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FREN253

From Perfectibility to Sadism: Reason and Its Discontents
FREN253 FA

SectionClass Size*AvailableTimesPOIPrereq
1 20 1 Times: .T.T... 1:10PM-2:30PM;NoNo

*The number of spaces listed as available is based on class seats open for the Blue Add phase of registration. Some seats may be taken in previous phases while others may be held out for subsequent phases of registration. (Last Updated on Tue Aug 10 05:00:30 EDT 1999 )

To what extent was the Enlightenment universal? Who were the dissenting voices in 18th-century French literature and thought? What is the anti-Enlightenment? During the first half of the semester, we will identify the basic tenets of les Lumieres: the belief in humankind's perfectibility, the certitude that knowledge leads to progress, and the conviction that the human condition was somehow universal. In the second half of this course, the fissures in such an all-encompassing program will be cataloged, first by examining how such optimistic notions contrast markedly with discourses on race and the status of women in 18th-century France. We will also read a series of writers who disavowed Enlightenment philosophy by preaching debauchery and/or nihilistic views of the human condition. This course will also include a slide lecture of European views of Africa and discussion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art film "The Eighteenth-Century Woman."

MAJOR READINGS

L'ENCYCLOPEDIE (selections)
Buffon, L'HISTOIRE NATURELLE (selections)
Voltaire, ZADIG and selections from "Dictionnaire
Philosophique"
Beaumarchais, LE MARIAGE DE FIGARO
Retif de la Bretonne, LA PAYSANNE PERVERTIE
Diderot, LE NEVEU DE RAMEAU
Olympe de Gouges, LE DANGER DES PREJUGES and selections
from her "Pamphlets Revolutionnaires"
La Mettrie, "L'Homme Machine" (selections)
Sad, LA PHILOSOPHIE DANS LE BOUDOIR

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Two five page essays, final take home essay.

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: Discussion Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA RLIT

Prerequisites: None

Section 01
Curran, A
Times: .T.T... 1:10PM- 2:30PM;
Grading Mode: A/F
Registration Preference (1 high to 6 low, 0=Excluded) Sr: 1, Jr: 1, So: 1, Fr: 1
Major Preference Given

Last Updated on MAR-22-1999




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