Readings/Films:

Myles. “An American Poem.” 1991

Rousseau. Confessions (Book 6). 1782

Molière. Don Juan. 1665

Erasmus. “Exorcism, or the Specter.” 1524

Montaigne. “Of Cripples.” 1580 – 1595

Vigne. The Return of Martin Guerre. 1982

Franklin. “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker.” 1747

Diderot. Supplement to Bougainville’s “voyage.” 1772

Balzac. Colonel Chabert. 1832

Minghella. The Talented Mr. Ripley. 1999

Course Description:

What happens when someone pretends to be someone else? This course will look at both literary and historical incidences of imposture through a series of primarily fictional texts. We will read earnest confessions of impersonations to win love, compare literary and historical accounts of an impersonator’s trial, discuss the post-revolutionary problem of bookkeeping in the story of a man returning from war after having been legally declared dead, and read both sides of the trans-Atlantic hoax that launched a political debate over women’s rights. We’ll read both secondary and primary sources to look at imposture in relation to larger social and political questions. Students will be able to analyze literature within its historical context while looking into broad questions of self-presentation and fictionality.

Additional information:

French R1B satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition Requirement. Classes are conducted in ENGLISH

Section times and locations in the Schedule of Classes