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Course Description

Summary

In this course, we will explore the representation of travel and discovery in a variety of genres (essay, theatre, novel, poetry, film, bande dessinée). By examining both fictive and real travel narratives, we will look at how reality is transformed into a text and how fictions help us to imagine and discover new ways of thinking and living. Central themes will include exile and homecoming, utopia, and the opposition between the “primitive” and the “civilized.” We will study works from the 16th through 20th centuries by Montaigne, Du Bellay, Michel Tournier, Marivaux, and Philippe Labro. The theme of travel will guide us as we examine important questions: Does literature simply describe reality or does it help us to imagine and discover new ways of thinking and living? What is the value of travel? Does it help us to know others or does it provide a mirror for the self? Do universal values exist or are all values relative? This course will introduce you to French literary genres as well as writing and speaking about literature in French. It aims to provide you the basic critical vocabulary for the study of literature. Frequent written and oral assignments will give you opportunities to communicate your own insights and observations about the texts we will study. Intermediate-high level. Conducted in French. Corequisites: participation in Language Series, French Table