FREN 366 - Francophone Literature and Cultures

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2013/2014a: Paris at the Crossroads. Paris has been, and continues to be, celebrated as an enchanting place, a site of knowledge and sophistication, a cradle of democracy, and a refuge for exiles the world over. This course traces the evolution and treatment of Paris in works written by francophone authors originally from North and Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean, who live or have lived in the City of Lights. We analyze why and how their novels and short stories featuring the French capital manifest a frequently ambivalent relationship to France. From Bernard Dadié’s Un Nègre à Paris (1959) to Léonora Miano’s Blues pour Elise (2010), we identify the transformation of these writers’ positions vis-à-vis France’s dominant cultural and historical narratives. We discuss the key role they have played in the development of new aesthetics and a finer theorization of such notions as La France Noire and (post) beure. Ms. Célérier.

Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite for all advanced courses: 1 unit of 200-level work above FREN 212, or Study Abroad in France or in a French-speaking country, or by permission of the department. Open to freshman and sophomores only by permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.