French 380tw - Topics in French Cultural Studies- Travel Writing and Self-Discovery

A survey of Francophone travel writing from the 16th to the 21st centuries. Students are exposed to a literary form that achieved popularity and cultural prestige early on, was then significantly challenged and diversified, and is presently enjoying a resurgence. The class considers fictional and nonfictional accounts reflecting different geographies of travel and migration. While early voyagers tended to assert the relative superiority of French culture, subsequent generations of travelers abandoned discovery for self-discovery and critiqued colonialism instead of indigenous cultures. Countries and regions surveyed include Palestine, Turkey, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Central and West Africa, the United States, Iran, France, Indonesia and Thailand. Course taught in French. Restrictions: ​FRN 380 may be repeated once with a different topic.

[CE] FRN 380 Limit