French 366 - Visceral: The Francophone Literary Corpus

This course explores the concepts of the literary corpus and corporeal literature within a landscape of Francophone works from the Caribbean, the African littoral, and French Polynesia. We will explore how race, gender, and the body are portrayed through the form known as the book, and how literature can evoke complex experiences of desire, violence, resistance, and belonging. These themes are examined in the light of colonial histories, gendered violence, and national identities, as related to the (post)colonial psyche. Central to the course is the way literature reflects the embodied realities of marginalized individuals and communities, at the level of plot, of authorship, and through corporeal reader response. We will examine the materiality of texts and bodies: how both are shaped by cultural forces, and how they, in turn, shape our understandings of identity, agency, and power. What does it mean to consume or digest colonial literature? How do texts provoke visceral responses or even a sense of bodily engagement, and to what degree does this inform textual and cultural empathies? Texts may include works by Bâ, Boum, Césaire, Condé, Mbougar Sarr, Sembène, and Spitz.  Conducted in French.

Requisite: One of the following - FREN 207, 208 or the equivalent. Spring semester: Professor Sweat

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: An emphasis on written work concerning the analysis of literary texts, bibliography, and literature in relation to cultural history; theoretical reflection on literary and affect theories; independent research paired with oral presentations; instruction in a language other than English (French). Assessment will take place through scaffolded essay submissions and essay workshops. All essay submissions will be followed by a required 15-20 minute discussion with the instructor.