Modern and Contemporary Literature and Life

Catalog description

From the Revolution of 1789 to the current day, France has weathered an astonishing array of governments (five republics, two empires, monarchies, Vichy); expanded colonial projects and decolonized; and hotly debated issues such as public education, the role of women and minorities in society, and the tensions between universalism and individual human rights. This introduction to French and Francophone culture from the Revolution to the current moment explores literature as a live, engaged activity that provides a place to order, conceive, reimagine, and explore human and social experience. Course topics will change regularly, and can include issues such as colonialism, ethics, space, bodies, medical discourses, legal discourses, trauma and witness or insoluble problems. Alternatively, they may be organized around questions such as what is a subject? How are subjects related to collectivities? Systematic development of writing and speaking skills. CAS-B-LIT. Prerequisite: FRE 301 .