Love, Friendship and the Political
I. REQUIRED TEXTS:
Writing Analytically, David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen
The Princesse of Cleves, Madame de Lafayette
Letters from a Peruvian Woman, Françoise de Graffigny
The Scarlett Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Course reader:
The Symposium (excerpts), Plato
The Nicomachean Ethics (excerpts), Aristotle
Antigone, Sophocles
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (excepts), Rousseau
On Democracy in America (excerpts) Tocqueville
Aurélia, Nerval
II. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Love and friendship seem so personal and intimate, but how can they be understood as political concepts? Can love or friendship establish political community? In what ways is love in particular viewed as a creative or destructive force? And does it produce and maintain social inequality? And how do our very notions of love and friendship structure our reflection on political concerns? In this course, we will read texts that explore these questions and others. We will also examine the ways in which literary texts confront political concerns through stories of love and friendship.
This course is an R1A, the first part of two courses intended to introduce students to literary analysis, critical reading, and analytical writing. Writing assignments will include posting to bCourses and formulating discussion questions as well as brainstorming, peer-editing, drafting, revising, and re-writing formal essays.
Additional Information:
French R1A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition Requirement. Classes are conducted in ENGLISH