Studies in World Literatures (STWL)
The course will trace the historical conditions of women's education in the Western traditions with reference to women's 'historical silence' or 'mouthpiece function'. Women's writing will be read as an escape from, answer to, repudiation of a gender discourse favoring men's determination of self and society. Readings and discussions will focus on women's desire for knowledge as well as women's articulation of desire - the desire to be different without having to adapt to standards not set by themselves. The goal of self-determination will be differentiated with regard to both equal rights and equal responsibilities. Finally, the course will address women's conceptualization of history, literature, and language of their own.
Prereq: German 301 or equivalent
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
An intensive examination of classical texts from twentieth century and contemporary Africa aimed at highlighting their particularities in expressing the colonial experience and its aftermath. Explores manifestations of traditional narrative forms in the modern novel and seeks to introduce students to the contributions of some of the most influential writers from the African continent.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts
This course introduces French environmental history from the Enlightenment to the present day through the study of literature and film, challenging common assumptions about France's ecological past. Through literary and cinematic analysis of texts by Chateaubriand, Zola, Maupassant, George Sand, Jules Verne, Elysée Reclus, Colette, Jean Giono, and Maylis de Kerangal, and films by Georges Méliès, Agnès Varda, Sara Dosa, Cyprien Vial among others, we will examine how French writers and filmmakers have depicted French society's complex relationship with nature, often revealing surprising continuities and ruptures that contradict popular narratives about environmental change. We will analyze representations of industrialization, globalization, natural disasters, conservation efforts, and ecological anxiety (in texts as early as Voltaire's1756 "Poem on the Disaster of Lisbon" to uncover the myths and realities of French environmental history.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Literature
Typically Offered: Every Third Year
This film course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to study the unique contributions that French-speaking filmmakers have made to the art of cinema. The course is both an introduction to the study of film, and an in-depth survey of French-language filmmaking. We discuss the history of French cinema (from the invention of the cinématographe by the Lumière brothers until today, including cinematic trends such as Poetic Realism, Occupation Cinema, the French New Wave and Young French Cinema) with particular emphasis on sound films (i.e., films made since 1930). We also examine both the qualities of individual films and the cultural and historical factors that have shaped the development of the medium. The course is taught in English and the films (in French with English subtitles) are analyzed in relation to an historical overview of French cinema, an introduction to film theory, key concepts of film studies and various articles on each specific film. Emphasis throughout the semester will be on close readings of the films. One unit.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts
This course, titled after French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir's 1949 feminist manifesto The Second Sex, explores the unique contributions that women filmmakers have made to the art of cinema, from its inception to the present, with special attention to the contemporary period. Emphasis will be placed on French-language cinema (produced in France, Belgium, Quebec/Canada, North Africa and other francophone countries), but other national cinemas will be discussed as well. Counts toward the Studies in World Literatures (STWL) major, and the concentration in Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies (GSWS). No prerequisite. Conducted in English. One Unit.
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Arts
A topical examination of contemporary African societies and cultures as expressed through the camera lens. A study of films from across the continent focusing on the dynamics of change, gender, migrations, conflicts, politics, globalization, and marginalization. The course aims to highlight the internal diversity of perspectives and aesthetics in the representation of such issues. The course focuses less on the technical or theoretical considerations of the films and more so on the examination of the themes and issues they raise, internally and globally. (Films from Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, South Africa, etc.)
GPA units: 1
Common Area: Cross-Cultural Studies
Typically Offered: Every Third Year
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
GPA units: 1
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring