All work in this class is conducted in French.

The cinema has always been a voracious consumer of literature — pillaging it for its narratives — and the literature of “Classical” France is no exception. In this course, we’ll be examining how filmmakers have set about adapting a number of works for the screen. Certain works are obviously “literary,” with plots and characters and so on, while others are more like documents filmmakers seek to bring to life. Some adaptations seek to modernize, smoothing over bumps between then and now; some seek to estrange the sources, as if the seventeenth-century were another planet; some freely riff on the source material in an attempt to “make it new.” The class will focus on adaptations of works by Molière, Perrault, Racine, Lafayette, and a few others, including Louis XIV himself.

“Completion of FR102, Placement Exam, or Native Language Fluency Required for Enrollment. MUST HAVE TAKEN FRENCH 4 AT UC BERKELEY OR A FRENCH DEPARTMENT PLACEMENT TEST - For placement testing, please contact vrodic@berkeley.edu.