Introduction to French Literary Studies

This course introduces students to a wide range of literary genres through a careful selection of short texts and films to pique students' interest and stimulate their creative juices. Although we follow a historical trajector, we will put that apparently seamless chronology into question; thus, we study how the French have written their literary history to create and reinforce a unique national identity. We begin our journey with medieval poetry written by a junvenile delinquent (François Villon) and a love-sick child bride (Louise Labé), then contrinue with ribald comedy )Molière), a gender-bending tale of love (Perrault), and an amazingly sensitive novella about a young Senegalese woman caught in the French revolution (Duras). Along the way we also encounter short stories (Maupassant, Camus) and symbolist poetry (Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud). Toward the end of our journey we will compare a riveting screenplay by Marguerite Duras with its cinematic version. 6 units. Three class meetings per week. Prerequisite: French 202 or consent of the instructor. This course counts as writing intensive for the GERs .