Readings/Films:

See Description.

Course Description:

Linguists have often used literary texts as valuable sources of information about written and spoken norms, the social factors that inform language practices, and the evolution of languages over time. In turn, literary scholars have enriched their own work with ideas based in linguistic thought, from the study of stylistics to theories in linguistic anthropology.

In this course, we will analyze literary works in French by using resources from linguistics. Among the matters that we will investigate are the ways in which authors portray class and gender through language, how voice is attributed to characters, and how poets harness sound and structure to create melody and meaning. The class will take up literary works from a variety of genres, dating from the medieval to the present day. Students will gain a deeper appreciation of the expressive resources of the French language as well as of the ways in which linguistic transgressions shape literature.   Works we will study include Marivaux’s Le jeu de l’amour et du hasard, Chrétien de Troyes’s Le chevalier de la charrette, and Ionesco’s La cantatrice chauve, along with a variety of shorter texts and poems.

Prerequisites: 

French 102 or consent of Instructor.

Additional Information:

Satisfies 1 “Literaure/Genre” or 1 “Elective” course requirement in French major; satisfies one “Historical Period” requirement in French major; satisfies 1 course requirement in French minor.  Satisfies Letters and Science breadth requirement in Arts and Literature or International Studies.

Section times and locations in the Schedule of Classes