Montaigne to Beaumarchais: Classical Influences on Contemporary France

Catalog description

In this Learning Community, we will examine French philosophy and literature, beginning with the work of thinkers such as Montaigne and Descartes, who deeply influenced the development of modern science; Moliere whose influence on French culture and on the history of the theatre has been extraordinary, Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau, who were of criterial importance to both the US and French revolutions, and concluding with Beaumarchais, himself a figure in the American revolution, Madame de Stael who coined the term Romanticism, and Honore Balzac. We will pay particular attention to the social, political and ethical effects on contemporary Paris. INT 299T will contain components of PHI 116 and FRE 155C .