This exam is for graduate students who need to fulfill a language requirement.  Exams consist of two passages to be translated from French to English.  A print dictionary is permitted for use, but not provided; students must supply their own.  Exams are held once per semester.

Spring 2025 

3:00 - 5:00pm, Friday April 25, 2025 HQ #133

PLEASE USE THIS QUALTRICS SURVEY TO SIGN UP FOR THE EXAM.

Contact Lauren Pinzka, Exam Proctor, for questions concerning the exam.

Please email the French Registrar, Bethany Hayes, if you have questions on how to sign up for the exam.

Spring 2025 QR Code:

Marlene Daut will present her latest book, The First and Last King of Haiti:The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe, in conversation with Pierre Saint-Amand.

The essential biography of the controversial rebel, traitor, and only king of Haiti.

Henry Christophe is one of the most richly complex figures in the history of the Americas, and was, in his time, popular and famous the world over: in The First and Last King of Haiti, a brilliant, award-winning Yale scholar unravels the still controversial enigma that he was.

Slave, revolutionary, traitor, king, and suicide, Henry Christophe was, in his time, popular and famous the world over. Born in 1767 to an enslaved mother on the Caribbean island of Grenada, Christophe first fought to overthrow the British in North America, before helping his fellow enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue, as Haiti was then called, to gain their freedom from France. Yet in an incredible twist of fate, Christophe ended up fighting with Napoleon’s forces against the very enslaved men and women he had once fought alongside. Later, reuniting with those he had betrayed, he offered to lead them and made himself their king. But it all came to a sudden and tragic end when Christophe—after nine years of his rule as King Henry I—shot himself in the heart, some say with a silver bullet.

Why did Christophe turn his back on Toussaint Louverture and the very revolution with which his name is so indelibly associated?  How did it come to pass that Christophe found himself accused of participating in the plot to assassinate Haiti’s first ruler, Dessalines?  What caused Haiti to eventually split into two countries, one ruled by Christophe in the north, who made himself king, the other led by President Pétion in the south? 

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Do you love cinema, the French language, or perhaps both? Or are you still mourning the loss of downtown New Haven’s last movie theatre and longing to watch a film in a setting that revives that magic?

The Yale French Department Ciné Club, organized this academic year by Ecole Normale Supérieure Exchange Students Apolline Cuchet and Saly Touré, invites you to explore timeless classics and award-winning contemporary films that shape French cinema.

From animated films, and political dramas, to comedies and heartfelt coming-of-age stories, there will be something for everyone! Screenings are open to everyone in the Yale community. Films will be screened in French with English subtitles.

Mark your calendars (see Spring 2025 program below)!

We’re excited to present our first screening of the Spring cycle entitled “La Transition” (Transition), which will focus on coming-of-age narratives. The first screening will take place on Friday, February 7th at 6:30 PM at LORIA 351 (190 York Street), featuring the critically acclaimed film L’une chante l’autre pas by Agnès Varda.

Released in 1977, this movie focuses on the friendship of Pauline and Suzanne, spanning over three decades, in the backdrop of the Women’s Liberation Movement in France. First meeting when they are respectively 17 and 22 years old, Pauline’s and Suzanne’s paths cross again in the early seventies, at a protest for abortion rights. Pauline has now become Pomme, the lead singer of a feminist folk band, and Suzanne is now devoting her time to a family planning clinic. Through musical numbers and theatrical set pieces, Varda paints a striking picture of an enduring female friendship to make her case for feminist solidarity. 

The screening will begin with an introduction and will be followed by a discussion.

We look forward to seeing you for an evening of exceptional cinema and stimulating conversation!

Friday, February 7, 2025 at 6:30pm

Loria 351

Do you love cinema, the French language, or perhaps both? Or are you still mourning the loss of downtown’s last movie theatre and longing to watch a film in a setting that revives that magic?

The Yale French Department Ciné Club, organized by Apolline Cuchet and Saly Touré, invites you to explore timeless classics and award-winning contemporary films that shape French cinema. From animated films and political dramas to comedies and heartfelt coming-of-age stories, there will be something for everyone! Screenings are open to everyone in the Yale community. Films will be screened in French with English subtitles.

We’re excited to present our fourth screening of the cycle entitled “La Discorde” (Discord) on Thursday, November 7th at 5:30 PM at HQ 136, featuring the critically acclaimed film Le Grand Bain by Gilles Lellouche.

Screened out of competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and inspired by The Full Monty (1997), by Peter Cattaneo, this movie focuses on seven men from different walks of life and different generations, but who are all undergoing a personal crisis—depression, divorce, unemployment… These outcasts come together against all odds to form an all-male synchronized swimming team, and to train—and hopefully win—for the world’s championship, they are helped and coached by Delphine (Virginie Efira) and Amanda (Leïla Bekhti), who are both retired synchronized swimmers and medalists. 

Want to take your mind off the current state of the world and have a laugh after a tense election period? Join us for this hilarious film on masculinity and community. If you loved Philippe Katerine’s performance at the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games, you’re going to love him in this movie too. 

The screening will begin with an introduction and will be followed by a discussion.

We look forward to seeing you for an evening of exceptional cinema and stimulating conversation!

Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 5:30pm

 HQ #136