FREN 341 - La France de l’Ancien Régime

FDR: HL, GE3
Credits: 3
When Offered: Fall (Spring when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit)

Prerequisites: FREN 273 or equivalent and permission of the instructor.Readings in French literature and civilization from before the Revolution of 1789. Recent offerings include: Le théâtre français des XVIe et XVIIe siècles ; Chefs-d’oeuvre du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance ; La littérature libertine ; Les femmes et l’écriture ; L’esprit critique au XVIIIe siècle. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topic is different.

Topic for Fall, 2009:

FREN 341: Lésprit critique au XVIIIe siècle (3). This course focuses on the notion and practice of critical thinking in 18th-century France. Guided by Cartesian reason, empiricism and the strong desire to seek “the truth,” Enlightenment luminaries, known generally as the ‘philosophes,’ scrutinized every aspect of life: religious, socio-economic, political, scientific, and cultural. Through the reading and discussion of works by such writers as Madame de Graffigny, Diderot, Voltaire, Rousseau and Olympe de Gouges, students gain a broad insight into 18th-century French intellectual culture as well as knowledge of specific writers and their role in it. All class discussions are in French. Students write critical papers and do class presentations. Kamara