Movin' On Up / Falling (Back) Into Place -- Social Mobility and the Figure of the Parvenue -- Glass Ceiling Edition
I. REQUIRED TEXTS/FILMS:
Flaubert, Madame Bovary. 1856
Méliès, Cinderella (film). 1899
Renoir, Nana (film). 1926
Schumer, “On Being New Money.” 2016
Shaw, Pygmalion. 1913
Thackeray, Vanity Fair. 1847
Zola, Nana (excerpts). 1880
II. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Literature has long been a space within which an author can examine dynamics of social class and upward mobility. From rags-to-riches fairy tales, through the twists and turns on the road to self-discovery in the picaresque or bildungsroman, to modern novels, plays, and screens big and small, readers (/viewers) have been exposed to countless figures – likeable, detestable, inspirational, successful or ultimately doomed – who have suggested that it is possible to come from nothing and yet reach dizzying heights.
The texts examined in this course will show that the processes of climbing the social ladder are, in fact, much more complicated than a mere act of will suggested by the American adage of “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps.” Many of the characters in the works we will read will be familiar to students, as they have come to represent (perhaps because of their appearance in famous works by famous authors, those “classics” of Western Literature) the social success that can be achieved through talent, hard work, networking, deception, dreaming, and scheming. From Cinderella to Becky Sharp, from Julien Sorel to Jay Gatsby to the Rastignac who to this day lends his name to the French expression for an ambitious social climber, this course will examine (and revel in!) their dazzling triumphs on the social scene – and analyze their sometimes inevitable fall back into obscurity.
NOTE(!):
A VERSION OF THIS COURSE, WITH READINGS THAT ADDRESSED WORKS CENTERED ON MALE PROTAGONISTS, WAS GIVEN IN THE FRENCH DEPARTMENT AS AN R1A IN FALL 2016. THIS NEW, R1B OFFERING IS BEING PROPOSED AS A COMPLIMENT TO THE EARLIER COURSE : THIS SPRING, STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE PLEASURE OF FOLLOWING THE RISE OF INTELLIGENT, SELF-ASSURED (OR SCHEMING AND MANIPULITAVE?!) FEMALE CHARACTERS…
This class will introduce students to approaching textual material critically, and will stress the idea of writing as a process through a variety of assignments and revisions geared to guide the development and clear expression of coherent argumentation.
Additional information:
French R1B satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition Requirement. Classes are conducted in ENGLISH