FRE 5535-01 – Post-Colonial Cultures in France – Prof. A.G. Hargreaves

International migration from former colonies has brought a new cultural vibrancy to France. This course focuses on the hybrid cultural practices being forged in France by new generations of writers, film-makers and musicians mixing elements from African, Caribbean, French, American and other sources. Particular attention is given to artists emerging from among France’s largest post-colonial minority, whose origins lie in the Maghreb, i.e. the North African states of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The course is taught in French, their main language of expression. It explores their participation in a variety of cultural spaces and seeks to identify the extent to which these new voices are being marginalized or incorporated into the mainstream of French culture. Among the works studied are novels, autobiographies and films by writers and directors such as Azouz Begag, Mehdi Charef, Faïza Guène and Malik Chibane. The course is taught in French.

FRW 5588-01: The Enlightenment in France – Prof W.J. Cloonan

This course will focus primarily, but not exclusively, on the Enlightenment as it manifested itself in France. The central thesis of Enlightenment thought is that human problems, be they political or personal, can be, and must be, dealt with exclusively in terms of the capacity of the human mind to clarify, analyze, evaluate and judge. This is not to say that Enlightenment thinkers were necessarily irreligious or even anti-clerical; the impact of the Enlightenment is really much more radical than that. For these people religion as a social institution could be either stabilizing or harmful depending upon circumstances. However, under no circumstances could religious faith be considered a source of knowledge. Humanity, as Kant put it, was emerging from its infancy and the force behind this emergence was confidence in the capacity of the human mind to identify and resolve human problems. Nonetheless, as deeply as were the Enlightenment intellectuals committed to the rule of logic and reason, there remains a strong current of emotionalism in their thinking and most certainly in their creative works. We will follow the emergence and development of Enlightenment thought as it manifested itself in essays, literature and the visual arts.

Among the texts that will be studied are Kant’s essay, “What is Enlightenment,” Diderot’s Rameau’s Nephew, Voltaire’s Candide, Crébillon fils, Egarements du coeur et de l’esprit Sade’s Justine, Laclos’s Les Liaisons dangereuses, and Rousseau’s Réveries. The course will end with two twentieth century texts: Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader and Michel Foucault’s essay, “What is Enlightenment.” These two works will help us evaluate the relevance of the Enlightenment for the post-Auschwitz world.

FRE 5598-01: Modern and Contemporary French Theatre: Autour de l’Absurde – Prof. J. Tarpley

In the middle of the twentieth century in France, theatrical creation underwent a substantial shift. Historical events and philosophical tendencies of the period are reflected in French theatre by a growing insistence on the absurdity of the human condition. Not simply challenging the centuries-old traditional rules of French theatre, plays from the post-war era subjected audiences to entirely new forms of spectacle. In this class we will explore the precursors, the proponents, and the detractors of the “théâtre de l’absurde” in the social, historical, and intellectual context. In addition to plays by Jarry, Ionesco, Genet, Beckett, and others we will examine some of the key philosophical texts that strongly influenced these creations. This class will be conducted entirely in French, and the format will require active participation by each member of our “troupe.”