Readings:

L’Etranger, La Peste, La Chute, Les Justes, L’Exil et le royaume, Le Dernier homme

Recommended: (all in folio edition)

Le Mythe de Sisyphe, L’Homme Révolté, Actuelles: Chroniques Algériennes,

Olivier Todd, Albert Camus: Une Vie

Course Description:

One of the most important intellectual figures of the 20th century, Albert Camus continues to provoke debates on literature, politics and ethics. Initially hailed as a philosopher of the Absurd, he was a Resistance fighter during the Occupation and emerged from World War Two as an exemplary committed intellectual, only to be dismissed as a naïve moralist during the Cold War, and accused of colonial nostalgia during the Algerian war. More recently Camus has been rehabilitated and discussed in all sorts of fascinating ways: as an exemplary writer of the Holocaust, a proponent of multiculturalism, a postcolonial theorist, a critic of fundamentalism, and even, as an intellectual ally in the US war on terror…

This course will investigate the many faces of Albert Camus by reading his major literary works in relation to his other writings at particular historical junctures. We will also examine the critical approaches and cultural trends that have led to the tumultuous afterlife of his works.

Prerequisites:

French 102 or equivalent.

Additional Information:

Senior standing recommended, but not required.  This course is designated as an “”R”” (Research-Oriented) course in the French major sequence.

Section times and locations in the Schedule of Classes