Courses

French 672: Topics in Literature and Culture*

Topic:  Identité et altérité aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles

Instructor: Anne Vila

Requisite: Graduate/professional standing

Schedule: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:00 pm to 2:15 pm

*Meets with French 462

Description:

How do we use others to make sense of who we are?  Under what circumstances do we become “others” to ourselves–or, conversely, recognize something of ourselves in another? These may seem like very modern questions, inspired by contemporary debates over identity and alterity. They are, however, rooted in early modern reflections and debates on the nature of human identity and the forces (physical, moral, social, linguistic, artistic) that shape or alter it.

This course is designed to explore these questions by examining how identity and alterity were represented in selected works from the literature and philosophy of late 17th- and 18th-century France—sometimes read in tandem with short excerpts from 20th-century philosophers. We will survey the ideas which 17th- and 18th- philosophers proposed about the origins and development of subjective identity, while also considering the different figures that were associated with alterity in the period’s literature: for example, the non-human animal; the exotic other; the dissident, marginal and original; and women as construed by certain theorists. We will also study how the authors in our corpus represented the experiences of self-othering and of identification with a community. Finally, we will pay close attention to the mediums they used, which included prose fiction, theater, and the philosophical essay or dialogue.

Our readings and discussions will begin with a module on the functions of alterity in works by Denis Diderot. The second module will range from the self-estrangement of Rousseau (read in dialogue with the character Alceste of Molière’s Le Misanthrope) to questions of alterity associated with sex and gender, class, and upbringing in texts by d’Aulnoy, Marivaux, Graffigny, and Charrière.

During week 6 or 7 of the semester, Professor Martin Rueff of the Université de Genève will visit our class as a Halls Visiting Scholar. We’ll also do an activity tied to the symposium on “The Work of the Literary Translator: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Politics” that will take place on February 28 (Prof. Rueff will be speaking at that symposium). Graduate students in French may satisfy their requirements in the Middle Ages-16th-17th century area or in the 18th-19th c. area, as described in our program guidelines.

Literary corpus

Diderot, Le Supplément au voyage de Bougainville, La Religieuse, and Le Neveu de Rameau–plus short excerpts from other works

Rousseau, Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire (selected promenades)–plus short excerpts from other works

Molière, Le Misanthrope

La Rochefoucauld, « L’Amour propre »

A fable by La Fontaine and a conte de fées by Mme d’Aulnoy

Marivaux, Le Jeu de l’amour et du hasard

Mme de Graffigny, Les Lettres d’une Péruvienne

Mme de Charrière, Lettres de Mistriss Henley

French 750: Research Laboratory I: Introduction to Graduate Research

Instructor: Joshua Armstrong

Requisite: Graduate/professional standing

Schedule: Mondays, 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Description:

A practicum for learning the essentials of 1) graduate studies and 2) professional research in French. Provides students with the necessary skills for success in the French MA and PhD programs. Includes exploration of structure and expectations of graduate program, the basics of scholarly research, reflection upon research interests and possible individual scholarly identities. Prepares students for academic conferences and publishing.

French 901: Seminar-Materials and Methods of Research

Instructor: Florence Vatan

Requisite: Graduate/professional standing

Schedule: Tuesdays, 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Description:

The purpose of this seminar is to facilitate writing of the dissertation through individual feedback and collective class discussions. In the first half of the semester, students will share previously completed work or ongoing research on their dissertation. In the second half of the semester, students will present the chapter they are currently working on. All seminar members will offer comments and suggestions. Students will also have the opportunity to explore effective writing techniques and to be introduced to research tools tailored to their dissertation projects. The seminar is open to advanced graduate students who are at the dissertation stage.

French 947: Seminar: Lecture Questions

Theme: Algeria’s Haunted Past: Narratives on Colonization.

Instructor: Nevine El-Nossery

Requisite: Graduate/professional standing

Schedule: Thursdays, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Description:

This course delves into the enduring effects of French colonization on Algerian identity, culture, and memory. Through a multidisciplinary lens, students will engage with historical texts, theoretical frameworks, and creative works that illuminate the complexities of Algeria’s colonial past and its repercussions until today. We will investigate how colonial history haunts contemporary Algerian and French societies, shaping narratives of trauma, resistance, and resilience. The course employs concepts such as colonial haunting (inspired by Avery Gordon’s “Ghostly Matters”), collective memory (drawing from Maurice Halbwachs and Paul Ricoeur), postcolonial theory (engaging with theorists like Edward Said, Franz Fanon, and Homi Bhabha), and trauma theory (utilizing concepts from Cathy Caruth and Judith Herman) to analyze how historical narratives shape present identities. Students will explore influential films like La Bataille d’Alger (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966), Hors-la-loi (Rachid Bouchareb, 2010), Divines (Houda Benyamina, 2016), alongside novels such as L’amour, la fantasia (Assia Djebar, 1985), Meursault, contre-enquête  (Kamel Daoud, 2013), Nos Richesses (Kaouther Adimi, 2017). Through critical readings, discussions, and original research projects, students will develop a nuanced understanding of Algeria’s complex past and its haunting legacy, culminating in a final “publishable” paper that contributes to the broader discourse on postcolonial studies.

Key Topics:

• Historical overview of French colonization in Algeria (1830-1962)
• Theories of colonial trauma and postcolonial identity
• The role of memory and the concept of “haunting” in cultural expressions
• Gendered perspectives on colonial and postcolonial experiences
• The impact of colonialism on language, literature, and art
• Contemporary political and social ramifications of colonial history

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course, students will:

• Critically engage with the historical and cultural implications of French colonization in Algeria.
• Apply relevant theoretical frameworks to analyze literary and cinematic representations of colonial and postcolonial experiences.
  Contribute original research that enhances understanding of the complex layers of colonization and its ongoing influence on contemporary societies.

Foundational Italian Courses

101 – 102 – 203 – 204

Credits: 4 each

Requisite: Follows the sequence (101, 102, 203, 204) and must have credit in previous course before moving on or receive placement into the course.

Instructor: Graduate TAs

Italian 312: Writing Workshop

Credits: 3

Requisite: Italian 202 or Italian 204

Instructor: TBD

Language of Instruction: Italian

Italian 322: Studies in Italian Literature and Culture II

Credits: 3

Requisite: Italian 202 or Italian 204

Instructor: Grazia Menechella

Language of Instruction: Italian

Italian 350*: Rome – Lust for Glory

Credits: 3

Requisite: Sophomore Standing

Instructor: Loren Eadie

Language of Instruction: English

*Cross-listed with ILS

Italian 450: Topic – Reading Machiavelli Together

Credits: 3

Requisite: Italian 321 or Italian 322 or graduate/professional standing

Instructor: Kristin Phillips-Court

Language of Instruction: Italian

Literature in Translation 253: Of Demons and Angels. Dante’s Devine Comedy

Credits: 3

Requisite: Sophomore Standing

Instructor: TBD

Language of Instruction: English

Literature in Translation 410: Topic – Secrets & Legends of Florence

Credits: 3

Requisite: Sophomore Standing

Instructor: Stefania Buccini

Language of Instruction: English

Italian 450: Topic – Reading Machiavelli Together

Credits: 3

Requisite: Italian 321 or Italian 322 or graduate/professional standing

Instructor: Kristin Phillips-Court

Description:

This course examines the major works of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) through close reading and discussion of his diverse writings in the contexts of humanism, literature, historiography and political theory. We will seek to grasp the thread of Machiavelli’s thinking across diverse texts and genres, while also evaluating the meaning, impacts, and scholarly criticism of each work. Placing him in relation to the Classical and Humanists traditions and to other writers (and some artists) in his own circle, we will remain particularly attuned to aspects of continuity and innovation within Machiavelli’s writing and political thought.

Italian 622: The 18th Century

Theme:  Survey of eighteenth-century Italian literature from 1750-1800

Instructor: Stefania Buccini

Requisite: Italian 321 or Italian 322 or Graduate/professional standing

Schedule: Tuesdays, 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Description:

The course will encompass the Enlightenment and its most prominent figures, including Giuseppe Parini, Cesare Beccaria, and Pietro Verri. It will assist the graduate students in preparing for the symposium on “Rethinking the Italian Eighteenth Century and Its Transnational Connections,” which will be held in the department this April.

Italian 952: Seminar – Studies in Italian Literature

Topic:  The Concept of “Patria” from Risorgimento to the Aftermath of World War II

Instructor: Ernesto Livorni

Requisite: Graduate/professional standing

Schedule: Mondays, 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Description:

The course will explore the birth and development of the notion of “madre patria” in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Italian literature. Besides relying on political and historical documents of the period, the course will discuss the notion according to theoretical venues that span from psychology and psychoanalysis to philosophy and hermeneutics. The course will focus on the intersection of the private figure of the mother and her surrogates with the public and political notion of “motherland.” Authors may include, among others: Foscolo, Tommaseo, De Amicis, Pascoli, D’Annunzio, Marinetti, Ungaretti, Saba, Montale, Moravia, Morante, Viganò, Pasolini, Bevilacqua.