Art & Music Humanities Description

DESCRIPTION ART & MUSIC HUM

COURSE DESCRIPTION

When thinking of 17th Century France, we tend to focus on the all-encompassing figure of Louis XIV, Roi Soleil. However, the 17th Century was also the century of women: women writers, women philanthropists, and women intellectuals who led some of the most influential literary salons of their time. The presence and agency of women during that period had a major influence on the representation of women in literature. Between heroic idealizations and caricatural portrayals, this course will attempt to discern between these two extremes to form an image of the real contribution of women to the literature of this period.

COURSE PREREQUISITES

Enrollment into this course is open to all students who have satisfied their French language requirement.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the conclusion of this course, students will have gained:

  1. A more comprehensive view of 17th Century French literature through the study of different literary genres (poetry, drama, prose)
  2. A better understanding of the literary and historical contribution of women to that period through a broad overview of the major female figures of the time
  3. Insight into the struggles and successes of defining the female voice within a patriarchal society
  4. Refined tools and methods for analyzing literary texts through several close readings & oral presentations

COURSE TEXTS

Full texts – books to be purchased by students (exact references will be published on Canvas)

  1. Corneille, Le Cid (1637)
  2. Madame de Lafayette, La Princesse de Clèves (1678)
  3. Molière, Les Précieuses ridicules (1659)
  4. Molière, Le Misanthrope (1666)

Exerts provided in an online course pack

Primary Sources:

  1. Madame de La Fayette, Portrait de la marquise de Sévigné, par Madame la comtesse de la Fayette, sous le nom d’un inconnu in Recueil des portraits, Madame de Montpensier (1659)
  2. La Fontaine, Les Fables (1668)
  3. ETA Hoffmann, Mlle de Scudery : Chronique Du Temps de Louis XIV (1894)
  4. Madame de Sévigné, Lettres choisies (1725)
  5. Voltaire, Le Siècle de Louis XIV (1751)

When thinking of 17th Century France, we tend to focus on the all-encompassing figure of Louis XIV, Roi Soleil. However, the 17th Century was also the century of women: women writers, women philanthropists, and women intellectuals who led some of the most influential literary salons of their time. The presence and agency of women during that period had a major influence on the representation of women in literature. Between heroic idealizations and caricatural portrayals, this course will attempt to discern between these two extremes to form an image of the real contribution of women to the literature of this period.

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