FFS 391 - Flâner dans Le Spleen de Paris

Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)

Flâner means to wander, to meander, to stroll through a city with no particular destination in mind; it can lead to keen observations and perceptions of people, spaces, and phenomena that otherwise escape our view. Flânerie is a privileged activity and positionality, and the encounter between the flâneur/flâneuse and its object is often fraught with the implications of that privilege. The term was coined in nineteenth-century Paris, and was immortalized by Charles Baudelaire, whose mid-century prose poems evoked the melancholy (spleen) of a new urban modernity. This half-unit intensive meets bi-monthly for an exploration of Baudelaire’s collection of prose poems entitled Le Spleen de Paris, also known as Petits Poèmes en prose, published posthumously in 1869. We examine contemporaneous and early critical writing about flânerie, such as Walter Benjamin and others, as well as more recent Baudelaire scholarship. Our exploration of Baudelaire’s prose poems is guided by the principle of flânerie: that is, students choose which poems we focus on, allowing our textual wanderings to develop organically. We
consider the theme and activity of flânerie in our contemporary lives as well, and the course culminates in a field trip to experience our own urban flânerie and creative or critical projects inspired by Baudelairian flânerie. Susan Hiner.

Two hours every other week.

Course Format: INT