French 230 - Colloquium in French Studies: Tahitian Letters: Island Paradise inthe French Cultural Imagination
COLQ: ISLAND PARADISE
Spring
2021
02
4.00
Maureen DeNino
TTh 09:20-10:35
Smith College
30326-S21
REMOTE
mdenino@smith.edu
Topics course.
A gateway to more advanced courses. These colloquia develop skills in expository writing and critical thinking in French. Materials include novels, films, essays and cultural documents. Students may receive credit for only one section of 230. Enrollment limited to 18. Basis for the major. Prerequisite: 220 or permission of the instructor: “I thought I had been transported to the garden of Eden”: the explorer Bougainville’s 1771 description of the abundance and beauty of “Taïti” set the tone for two centuries of exoticism in French literature and art. This course will explore legacies of Enlightenment, colonialism, feminism, and postcolonialism through the shifting representations of this so-called island paradise. Readings include travel narratives, philosophical texts, poetry, and novels by Rousseau, Diderot, Josephine de Montbart, Charles Baudelaire, Pierre Loti, and Chantal Spitz. Works will be approached in historical context, drawing connections with visual culture, global developments, and contemporary debates. (E)
A gateway to more advanced courses. These colloquia develop skills in expository writing and critical thinking in French. Materials include novels, films, essays and cultural documents. Students may receive credit for only one section of 230. Enrollment limited to 18. Basis for the major. Prerequisite: 220 or permission of the instructor: “I thought I had been transported to the garden of Eden”: the explorer Bougainville’s 1771 description of the abundance and beauty of “Taïti” set the tone for two centuries of exoticism in French literature and art. This course will explore legacies of Enlightenment, colonialism, feminism, and postcolonialism through the shifting representations of this so-called island paradise. Readings include travel narratives, philosophical texts, poetry, and novels by Rousseau, Diderot, Josephine de Montbart, Charles Baudelaire, Pierre Loti, and Chantal Spitz. Works will be approached in historical context, drawing connections with visual culture, global developments, and contemporary debates. (E)