F)

Individual project.

MA-thesis in French Studies (FRA441L)

MA-thesis in French studies.

Individual Project. Usage and Presentation: French (FRA218F)

The objective of the course is to help students establish their grammar and writing in French. Students will work with complex sentence structure and texts. The course is taught in French.

Languages and Culture II: The European Intellectual Tradition (MOM402M)

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the "European" – to what extent their work is quinessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

French theatre and dramaturgy (FRA604M)

In this course, students will become acquainted with some of the masterpieces of French dramatic literature from the Renaissance to the present day. The return of tragedy in relation to war and civil conflict will be examined, as will the social relevance of comedy over time. Trends and movements in theatre will be examined, from the experimental theatre of the Renaissance, neoclassicism, revolutionary ideas in eighteenth and nineteenth-century theatre, and the avant-garde theatre of the twentieth century to the devised and/or research-based dramaturgy of today. Emphasis will be placed on the aesthetics and dramaturgy of plays, including the specificity of drama in verse. Entire plays or excerpts from works will be read in Icelandic or English translations by Garnier, Corneille, Molière, Racine, Marivaux, Musset, Beaumarchais, Hugo, Dumas, Feydeau, Anouilh, Sartre, Genet, Cixous, Koltès, Mouawad.

The course will be taught in Icelandic, but some of the course material will be in English. For students of French, an additional weekly class (40 min.) will be offered in French.

Goncourt Literary Prize: Choice of the Nordic countries (FRA607M)

The course gives students the opportunity to participate in the selection of the Goncourt Prize for French Literature of the Nordic Countries – Le Choix Goncourt des Pays nordiques. Four novels published in 2025 and shortlisted by the Goncourt Academy, which annually awards France’s most prestigious literary prize, will be read and analyzed. The Goncourt Prize for French Literature in the Nordic Countries will be awarded for the second time in the spring of 2026, in cooperation with the Institut français in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, as well as the Alliance française in Reykjavik, the French Embassy in Iceland and the University of Iceland. Meetings with all four authors will be organized online. At the end of the course, students will choose the book they nominate on behalf of Iceland and explain their choice in a teleconference. All participants will be given free access to the four novels as e-books.

Individual Project: French Translations (FRA219F)

The student translates a text in collaboration with a supervisor from the Department of French Studies. He also writes a report in French on the translation work.

Individual Project (FRA903F)

Individual project.