American Writers in Paris.

Catalog description

In this class, we’ll learn about the rich history of French-American cultural and literary parallels and exchanges, and how the two country's traditions have recursively influenced each other over the past 250 years. How has French literature and literary culture overlapped, catalyzed, followed or even deviated from the developments of American culture? What can the joys and struggles in French society and culture teach us about a deeper analysis of “American” identity in the global era? Literary works and topics to be discussed may include : A Tale of Two Cities, 1800s French poets like Arthur Rimbaud and Baudelaire, the role of France in Colonization and the slave trade, Black Americans living abroad in Paris (James Baldwin, TaNehisi Coates, Josephine Baker), French Student Movements in the 60s/70s, Camus and Existentialism, Hemingway in Paris, Frantz Fanon, Jean-Luc Godard and French Cinema) Liberté, égalité, fraternité: what do they mean to us?. Prerequisite: ENG 101 and ENG 102 .