[PreReq: FRE11-314, -334 or -354] [Cross-lists: IS-Europe; FST-Rep. and Aesthetics]

In this course, we will analyze novels, short stories, essays, and films by contemporary women in order to understand the ways in which they explore identity and difference and the narrative strategies they use. We will study how they express the human condition, situate us in time and space, question notions of self, and reinvision our relationships with people, places, and things. We will prioritize complete works by prominent writers and filmmakers, in order to learn how they have forged new directions in literature, philosophy, and film that foreground feminine perspectives.

Our seminar format will emphasize discussions based on student input, including written responses to readings and viewings, in-class analysis and debate, oral exposés, and essays. On successful completion of this course, you will be able to compare and contrast the work of several prominent French-language writers and filmmakers, to provide detailed analysis of issues of self and identity and of diverse techniques used to present and embody them, and to demonstrate progress toward advanced proficiencies in reading, writing, and speaking.

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