[ Wesleyan Home Page ] [ WesMaps Home Page ] [ WesMaps Archive ] [ Course Search ] [ Course Search by CID ]
Academic Year 2001/2002


Confession in French 20th-Century Literature
FREN 258 SP

Since the Confessions of St. Augustine, the subject and function of confession has gone through considerable change. After exploring the distinctions between autobiography and confession, this course will examine the main developments that have occurred in the literature of confession, among them, the shift from confession of vice (Gide, Genet) to confession lacking an object (Borel, Ernaux). We will focus on the conditions that appear to make confession a masculine rather than a feminine undertaking.

MAJOR READINGS

Tentative reading list: NUNC MANET, Andre Gide JOURNAL D'UN VOLEUR, Jean Genet LA BATARDE, Violette Leduc LE LIVRE BRISE, Serge Doubrovsky PROPOS SUR L'AUTOBIOGRAPHIE, Jaques Borel Additional texts by Theodor Reik, Louis Althusser, Julia Kristeva and others will be provided.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Two short essays and a final paper. Students will be asked to make a short presentation in class.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

This course is intended for students who have completed a French course numbered 215 or higher, preferably 223 or 224. Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2002


Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email

Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459