Spring 2027

Medieval and Early Modern French Literature

An introduction to important literary works from the medieval era to the French Revolution, taught in French, covering key writers, texts, and cultural evolution.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Anne Vila3.5/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Anne Vila

Getting an A required consistent effort, though the workload was never overwhelming. Taking good lecture notes was helpful when writing essays.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Identify key French writers and texts from the Middle Ages to the 18th century.

  • Discuss literary trends and schools of thought associated with this time period.

  • Apply concepts of literary analysis to perform close readings of texts.

  • Demonstrate understanding of French culture and its evolution from the Middle Ages to the 18th century.

  • Express complex ideas/analysis in French both verbally and in writing.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

FRENCH 271

FRENCH 321 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.20/5 from 10 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 3.0/5 raw quality · 3.3/5 difficulty · 3 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Anne Vila

Anne Vila facilitated engaging discussions and was open to questions, though one student found her accent distracting. One reviewer noted that while readings were long, other homework was manageable, and another found the workload demanding but not overwhelming. Students appreciated her care for their success and found her understanding when they communicated outside conflicts.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2019: 3.57 GPA, 75.9% A/AB (n=29 letter grades); Fall 2022: 3.59 GPA, 81.2% A/AB (n=16 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.65 GPA, 82.6% A/AB (n=23 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Florence Vatan

Florence Vatan, a historical instructor, was described as clearly engaged and helpful by a student who found her teaching intensity enjoyable. That student rated the course moderate in difficulty and considered Vatan one of their favorite professors in the French department.

ANNE VILA is recorded teaching in Fall 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2019, Fall 2022, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

FLORENCE VATAN is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2015, Spring 2020, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KEITH BUSBY is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 260

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Anne Vila

Students described the course as fair and engaging, noting that Anne Vila facilitated good class discussions and remained open to questions.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.65 GPA, 82.6% A/AB (n=23 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.68 GPA, 85.7% A/AB (n=14 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.70 GPA, 86.7% A/AB (n=15 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Anne Vila

Getting an A required consistent effort, though the workload was never overwhelming. Taking good lecture notes was helpful when writing essays.

Past student reviews · Anne Vila

Readings were a bit long, but other homework assignments were manageable. One student found the instructor's accent distracting, while another appreciated her care for student success.

Topics

  • Important literary works from the medieval era to the French Revolution
  • French culture and its evolution from the Middle Ages to the 18th century
  • Literary trends and schools of thought from the Middle Ages to the 18th century

Skills

  • Identifying key French writers and texts from the Middle Ages to the 18th century
  • Applying literary analysis concepts for close readings of texts
  • Expressing complex ideas and analysis in French verbally and in writing

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
FRENCH 321 · Spring 2027

Medieval and Early Modern French Literature

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:400:007786",
    "course_id": "FRENCH 321",
    "course_uid": "course_1ebf8723fbf65a227eab984e",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "007786",
    "source_subject_id": "400",
    "title": "Medieval and Early Modern French Literature",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "0c539739c4b11dcd91d86533223a1cf6dc6980457b9dcfd8a96fb47960a00fbe",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}