The class name represents this class well. You are given short stories each week (usually 1-2/week). After reading, the class gathers for discussion. All the short stories chosen are famous and representative, and the discussion with Professeure Murat and her explanations will inspire you a lot. Easier class comparing to FRNCH 119 since short stories are easier to follow. In general, if you love this language and really want to learn, don't hesitate to choose this class.

To be honest, it's a difficult class for undergrad because you are taking the same class with grad students. (For them, it's called FRNCH 219). However, if you enjoy learning French, really want to make progress in this language, and learn French literature, I strongly recommend this class. Professeure Murat is fabulous and her class is inspiring, profound, and meaningful! You will never regret taking her class in your college life.

As a French major, I've taken a lot of French classes with different professors. Laure Murat is my favorite in the department. She is passionate and wants to interest you in whatever she's talking about. She doesn't waste time in lecture and tries to pick interesting topics.

The class of hers I first took was a survey of 19th/20th century French literature. She picked interesting authors and works. Her midterm is very straightforward and, if you go to her office house, she is eager to help you with any concerns you have. She helped me figure out what I was going to write my final paper about and, after working out some kinks in the outline, I got an A- in the class.

She's very reasonable and made French literature interesting. I think she's very underrated. Take a class or two with her if you can! :)

Madame Murat is truly an INCREDIBLE professor-- one of my favorites in the department. She is an amazing lecturer and picks very interesting readings that will not waste your exam. Straightforward, understanding, and gorgeous.

I love her.

I love Madame Murat so much! She is very straightforward and a great lecturer. She is so into her subject matter that we are a few weeks behind but this just made the midterm cover fewer texts. The midterm is super easy. I highly recommend her.

Professor Murat is the most intelligent woman I have ever met. She will never ever waste your time. You do a fairly short reading prior to each class, analyze 20 or so lines (you can do fewer), and discuss it in class. It is important to participate in class discussion since that is a large part of your grade, but she will always encourage you to speak and welcome new ideas. The mid term is unbelievably easy if you go to class. She will write about 20 things down on the chalkboard throughout the first part of the quarter and choose the 10 things you discussed the most to be questions. Attendance is also a big part of your grade, which will force you to do well on the mid term. There is no final, just an eight page paper on the topic of your choosing within 18th and 19th century French literature. I probably spent a couple hours a day for four days writing it and she loved it. You can almost count on getting an A if you just show up, write down whatever she puts on the board, and participate!

Best French course I'very taken at UCLA. She's so smart, she understands the literary period so well and can explain the meaning behind the extraits with such ease, she made it easy to read Victor Hugo and Proust. She's incredibly caring and made it clear from the get go that participation was a huge part of the grade. Well, in order to participate you have to do the readings, and believe me, they're not ridiculously long but instead, they're excerpts from huge books that you'll enjoy because she breaks it down for you. She puts literature into context and makes you question current social issues as well. Loved her class, would take her again.

Professor Murat very clearly expects a proficient level of French throughout the class, from readings to lectures to the final presentation. That being said, her lecture slides are very straightforward, and ordered by topic (sometimes chronological and sometimes not). She also takes time to let students know they're allowed to ask questions even without being confident in French (this is a Paris class, not a French class, it's okay to ask her for help translating questions into French during class).

Attendance is nearly mandatory, and she does grade on participation and attendance. The midterm is 10 easy questions based on lectures and assigned readings discussed in class. She's very lenient with midterm answers, and as long as you show sufficient knowledge and effort, she calls it satisfactory.

The final paper is six pages double spaced, on any topic of the student's choice, that involves Paris. Choice of either a research or an argumentative paper. This paper is accompanied by a 4-5 minute oral presentation about your topic. Given that there's a lot of topics both discussed in class and outside (a lot of people discussed the Paris catacombs), there's quite a lot to write about. As a hard STEM major, it was challenging, but not nearly as impossible as I thought it would be.

Grade Breakdown:
Participation (includes presentation): 30%
Midterm: 30%
Final Paper: 40%