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Academic Year 2004/2005

Seminar in Literature: The Mirror in the Text
FREN 290 FA
Crosslistings:
COL 393

The organizing topic for this course, "The Mirror in the Text," focuses on questions of repetition (thematic, rhetorical, structural, psychological) in French texts, from medieval to modern. The course examines how symmetry, as well as asymmetry, both important subjects in the history of art and in music, relate to form, function, and meaning in French literature. Theoretical readings on symmetry (called "bilateral symmetry" by Hermann Weyl) and asymmetry (see Frank Close's book, LUCIFER'S LEGACY: THE MEANING OF ASYMMETRY) are two scientific perspectives to be analyzed, among others, in this course.

MAJOR READINGS

Ovid, LES METAMORPHOSES
Balzac, SARRASINE, LE CHEF-D'OEUVRE INCONNU
Selected CONTES FANTASTIQUES
Proust, COMBRAY
Giraudoux, SIEGFRIED
Drieu la Rochelle, LA VALISE VIDE
Anouilh, LE VOYAGEUR SANS BAGAGE
Duras, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR
Modiano, DU PLUS LOIN DE L'OUBLI

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

A number of 2-page papers, oral presentations, and class discussion.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Only COL students will be allowed to take this course CR/U. Students will be asked to lead class discussions and should be prepared to participate actively. Their final grade depends, to a large degree, upon class participation.

This is an upper-level course intended for students who have completed two French courses numbered between 220 and 299, or who have studied abroad in a French-speaking country for at least a semester.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

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

Prerequisites: FREN223 OR FREN224 Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-21-2005

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