French Studies 561 - Literary Childhoods

This seminar will explore the literary works that have shaped our understanding of childhood in French culture. We will study the cultural and historical contexts in which literatures on and for children were created, as well as how they reflected and shaped the values and attitude of French society towards childhood. Our study will include works such as the following: Saint Exupery, Le Petit Prince; Perrault?s Contes de ma mere l?Oye; Valles, L?Enfant; Goscinny, Le Petit Nicolas; Cocteau, Les Enfants terribles; Christiane Rochefort, Les Petits enfants du siecle; Mourlevat, L?Enfant ocean. We will analyze how these texts were influenced by their time and how they themselves influenced children?s literature and the idea of childhood in France. We will examine recurring themes such as innocence, self-discovery, imagination, and the relationship between the child and the adult world. We will also explore the various techniques used by the authors to convey their messages and how these techniques have evolved over time. Students will develop an understanding of the intersections between childhood, language, and identity in French literature. Selected critical texts drawing on a variety of theoretical perspectives will allow students to analyze the way in which French literary childhood reflects and shapes broader discourses related to education, socialization, the concept of the self, and that of family, as well as to critically examine the ways in which these discourses perpetuate or challenge prevalent structures.