• FRE5900 (1) - France and Algeria: National and Human Rights
• FRW5598 - French 20th Century Literature
• FRW5592 - Le Théâtre et la Société Théâtrale au 17-ième siècle
• FOL5934 - Dialogues of the French and Italian Renaissance
  

FRE5900 (1) – France and Algeria: National and Human Rights (in English) –Prof. Alec G Hargreaves

This interdisciplinary course examines the political and ideological struggles which have been at work in relations between France and Algeria from colonial times to the present. Drawing on the work of writers, intellectuals, film-makers, historians, politicians and activists, the course gives particular attention to the interplay between competing discourses of national and human rights. In advancing rival national claims, how far have French and Algerian political actors justified their positions in terms of human rights? In violent conflicts such as those opposing French and Algerian nationalists, to what extent is it possible to safeguard humanitarian interests? Can terrorism or torture be justified on political or ethical grounds? How far may the situation of Algerian migrants and asylum-seekers in France be understood in bilateral terms and to what extent is it subject to a wider code of human rights? These are among the questions studied with reference to range of printed, audio-visual and electronic documents.

Key documents include:

• Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (1961)
• Mouloud Feraoun, Journal, 1955-1962: Reflections on the French-Algerian War (1962)
• Rita Maran, Torture: The Role of Ideology in the French-Algerian War (1989)
• Gillo Ponetcorvo, The Battle of Algiers (film)(1966)

Background texts include:

• Martin Evans, The Memory of Resistance: French Opposition to the Algerian War (1954-1962) (1997)
• Luis Martinez, The Algerian Civil War, 1990-1998 (2000)
• Benjamin Stora, Algeria, 1830-2000 (2001)

The course is taught in English and may be taken by students without a reading knowledge of French. The core reading list (in English) is complemented by a reading list in French which students with a reading knowledge of that language are encouraged to use.

FRW5598 - French 20^th Century Literature: Men Behaving Badly:  Refusing Societal Norms in Novels of the Early 20^th Century – Prof. James H. Tarpley

In the first half of the 20^th century French society was evolving rapidly.  New technologies, philosophies, and economic paradigms forced the constant reevaluation of societal norms.  The protagonists of novels by Gide, Proust, Céline, Sartre and Camus seem to reject conventional behavior for varying reasons, and we will try to make sense of this “revolting” situation.  The works we will study in this class, published from 1902 to 1942, are L’immoraliste, A la Recherche du temps perdu (selections), Voyage au bout de la nuit (selections), La nausée and L’étranger.  In addition to detailed readings of the novels themselves, we will also examine historical context, poetry and theatre, and the nascent, then flourishing cinematic arts to improve our grasp of the artistic output of this period leading up to the Second World War.  This course will be taught in French.

FRW5592 - Le Théâtre et la Société Théâtrale au 17-ième siècle – Prof. William Cloonan
 
If theater was the most important art form in 17^th century France. It is arguably because the notion of theater was a metaphor for society at large. So much of 17^th century life was predicated on show, on displaying oneself to the best possible advantage, on wearing the social mask appropriate to the occasion, and positioning oneself to be the main character in a drama of one’s own creation. An obvious example of the way this self-conscious social theatricality displays itself in 17^th century drama is the frequent use of the “play within a play,” wherein characters deliberately turn to dramatic techniques to resolve dilemmas. The fascination with theater is also apparent in the carefully “staged” paintings of artists like Poussin, as well as in architecture. Long before Mickey and Donald got around to it, French intellectuals had created the first theme park at Versailles. The role of theater, both on the stage and in relation to society at large, will be the primary focus of this course.

FOL5934 - Dialogues of the French and Italian Renaissance – Prof. Reinier Leushuis

The Renaissance is a period of profound reconsideration of the place of the human being in its surrounding society. In an intense and fascinating convergence of Christian and Classical traditions, the Renaissance humanists and poets sought to define a new kind of individual, which is traditionally associated with our idea of ‘modernity’ (hence « early modern » as an alternative name for this period), but which is really a complex product of old and new. At the same time, in its questioning of moral, socio-political, literary and religious issues, Renaissance humanism also rejected dogmatism and felt the need to cover the complexities of human society in a variety of voices in debate. The humanist dialogues, literary texts which stage several interlocutors debating issues of the time, and other ‘open’ forms such as novella and poetry collections, are therefore crucial for our understanding of the humanist way of thinking and will be our main focus in this course. In this period, the Italian-French axis cannot be emphazised enough. Although is traditionally considered the cradle of the Renaissance, the movement of European humanism is profoundly indebted to Franco-Italian cultural interactions. In this sense, this course will also explore the ‘dialogue’ between the Italian and French Renaissance.In texts by humanists and poets such as Petrarch, Bruni, Alberti, Castiglione, Erasmus, Marguerite de Navarre, Du Bellay, Labé and Montaigne, we will study the way in which these authors imitate and emulate Classical authors in rhetoric and poetry, and analyze in depth the central questions of their ‘civic humanism’ : the humanist concern with the individual in its surrounding socio-political, literary and religious universe (the city-republic, the court, the academy, the family, marital life, etc.). This course will also focus on the place of woman and, to a lesser extent, the role of female authors, in this early modern humanism. The main objectives of the course will be : 1) to convey a sense of the originality and the innovative thought of the humanist debates, 2) to understand how these texts both reinterpret the past and form the basis of a 'modern' way of thinking, and 3) to gain a better understanding of the role of literary form in the shaping of early modern thought, e.g. the power of (vernacular) language, the interplay between rhetoric and poetry, the dynamics of dialogue, and the ‘poetics’ of the Renaissance novella.

This course will be thematic in nature, so that in each session we will combine and discuss texts from both the Italian and French Renaissance.

Taught in English, all readings in English translation, though texts will be available as much as possible in the Italian and French originals. All student work, such as midterm and final papers and weekly e-mailed reader responses, must be written in the student’s ‘target language’ (i.e. French or Italian). All meetings with the professor will be conducted in the student's target language as well.