La Communauté

Catalog description

What do we mean when we say “we”? What does it mean to “be with,” and what do we share with one another? This class ponders such questions, incessantly asked by 20th-century French literature and thought, by studying works that confront the necessity and difficulty of life in common, be it in the community of a family, society, friendship, lovers, or artists. Authors read include Marguerite Duras (La Maladie de la mort), Maylis de Kerangal (Naissance d’un pont), Maurice Blanchot (La Communauté inavouable), Jean-Luc Nancy (La Communauté désoeuvrée), Jacques Rancière (Aux bords du politique), and Georges Bataille’s journal Acéphale. In French. Prerequisite: A course at the 0600- or 0700-level or equivalent proficiency. Contact the instructor to verify your proficiency if you have not taken French at Brown.