"FREN 207A/WLIT 215B French Literature as World Literature Klaus Fall 2" by Carrie Klaus
 

Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Fall 9-1-2024

Course Description

In a manifesto published in Le Monde littéraire in 2007, forty-four French-language writers proclaimed the end of the idea of la francophonie and the “birth of a world literature in French” whose only borders were the mind itself. We will study this manifesto and responses to it and will then read fiction by a few of its signatories. We will consider such issues as claims of universalism versus historical and geographical particularities, the relationship between "world literature" in French and in English (not to mention in other languages), the problem of monolingualism, and the role of the international literary marketplace in shaping conceptions of national and world literatures. We will also consider the perspectives that we bring to these questions as we read French-language works in English-language translations. You will do lots of informal and formal writing, for yourself and for academic and general audiences.

Student Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to do the following : 1. Identify issues at stake in discussions of “world literature” today, with an emphasis on French-language literary production 2. Describe and discuss recent works of fiction by three prominent French-language writers (Dany Laferrière, Alain Mabanckou, and Maryse Condé) 3. Analyze these works and compare them to each other and to others you have read 4. Express your own views of the literary works you read and explain why you hold these views, remaining open to views that contradict, or complement, your own

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