This seminar will offer an historical and interdisciplinary introduction to classic works of “French theory” and “French feminism.” Readings will constellate around the notion of antihumanism or the end of the subject and will include some key concepts (antihumanism, the death of the author, différance, discourse, écriture, interpellation, intertextuality, text). We will track the notion’s migration across different disciplinary sectors (anthropology, psychoanalysis, psychiatry, philosophy, literary criticism, and literature). We will set these developments against the backdrop of the transatlantic exchange that gave rise to the corpora of “French theory” and “French feminism,” as well as critiques of their claims and validity.

Assignments: One in-class presentation, one midterm paper, one term paper.

Language: English or French according to student interest.

Readings:

Readings will include essays by L. Althusser, R. Barthes, S. de Beauvoir, M. Blanchot, N. Brossard, J. Butler, H. Cixous, J. Derrida, F. Fanon, M. Foucault, B. Godard, L. Irigaray, J. Kristeva, J. Lacan, C. Lévi-Strauss, P. Macherey, M. Wittig, and S. Wynter, as well as historiographic treatments of the corpus.

Students should acquire copies of the following books:

Brossard, Nicole. Le Désert mauve : roman. Hexagone, 1987.
Foucault, Michel. L’Ordre du discours : leçon inaugurale au Collège de France prononcée le 2 décembre 1970. Gallimard, 2009.
Ouologuem, Yambo. Le Devoir de violence : roman. Seuil, 1968.
Wittig, Monique. Les Guérillères. Minuit, 1969.