Readings:

Letters from a Peruvian Woman by Françoise de Graffigny, trans. David Kornacker (MLA Texts & Translations, 1993)

Course Reader

Recommended: Writing Analytically by David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen

Course Description:

In this course, which builds upon the skills developed in R1A, we will read a variety of texts – ancient, medieval, and modern – that highlight questions of point of view and present different ideas of romantic love. While analyzing formal and pragmatic considerations – who is speaking, and when? What information is given to or withheld from the reader? Is the story focused on the same characters throughout, or does the focus shift? – we will explore the ways in which the concept of love and its importance, or not, differs from one period to another. To supplement our thinking about these questions, we will read critical essays from theorists and scholars such as Mikhail Bakhtin, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner.

We will work on interpreting literature, producing close readings, developing solid literary arguments, understanding literary theory, doing and presenting outside research, and analyzing and critiquing theoretical work in class discussions and writing assignments.

Additional Information:

French R1B fulfills the second half of the Reading and Composition Requirement in the College of Letters and Science. Class conducted in ENGLISH.

Section times and locations in the Schedule of Classes