Blending French Literature in Translation,

Part IIStephanie O’HaraAssistant Professor of French &

Women’s and Gender Studies

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

French 203 English 200 Women’s Studies 200

French Literature in Translation Studies in Literature Topics in Women’s Studies

Fall 2011 & 2012 Topic

Princesses, Harlots, Saints: Women in French Literature

This course offers an overview of classic works of French literature from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, written by both men and women. It focuses on analyzing how the archetypal characters of the princess or queen, the harlot, and the saintly woman evolve over time, and on understanding these characters in their different socio-historical contexts.

Reading List, 2011 and 2012

• Tristan and Isolde (Béroul, 12th century)

• The Lais of Marie de France (Marie de France, 12th century)

• The Romance of the Rose (Guillaume de Lorris & Jean de Meun, 13th century)

• The Book of the City of Ladies (Christine de Pizan, early 15th century)

• Memoirs of the Life of Henriette-Sylvie de Molière (Marie Catherine Desjardins, a.k.a. Madame de Villedieu, 17th century)

• The Princess of Clèves (Marie Madeleine de Lafayette, 17th century)

• Dangerous Liaisons (Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, 18th century)

• Nana (Emile Zola, 19th century)

• Swann's Way (Marcel Proust, 20th century)

Student Learning Outcomes, 2011 and 2012

1. Understand and use basic literary terms, e.g., plot, character, metaphor, symbolism, imagery, allegory

2. Understand and discuss literary works in a variety of contexts, e.g., biographical, social, historical, literary

3. Identify and discuss accurately the characters and plots of the works on the syllabus

4. Identify and analyze the tropes of the saintly woman, the harlot, and the royal or aristocratic woman in French literature

5. Identify and discuss accurately the significance of the writers whose works feature on the syllabus

6. Identify and discuss accurately the connections between French history and literature

7. Identify and discuss accurately significant movements in French literary history

• trace the evolution of the novel as a genre in French literature by identifying the characteristics of the medieval romance, the picaresque novel, the Naturalist novel, and the Proustian novel

8. think critically and write effectively about the course material

Outcomes selected for the IBIS project

Fall 2011: Trace the evolution of the novel as a genre in French literature by identifying the characteristics of the medieval romance, the picaresque novel, the Naturalist novel, and the Proustian novel

Fall 2012: Identify and discuss accurately the characters and plots of the works on the syllabus

What was redesigned for Fall 2012?

As in 2011, I replaced 7 face-to-face class sessions with online work. There were 34 possible face-to-face class meetings in the fall 2012 semester, not counting exam days and review sessions, which means that 21% of the course was conducted online via discussion boards and online quizzes.

The difference with 2011 was that in 2012, I created low-stakes, short online quizzes to be completed before class, to help students self-assess their reading comprehension.

What was the thinking behind the 2012 redesign?

In 2011, the result was that the blend did have a positive effect on student engagement with the material and with each other, but it did not necessarily appear to improve students' understanding of the material at a factual level or at a broader level. Therefore, in 2012, I used blended methodology in a way that specifically targeted reading comprehension, i.e., the short online quizzes for self-assessment.

2012 Data

A. In-Class Quizzes2011 2012

A range 28.95% 38.60%

B range 17.11% 21.93%

C range 18.42% 14.04%

D range 9.21% 8.77%

F 26.32% 16.67%

100.00% 100.00%

B. Midterm Grades C. Final Exam Grades

2011 2012 2011 2012A range 5.26% 25.00%

A range 0.00%

21.43%

B range

52.63% 57.14%

B range 21.05%

50.00%

C range

42.11% 17.86%

C range 73.68%

25.00%

D range 0.00% 0.00%

D range 0.00% 3.57%

F 0.00% 0.00% F 5.26% 0.00%

100.00%

100.00% 99.99%

100.00%

2012 Data, cont’d.

D. Final Grades

2011 2012

A range 10.53% 20.69%

B range 52.63% 65.52%

C range 26.32% 10.34%

D range 5.26% 0.00%

F 5.26% 3.45%

100.00% 100.00%

Data analysis

In every single data set (tables A, B, C, D) there was a clear improvement in student grades from 2011 to 2012. In each data set, the percentage of As and Bs increased, and the percentage of Cs, Ds, and Fs decreased. Whether student learning was assessed quantitatively and focused on discrete-point questions (in-class quizzes), or qualitatively and focused on close reading and broad thematic questions (midterms and finals) or a combination of both (final grades for the course), grades were better in 2012 than in 2011. The blend clearly had a positive effect on student learning.

Sample Student Answer from the 2012 Midtermsuccessfully integrates reading comprehension & literary

analysis

This first quotation is from the lay “Lanval” by Marie de France. Lanval is a knight in King Arthur’s court who has fallen in love with an otherworldly lady. The king’s wife Guinevere propositions Lanval, but because he is in love with his lady, he refuses her advances. The queen, angered by this, accuses him of trying to seduce her to King Arthur, who becomes furious. Lanval is put on trial and unless he can provide proof that his love exists, he will be banished. Lanval, who was supposed to keep his love a secret but did not, tells the court his lady will not come. When all seems lost, his beautiful lady finally arrives and is shown to be more beautiful than Guinevere or any other woman in the world.

The maiden arriving on horseback symbolizes the mutuality of the couple’s love: both men and women must give equally in a courtly love relationship. When Lanval is in trouble, his lady arrives to rescue him, just as he would do if she were in trouble. The white palfrey is another symbol in this lay. It is similar to the knight riding in on a white horse in fairy tales. The white itself can symbolize the purity and goodness of the couple’s love for each other.

The quote is important to the overall story because it shows the mutual love between Lanval and his lady. Lanval is ready to die without a fight because he thinks he has lost his lady forever. The lady, despite telling Lanval he would lose her if he spoke of her, cares for him too much to let him die.

The themes of this quote can connect to the themes of the Romance of Tristan by Béroul. They both focus on courtly love, the love between two aristocratic people that goes above that of marriage. Lanval, like Tristan and Iseut, faces banishment by the King for his love. This fate is decided in both stories by the King’s barons. Both stories also focus on the beauty of the lady. Iseut is the fairest in the land, just as Lanval’s lady is the most beautiful he’s seen. In both stories, [the law of] courtly love triumphs in the end, as both Lanval and his lady, and Tristan and Iseut stay together and in love.