Provisional University Bulletin (2025-2026)

• Minor
• Major (BA)

The French-speaking world is vast in geographical scope, historical depth, and cultural variety. French is a first language for many in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and North America, and it is also an important second language in other parts of the globe. The French and Francophone Studies program brings this world to students in all of its diversity, from the lais of Marie de France to the comedies of Molière, the plays of Olympe de Gouge, the films of the Dardenne brothers, the novels of Marie NDiaye, the bandes dessinées of Riad Sattouf, and the music of Stromae, for example. Students in this program develop strong oral and written interpretive skills as they discover the past achievements of French-speaking peoples and the challenges currently facing them. Moreover, learners enhance their sensitivity to cultural differences while deepening their understanding of the linguistic, social, artistic, economic, and political complexities of the Francophone world.

In this era of increasing globalization, students must have strong skills in the analysis and interpretation of language and culture. We teach French language and French and Francophone culture at all levels, which provides students with a strong foundation as they pursue literary and cultural studies of French-speaking countries throughout the world.

Core Skills

1. An advanced proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, writing and knowledge of French and Francophone cultures;
2. The ability to analyze, evaluate and interpret works in verbal sources (such as literature, newspapers, critical articles, essays, etc.) and in other media (film, painting, photographs, music, etc.);
3. The ability to explain how cultural differences help determine political, economic and social institutions.

Knowledge

1. An understanding of the principal historical events and foundational cultural tenets (including notions drawn from politics, literature, sociology, philosophy, etc.) that shape France and the Francophone world;
2. An understanding of how creative works in French reflect the past and present, announce future developments, and influence world culture;
3. An understanding of the instrumental role that language (written and oral production of all types) plays in the formation of cultures, histories, and identities of the French and Francophone world;
4. An appreciation of the cultural and linguistic diversity in the French-speaking world.

Social Justice

A panoply of French writers and philosophers have played a fundamental role in the evolution of our notions of social justice, freedom, equality, individual fulfillment, and the common good. By exploring these ideas in a variety of French and Francophone contexts, students analyze the different ways in which these concepts have developed and changed over time and across cultures.

In order to graduate, students must be able to function at an intermediate level in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a foreign language. They may satisfy this requirement in several ways:

• The study of a language at Brandeis. The completion of a 30-level course, or an FL-designated course in French above level 30, with a passing grade satisfies the language requirement.
• A score of 4 or higher on an Advanced Placement exam in language, or 5 or higher on the International Baccalaureate Higher Levels Exam. We encourage students to continue studies in our department (please see below to choose a course at the appropriate level).
• A Seal of Biliteracy that documents intermediate-level proficiency in French.
• A passing score on the French Exemption exam that shows you have gained an intermediate-level proficiency in French. Please contact Professor Hollie Harder (harder@brandeis.edu) to make arrangements to take the French Exemption exam.

Students with further questions about the language requirement should contact the Director of the French Language Program, Professor Hollie Harder.

Students considering a French and Francophone Studies major or minor should complete the language requirement as soon as possible.

• After students complete a 30-level French language course, they are advised to enroll in FREN 104b, the first course in the sequence that counts toward the minor.
• Students who scored 4 on the French Advanced Placement exam or 5 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Levels Exam are usually advised to enroll in FREN 105a.
• Students who scored 5 on the French AP exam, or 6 or higher on the International Baccalaureate Higher Levels Exam should enroll in FREN 105a, the first course in the sequence that counts toward the major.
• Normally, students should take FREN 105a or FREN 106b before taking courses numbered above FREN 106b.

Students interested in learning more about the major or minor are encouraged to speak with the French and Francophone Studies Undergraduate Advising Head, Sophia Niehaus.

Clémentine Fauré-Bellaïche
Modern and contemporary French and Francophone literature and culture. History and theory of the novel. History of the body and the emotions. Vision and visual culture in nineteenth- and twentieth-century France. Religion and literary modernism.

Hollie Harder, Director of French and Italian Language Programs
French language, culture, and literature. Language pedagogy. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century French literature. Women's, gender, and sexuality studies.

Sophia Niehaus, Undergraduate Advising Head for French and Francophone Studies
French and Francophone Studies lecturer. Twentieth- and twenty-first-century French and Francophone culture, literature, and cinema. Performance studies. Literary correspondence.

Michael Randall
Late medieval and Renaissance poetry, prose, and philosophy. Comparative literature. Modern politics and literature in the Francophone world.

Catherine Theobald, Chair of the Department of Romance Studies
Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French literature and culture. Word and image studies. Early modern prose forms: maxims, portraits, novels. Book illustration. Québec literature and film.

The minor consists of five semester courses:

1. Five electives from French and Francophone Studies courses numbered 104 or above, including at least one advanced elective (any course numbered above 105a or 106b) taught in French and Francophone Studies at Brandeis. FREN 92a may count as one elective credit. Cross-listed courses in other programs may not be used to satisfy the minor requirements.
2. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the minor.
3. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.

Notes:

• A French and Francophone Studies minor who wishes to do an internship in a French or Francophone environment on or off campus may enroll in FREN 92a. Students arrange their own internships with prior permission from the Undergraduate Advising Head.

All students pursuing a French and Francophone Studies minor will be assigned an adviser in the department, usually the Undergraduate Advising Head.

The major consists of nine semester courses:

1. Nine electives from French and Francophone Studies courses numbered 104b or above. Only one of the nine may be satisfied with a cross-listed course. FREN 92a, 97a, and 99a,b may count toward the elective requirement.
2. Foundational Literacies: As part of completing the French and Francophone Studies major, students must:
   • Fulfill the writing intensive requirement by successfully completing: Any WI-designated course approved for the major.
   • Fulfill the oral communication requirement by successfully completing: FREN 110a, FREN 111a, or any OC-designated course approved for the major.
   • Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing: Any DL-designated course approved for the major, or any DL-designated course approved as a substitution by the Undergraduate Advising Head.
3. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the major.
4. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the major requirements.
5. At the end of their studies in French and Francophone Studies (usually during the spring semester of the senior year), all students pursuing a major will participate in an oral presentation and discussion of a sample of their work that best demonstrates their proficiency in and knowledge of French and Francophone Studies.

Notes:

• French and Francophone Studies majors have the option of writing a Senior Essay (FREN 97a) in the fall of their senior year as one of their electives.
• A French and Francophone Studies major who wishes to do an internship in a French or Francophone environment on or off campus may enroll in FREN 92a. Students arrange their own internships with prior permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.
• Students may receive credit for an elective for the major for one cross-listed or related course taught in English with prior permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.

All students pursuing a French and Francophone Studies major will be assigned an adviser in the department, usually the Undergraduate Advising Head.

Honors

To be considered for departmental honors upon graduation, students must successfully complete FREN 97a (Senior Essay) in the fall of their senior year, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in all French courses, and apply to the department for permission to enroll in FREN 99b (Senior Thesis) in the spring of their senior year. Departmental honors are awarded based on cumulative excellence in all courses taken in the major, including the senior essay and thesis.

Study Abroad

We encourage internships and study abroad. Our students have enrolled in programs in France, Québec, Switzerland, Belgium, Senegal, Mali, Madagascar, Cameroon, and Morocco.

Students may receive credit for electives for the major or minor for courses taken in French abroad, with prior permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.

How to Choose a Course at the Appropriate Level

For more information, please refer to the at Registrar’s website or to the Department of Romance Studies website.

FREN 10a Beginning French

For students with no previous knowledge of French and those with a minimal background. Students enrolling for the first time in a French and Francophone Studies course at Brandeis should refer to http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#frentest.

Learners discover the basics of French language and culture while speaking, listening, reading, and writing about everyday situations in French and Francophone countries. Usually offered every semester.

FREN 20b Continuing French

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in FREN 10a or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a French and Francophone Studies course at Brandeis should refer to http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#frentest.

Learners will deepen their knowledge of French and Francophone cultures while expanding their ability to speak, read, listen, and write in French. Usually offered every semester.

FREN 32a Intermediate French: Conversation
[ fl ]

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in FREN 20b or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a French and Francophone Studies course at Brandeis should refer to http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#frentest.

Exploring social “controversies” related to, for example, gender identity and Smartphone addiction, this course focuses on essential communication skills such as comprehension, contemporary vocabulary use, and conversational practice. Our materials include videos, music, websites, articles, and short stories, with an emphasis on Haitian culture in the final unit. Usually offered every semester.

FREN 92a Internship

May be taken with the written permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.

A combined on- or off-campus internship experience related to French and Francophone studies with written analysis under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. Students arrange their own internships. Counts only once toward the fulfillment of requirements for the major or the minor. Usually offered every semester.

FREN 97a Senior Essay

Students should consult the Undergraduate Advising Head before enrolling.

FREN 97a offers French and Francophone Studies majors an opportunity to produce a senior essay under the direction of an individual instructor. Students normally enroll in FREN 97a in the fall. Only under exceptional circumstances will students enroll in FREN 97a in the spring. Offered every fall.

FREN 98a Independent Study

May be taken only with the written permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.
Reading and written analyses under faculty supervision. Offered as needed.

FREN 99b Senior Thesis

May be taken only with the written permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.

Senior French and Francophone Studies majors who successfully complete FREN 97a (Senior essay) in the fall and who have a 3.5 GPA in all French and Francophone Studies courses may apply to extend the essay into a thesis in the spring.

FREN 104b Advanced Language Skills through Culture
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: A 30-level French and Francophone Studies course or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a French and Francophone Studies course at Brandeis should refer to http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#frentest.

For students who would like to advance their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, while focusing on key elements of French and Francophone cultures. Through the study of films, comics, current events, and cultural comparisons, we explore the ways in which French speakers’ perceptions of time and space differ from our own. We also examine issues of globalization in the francophone world. Usually offered every semester.

FREN 105a The Francophone World Today: Advanced Language Skills through Culture II
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 104b or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a French and Francophone Studies course at Brandeis should refer to http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#frentest.

For students who want to improve their speaking skills while learning about and discussing socio-cultural issues that distinguish the French view of the world from that of Americans. Students will focus on expressing themselves better orally while continuing their work on reading, listening, and writing as they explore current topics of debate like slang usage and immigration. Usually offered every semester.

FREN 110a Cultural Representations
[ fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

A foundation course in French and Francophone culture, analyzing texts and other cultural phenomena such as film, painting, music, and politics. Usually offered every year.

FREN 111a The Republic
[ fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

The "Republic" analyzes how the republican ideal of the citizen devoid of religious, ethnic, or gender identity has fared in different Francophone political milieux. Course involves understanding how political institutions such as constitutions, parliaments, and court systems interact with reality of modern societies in which religious, ethnic, and gender identities play important roles. Usually offered every year.

FREN 112b Anti-Semitism in France from the 1789 Revolution to Today
[ djw fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b, or the equivalent.

Examines how manifestations of anti-Semitism, which concern religious differences as well as economic, social, cultural, and political differences, first appeared in France and have changed in form and context from the 1789 Revolution to today. After contextualizing the notion of anti-Semitism in contemporary France after October 7, 2023, we will focus on three turning points in the history of anti-Semitism ion France: the Revolutionary period when Jews were granted full citizenship rights, the Dreyfus Affair when the place of Jews in the Republic was called into question, and the consequences of the Vichy regime in anti-Semitism in France today. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 113a Myth and Migration in Francophone North America
[ djw fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b.

Examines the linguistic and geographic ebb and flow between New England and francophone Canada, the multiple pressures on Native American societies, and the rich representations—particularly certain “myth cycles”—that arise from those interactions over time. Tracing the establishment of New France, subsequent waves of Catholic and Protestant immigrants (including the diaspora of Acadians), and indigenous displacement and resistance, the class will rely upon maps, stories, historical objects, memoirs, poems, films, and pictures to flesh out the complexities of anglophone, francophone, and autochtone co-existence. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 116a Vagabonds, Drifters, and Flaneurs in French and Francophone Literature and Film
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b, or equivalent.

What is a vagabond, a drifter, a flâneur or flâneuse? This course examines these figures as they appear in French and Francophone literature and film from the Romantic period up to today. Readings include works by authors ranging from Victor Hugo to Virginie Despentes, films from the Nouvelle Vague to contemporary francophone filmmakers. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 125b Mediterranean Crossings
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Navigating French and Francophone literature and film, we will explore the Mediterranean as a transnational space of multiple circulations, migrations, and cultural crossings in works by Lebanese, Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian, Greek, Romanian, and French writers and filmmakers. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 126b La place de la nature dans le monde culturel francophone
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or equivalent, or instructor permission.

Invites students to examine interactions between humans and the environment in texts and images created in Francophone cultures (France, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Algeria, Morocco, Quebec, and the fictional nation of the Democratic Republic of Coto [based on the Democratic Republic of the Congo]). Students will discover key notions that have shaped ideas about nature in the Francophone world. By engaging with literary texts, films, and visual arts, they will trace, interpret, and evaluate the rapport between humans in Francophone areas and the natural world from the sixteenth century (when the French nation was established) to the present day. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 129a La Révolution tranquille?: Québec's Culture Wars on Stage and Screen
[ djw fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Considers the plays and films of the last sixty years that have probed the tensions at the heart of québécois culture to provide a violent counterpart to the sexual, political, and generational "Révolution tranquille" of the 1960's and 1970's. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 139a Bad Girls and Boys: Du mauvais genre
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Through a selection of literary texts, articles, images and films, students will explore how works from the Middle Ages to present day depict male and female figures in the French and Francophone world who have failed to conform to expectations of their gender. Usually offered every second year.

FREN 141b Introduction to French and Francophone Cinema: un certain regard
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Introduces students to the major trends in French and Francophone cinema from the postwar period to the present. The course will include a discussion of major works of cinema from a variety of genres, including comedy, documentary, social realism, historical drama, and autobiography. Each work will be studied through formal analysis, different theoretical lenses, and in the context of major historical and artistic turning points. Topics of discussion will include student protest movements, class struggle, and decolonization, as well as the issues of pressing concern today, such as immigration and social, political, and environmental inequality. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 142b City and the Book
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Analyzes the symbolic appearance of the city in French literature and film from the Middle Ages to the present day. The representation of the city in literature and film is contextualized in theoretical writings of urbanists and philosophers. Literary texts include medieval fabliaux, Pantagruel (Rabelais) and Nana (Zola) as well as theoretical texts by Descartes, Ledoux, Le Corbusier, Salvador Dalí, and Paul Virillo. Usually offered every second year.

FREN 146a Picturing Versailles: Portrait, Space, and Spectacle Under the Sun King
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Examines bodies of literature, visual arts, and courtiers at Versailles in the theatrical society of intrigue and exile under Louis XIV. Concentrates on how the texts, maps, and art of the palace fashion a global portrait of absolutism: the Sun King. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 149b Le Livre Illustré: Word and Image in Francophone Texts from Bestiaries to Bandes Dessinées
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the theories and practices of text-image interactions in illustrated francophone books of the past and present by addressing themes such as learning, travel, sentimentality, pornography, politics, and humor. This course will include archival work in the Brandeis library. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 150b French Detective Novels: Major Questions for a Minor Genre?
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Examines how French and Francophone detective novels take on big questions such as the origin of evil and how do you know what you know. Authors include Fred Vargas, Simenon, Driss Chraibi, Moussa Konate. Usually offered every second year.

FREN 151b Francophone Identities in a Global World: An Introduction to Francophone Literature
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Introduces Francophone literature and film, retracing, through the works of great contemporary Francophone writers and directors, the evolution of the Francophone world, from the colonial struggles to the transcultural and transnational trajectories of our global era. Usually offered every second year.

FREN 153a Food and Identity in the French and Francophone World
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Why in France is food so intertwined with national identity? This course apprehends French and Francophone culture by thinking with food - its connections with identity, power, gender, social distinction and aesthetics. Foodwriting, films, literary texts, articles by major cultural historians are studied. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 159b Wordplay: Humor in Francophone Texts
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Students will analyze the forms and functions of humor in francophone texts (French, Canadian, and Caribbean) from the Middle Ages to the present day. Course themes will include farce, comedy of manners, wordplay, and satire. The course will include archival work. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 161a The Enigma of Being Oneself: From Du Bellay to Laferrière
[ djw fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the relationship of identity formation and modern individualism in texts by writers working in France, Francophone Africa and Canada. Authors range from modern and contemporary writers Sarah Kofman, Dany Laferrière, Achille Mbembe, Alain Mabanckou, and Edouard Glissant to early-modern writers like Joachim Du Bellay and Michel de Montaigne. Usually offered every year.

FREN 162b From Les Confessions to Instagram: Self-Writing in Contemporary French and Francophone Literature
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Through the works of major writers, the main goal of the course will be to study the many variations of autobiographical writing that characterize contemporary French and Francophone literature, and to relate them to the renewed exploration of the post-modern subject. We will examine along the way how the self relates to the others, how it engages with filiation, memory and history - (especially World War II and the Franco-Algerian War) - and we will put an emphasis on the notions of self-fashioning and performance. Usually offered every second year.

FREN 186b Literature and Politics
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

We will be interested in how the literary is political and the political literary. We will organize the class around the relationship of the individual and the community. Texts include: Montaigne's Essais, Corneille's Horace, Genet's Les nègres, Arendt's What is Politics?, Dumont's Essays on Individualism, Fanon's Peau noire, masques blancs. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 110a Cultural Representations
[ fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

A foundation course in French and Francophone culture, analyzing texts and other cultural phenomena such as film, painting, music, and politics. Usually offered every year.

FREN 111a The Republic
[ fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

The "Republic" analyzes how the republican ideal of the citizen devoid of religious, ethnic, or gender identity has fared in different Francophone political milieux. Course involves understanding how political institutions such as constitutions, parliaments, and court systems interact with reality of modern societies in which religious, ethnic, and gender identities play important roles. Usually offered every year.

FREN 112b Anti-Semitism in France from the 1789 Revolution to Today
[ djw fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b, or the equivalent.

Examines how manifestations of anti-Semitism, which concern religious differences as well as economic, social, cultural, and political differences, first appeared in France and have changed in form and context from the 1789 Revolution to today. After contextualizing the notion of anti-Semitism in contemporary France after October 7, 2023, we will focus on three turning points in the history of anti-Semitism ion France: the Revolutionary period when Jews were granted full citizenship rights, the Dreyfus Affair when the place of Jews in the Republic was called into question, and the consequences of the Vichy regime in anti-Semitism in France today. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 142b City and the Book
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Analyzes the symbolic appearance of the city in French literature and film from the Middle Ages to the present day. The representation of the city in literature and film is contextualized in theoretical writings of urbanists and philosophers. Literary texts include medieval fabliaux, Pantagruel (Rabelais) and Nana (Zola) as well as theoretical texts by Descartes, Ledoux, Le Corbusier, Salvador Dalí, and Paul Virillo. Usually offered every second year.

FREN 149b Le Livre Illustré: Word and Image in Francophone Texts from Bestiaries to Bandes Dessinées
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the theories and practices of text-image interactions in illustrated francophone books of the past and present by addressing themes such as learning, travel, sentimentality, pornography, politics, and humor. This course will include archival work in the Brandeis library. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 151b Francophone Identities in a Global World: An Introduction to Francophone Literature
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Introduces Francophone literature and film, retracing, through the works of great contemporary Francophone writers and directors, the evolution of the Francophone world, from the colonial struggles to the transcultural and transnational trajectories of our global era. Usually offered every second year.

FREN 159b Wordplay: Humor in Francophone Texts
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Students will analyze the forms and functions of humor in francophone texts (French, Canadian, and Caribbean) from the Middle Ages to the present day. Course themes will include farce, comedy of manners, wordplay, and satire. The course will include archival work. Usually offered every third year.

FREN 161a The Enigma of Being Oneself: From Du Bellay to Laferrière
[ djw fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 105a or FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the relationship of identity formation and modern individualism in texts by writers working in France, Francophone Africa and Canada. Authors range from modern and contemporary writers Sarah Kofman, Dany Laferrière, Achille Mbembe, Alain Mabanckou, and Edouard Glissant to early-modern writers like Joachim Du Bellay and Michel de Montaigne. Usually offered every year.

FREN 186b Literature and Politics
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

We will be interested in how the literary is political and the political literary. We will organize the class around the relationship of the individual and the community. Texts include: Montaigne's Essais, Corneille's Horace, Genet's Les nègres, Arendt's What is Politics?, Dumont's Essays on Individualism, Fanon's Peau noire, masques blancs. Usually offered every third year.

ECS 100a European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Modernism
[ dl hum oc ]

Explores the interrelationship of literature, music, painting, philosophy, and other arts in the era of high modernism. Works by Artaud, Baudelaire, Benjamin, Mann, Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Kandinsky, Schiele, Beckett, Brecht, Adorno, Sartre, Heidegger, and others. Usually offered every fall semester.

ECS 100b European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Making of European Modernity, 1250 to 1650
[ hum ]

Investigates how the paradigm of what we know as modernity came into being. We will look at the works of writers and philosophers such as Descartes, Aquinas, Dante, Ockham, Petrarch, Ficino, Rabelais, and Montaigne. Artwork from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance will be used to understand better what "the modern" means. Usually offered every spring semester.

FA 155a Impressionism: Avant-Garde Rebellion in Context
[ ca ]

Focuses on major 19th century artists in France, from the innovation of Edouard Manet to the formation of the group called the Impressionists. Study of the series of independent exhibitions, mounted between 1874 - 1886, and organized by the unlikely allies Edgar Degas and Claude Monet, including women artists Morisot and Cassatt. Also analysis of the influence of Japanese art from abroad, and the new 'objective' style, shaped in part by the invention of photography, will be a focus. The next generation - Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat, and Van Gogh - develop stylistic ideas out of Impressionism, and re-shape its aims. Usually offered every third year.

FA 156b Postimpressionism and Symbolism, 1880-1910
[ ca wi ]

Artists Vincent Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat and Cézanne, first identified with Post-Impressionism, are contextualized with Toulouse-Lautrec and others who defined the French art world before 1900. Symbolism has its roots in the art work of Redon, Van Gogh and above all Gauguin, here studied in context with poetry and art criticism of the times. The Expressionist move toward an abstract idiom in Norway, Germany and Austria will focus on Edvard Munch and Gustav Klimt. Decorative styles such as Art Nouveau and Jugendstil define the bridge to the 20th century. The course ends with early 20th century masters, Matisse and the Fauves, and finally German Expressionism. Usually offered every fourth year.

HUM 1a Tragedy: Love and Death in the Creative Imagination
[ hum ]

Enrollment limited to first-year Humanities Fellows. Satisfies the First-Year Seminar core requirement.
 

Our seminar concerns elemental experiences, above all love and death. The medium through which we will explore them is tragedy, an ancient literary form closely allied with myth. Consider this remark by philosopher Simone Weil: Nothing is so beautiful and wonderful, nothing is so continually fresh and surprising, so full of sweet and perpetual ecstasy, as the good. No desert is so dreary, monotonous, and boring as evil. This is the truth about authentic good and evil. With fictional good and evil it is the other way around. Fictional good is boring and flat, while fictional evil is varied and intriguing, attractive, profound and full of charm. (S.W., On Science, Necessity, and the Love of God, 160)

Hence, the appeal of the tragic, which directly addresses evil. There will be abundant, and sometimes horrifying evil in the plays, fiction, and poetry we read this term. We begin with Cormac McCarthy’s shocking Blood Meridian, a tragic tale of the American West, much as the Iliad is a tragic tale of ancient Greece. But why belabor the tragic, the mythic? Because in myth and tragedy we find not merely the self-confident moral posturing so common in modern writing but instead an attempt to get at that which underlies morality: good and evil, love and death. They are more fundamental, possibly divine, and therefore the remit of myth and tragedy rather than science and law. Usually offered every year.

IGS 110a Religion and Secularism in French & Francophone Culture
[ hum ss ]

Tackles the persistent power of religion in France and its former colonies despite common ideals of secular nationalism. Through literature and film we will study the historical and contemporary cultural wars waged around the French notion of 'laïcité' -- its confrontation with Islam, but also the experiences of Jews, Catholics, and Protestants.

IGS 120a Inventing Oneself
[ hum ]

Do our backgrounds determine our lives, or can we transcend such limits to pursue dreams of our own? This class explores themes of liberation in works by French and Francophone writers and filmmakers and the global artistic and social movements they have inspired. All works in English. Usually offered every second year.

PHIL 177b Simone Weil
[ hum ]

Focuses on the legendary Christian Platonist French philosopher Simone Weil, revolutionary and mystic. A key theme in her philosophy: Is divine perfection reconcilable with human suffering? Though she died tragically at the tender age of 34, Weil rethought the foundations of contemporary civilization in philosophy, science, mathematics, ethics, politics and religion. Usually offered every third year.