Department of French and Francophone Studies
Graduate Student Handbook
The Ph.D. in French: Specialization in Literature
General Description
The Specialization in Literature offers numerous courses in the different
periods and genres of metropolitan and non-metropolitan literature.
Candidates also choose electives in French and related subjects to
ensure breadth of training as well as depth.
Statement of Goals
The study of literature is the humanistic discipline that seeks to
understand certain aesthetic achievements through the interpretation
and analysis of works of oral, written, and dramatic art. It requires
a sound knowledge of literary languages, styles, genres, and themes;
a familiarity with the history of literary movements and ideas; and
an awareness of the range of critical and theoretical approaches to
literary works. Moreover, students of literature must acquire and
develop the critical skills necessary to analyze and interpret literary
texts.
The goals of the Specialization in French Literature are:
- To provide students with a broad knowledge of French and Francophone
literatures and of their general relationship to other literatures,
together with a specialized knowledge of a particular literary period,
genre, or movement.
- To provide students with a sound historical basis for the study
of literature and introduce them to the insights that other disciplines
can bring to an understanding of the relationships between literature
and the society for which it was written.
- To introduce students to a variety of theoretical approaches to
literature, such as semiotic, thematic, feminist, narratological,
philological, sociological, and phenomenological approaches.
- To develop in students the linguistic and analytical skills that
will enable them to read literary texts with full understanding and
to develop the critical skills that will enable them to interpret
works of literature with insight and perception.
- To teach students the techniques of literary research and to develop
the skills required to communicate the results of their research to
others in the classroom, at professional meetings, and in publications.
Coursework
Students are required to take 30-36 credits in the following courses:
21 credits of literature (3 of which may, with approval, be taken
outside of the department)
3 credits of French Literary Theory and Criticism (FR 571)
3 credits of History of the French Language (FR 500)
9 credits of electives from French Linguistics and/or Civilization
Note that the preceding credits for the specialization in literature
total 36. The Ph.D. in literature can be done with fewer than 36 credits
only if the student has either 1) taken FR 500 and/or FR 571 in the
MA program at Penn State, or 2) taken, in an MA program elsewhere,
courses sufficiently similar to FR 500 and/or FR 571 that one or both
of the requirements may be waived by the Graduate Director, after
consultation as appropriate with other faculty.
To increase the candidate's employment opportunities, it is recommended
that a minor be developed. A minor gives special visibility to a substantial
secondary interest of the candidate within French Studies. The minor
can be another literary specialty, another field within the department
(Civilization, Applied or Theoretical Linguistics), or an interdisciplinary
topic with courses taken outside the Department. The minor is defined
as a minimum of three courses in the specified area. Note that a minor
taken entirely outside the department will increase the number of
credits hours for the degree by 6, since 3 may be included in the
21 literature credits noted above.
Examination Procedures
Candidacy Examination
All students entering the doctoral program in literature after October
21, 2002 will be subject to the Ph.D. candidacy exam described below.
Students already enrolled in the program before that date will have
their choice of the old or the new exam. Details of the former system
are available from the department.
The exam is expected to last approximately 1 1/2 hours but may be
longer or shorter than that for a specific student. The exam will
consist of two parts. One part is a review of the candidate's past
record (courses taken, requirements fulfilled, etc.), of his/her plans
for additional courses, and of the dissertation area and subject,
insofar as they can be defined at that time. This portion of the exam
is based on a document of about five pages prepared in advance (and
in French) by the candidate in consultation with his/her advisor.
Roughly three pages should document courses taken and those that,
if available, the candidate will yet take; requirements still to be
satisfied (and by what means); and other plans and needs. About two
pages should be devoted to the dissertation area and, to whatever
extent possible at the time, to the specific subject. This section
of the exam will be considered to be in part an advising session,
though more formal and rigorous than are the usual discussions between
students and their advisors.
The other portion will be an exam based on six theoretical texts
read in advance by the student. The intent is to determine the student's
ability to deal with theoretical concepts and texts in a sufficiently
knowledgeable and sophisticated way. Four of the texts will be stipulated
by the department (see below); two will be chosen, in consultation
with the advisor, by the student and will be specific to his/her field.
The committee members will devise questions related to one or several
of these texts, and the student will have one hour to prepare responses
to the question(s) prior to the oral exam. In the exam itself, the
student will be expected to present and discuss responses orally;
it is assumed that he/she will have made notes on the question(s)
but will not read a prepared response.
A student who does not pass the exam may retake it once.
The following four texts, chosen by the faculty, will be part of
the exam for the next two years or more. (The list may be revised
thereafter; adequate notice will be given to students.) Photocopies
of the texts will be made available.
- Saussure, excerpts dealing with langue and parole and the nature
of signs, from the “Troisième cours de linguistique générale.”
- Jakobson, "Linguistique et poétique" from “Essais
de linguistique générale.”
- Genette, chapter "Voix" from Figures III.
- Foucault, "Qu'est-ce qu'un auteur?"
The two texts chosen by the student in consultation with his/her
advisor should be primarily theoretical in nature, of moderate length
(i.e., a section or chapter, not a book), and related to the student's
area or subject of specialization.
Comprehensive Examination
The candidate, in consultation with the advisor, will draw up a reading
list in each of four areas: two literary periods or areas (chosen
from medieval through 20th century, including non-metropolitan); one
genre (lyric poetry, narrative, theater); and criticism (based on
the prescribed list of readings). One of the four will be identified
as a primary area of specialization. The Comprehensive Examination
is based on the four reading lists.
The four or five-member committee reads the written examination and
participates in the oral examination. Students must pass the written
examination before proceeding to the oral examination. In case of
failure of the written exam, the oral exam is cancelled.
Written Component
The candidate is required to take a written examination on each of
the four areas for which reading lists have been developed. The examinations
include the option of a take-home in no more than two of the four
components of the written examination. Exams not done as take-homes
are four hours in length. The examination must be taken within a period
of two weeks.
Oral Component
After successful completion of the Written Comprehensive Examination,
a Comprehensive Oral Examination will be scheduled, lasting approximately
one to two hours. The purpose of the Oral Exam is to probe further
the comprehensiveness of the candidate's preparation, especially in
the area of the proposed dissertation.
