uwloo

FR 297French Culture and Literature: 1715 to the Present

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
French Studies

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course is an introduction to French literature, culture, and history spanning from the 18th to the 21st century. Using a multidisciplinary approach that includes art history, architecture, and music, it delves into French literary works, analyzing various genres and texts within their sociocultural contexts. One of the major objectives is to train students in short essay writing and its methodology, enabling them to develop their own thoughts through structured analysis, enriched with pertinent examples from the corpus being studied.

Prerequisites

  • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
    • FR192A - French Language 1: Module 1 (0.50)
    • FR192B - French Language 1: Module 2 (0.50)

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
    • FR292 - French Civilization 2 (0.50)

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001788221 / 40MW 14:30–15:50

Reviewed on UW Flow

75% liked it62% easy48% useful

From 16 ratings and 4 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • french history, culture, and literature all rolled into one. awesome course, but very heavy on info and memorization.

    Nov 2012 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course has a lot of information and gives it to you short period of time. If taking it online I would recommend that you take it during a term when you have a lot of time you can devote to this course.

    Nov 2012 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course is easy if you're good at memorizing because there's a lot of content from the different periods. It's mostly made up of written assignments (short answers and short essays), discussions, and essays on the exam, so be prepared to write a lot. If you find yourself short on time, you don't really have to read the books, since the points are summarized for you in the slides.

    Oct 2012 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • It took this course online. It is a pretty cool overview of French history from 1715 to modern-day. French history from 1715 to just before WWI is the most interesting. There is a surprising amount of focus on French arts during this time, which is time, but was hard for me to appreciate without more examples. The exam requires a lot of study and understanding of the content, and there are two written ~3-5 page assignments; these made up the majority of the grade. Not a bird course, but I liked it.

    Jan 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

5 posts and comments in 5 threads mention FR 297, September 2015 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2018

Should I minor in a language in engineering? Will it greatly conflict with my schedule? When should I start? 3 points, 7 comments

u/Frozen-Penis: “It is hard to plan out courses in engineering since your schedule is often so full and messy most things will just conflict Also minors are usually 8 courses but you would usually only have like 3-4 …”

u/flareon: “… For example, French has three mandatory courses for the minor; FR 276, 296, 297. The latter two are List-C CSEs. Additionally, some departments allow you to count two language courses as List-D instead of 1 if you're going on exchange. …”

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Fall 2017

Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments

“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”

u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”

u/Jackhofmann: “… 101 FR 151 FR 152 FR 192A FR 192B FR 203 FR 250 FR 251 FR 252 FR 255 FR 276 FR 291 FR 296 FR 297 FR 303 FR 351 FR 353 FR 363A FR 392A FR 393A FR 395A FR 424 FR 484 FR 600 FR 605 FR 606 FR 611 FR 681 FR 687 GBDA 101 GBDA 103 GBDA 201 GBDA 203 GBDA 229 GBDA 301 GBDA 303 GBDA 304 …”

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Winter 2017

Spring 2016

Fall 2015

Taking an intermediate French course without prerequisites? 2 points, 7 comments

“I usually take courses to learn new stuff but I took the wrong electives the past term and it hurt my average badly as they were nothing but memorization. …”

u/mujura: “The highest you can take from high school French is FR 192B (if you have taken extended) and FR 192A (if you took core). If you don't have 4U french done, then you can take courses like FR 101. …”

u/tellmeyoursowon: “… If instead of a language course, you'd be interested in a culture course; there are two courses, FR 197 and 297 (both taught in French) or their English-language counterparts, that teach French culture and history. …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar