Courses

Would you trade your soul for limitless knowledge, fame and fortune, unadulterated happiness, or omnipotence and immortality? The legendary Faust readily sells out to the devil, only to realize that he has robbed his lover of her life, his neighbors of their property, and his society of democratic opportunities. Goethe, who coined the term World Literature, revised and expanded his play devoted to Faust for over half a century. His work garnered him international renown and his successors have updated the bargain for their times, culture, and history. In this course, we will explore similar quests that have cost many their Seelenfrieden (peace of mind) in various contexts around the globe. Further, considering that Goethe was an avid reader and translator of foreign literatures, we will examine how Faust shapes the concept of World Literature. Readings will be supplemented in class by musical and film renderings of the Faust theme. A weekly practicum will be offered in German to those interested in counting the course toward the German minor/major.

The course will trace the historical conditions of women's education in the Western traditions with reference to women's 'historical silence' or 'mouthpiece function'. Women's writing will be read as an escape from, answer to, repudiation of a gender discourse favoring men's determination of self and society. Readings and discussions will focus on women's desire for knowledge as well as women's articulation of desire - the desire to be different without having to adapt to standards not set by themselves. The goal of self-determination will be differentiated with regard to both equal rights and equal responsibilities. Finally, the course will address women's conceptualization of history, literature, and language of their own.

An intensive examination of classical texts from twentieth century and contemporary Africa aimed at highlighting their particularities in expressing the colonial experience and its aftermath. Explores manifestations of traditional narrative forms in the modern novel and seeks to introduce students to the contributions of some of the most influential writers from the African continent.

This film course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to study the unique contributions that French-speaking filmmakers have made to the art of cinema. The course is both an introduction to the study of film, and an in-depth survey of French-language filmmaking. We discuss the history of French cinema (from the invention of the cinématographe by the Lumière brothers until today, including cinematic trends such as Poetic Realism, Occupation Cinema, the French New Wave and Young French Cinema) with particular emphasis on sound films (i.e., films made since 1930). We also examine both the qualities of individual films and the cultural and historical factors that have shaped the development of the medium. The course is taught in English and the films (in French with English subtitles) are analyzed in relation to an historical overview of French cinema, an introduction to film theory, key concepts of film studies and various articles on each specific film. Emphasis throughout the semester will be on close readings of the films. One unit.

This course, titled after French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir's 1949 feminist manifesto The Second Sex, explores the unique contributions that women filmmakers have made to the art of cinema, from its inception to the present, with special attention to the contemporary period. Emphasis will be placed on French-language cinema (produced in France, Belgium, Quebec/Canada, North Africa and other francophone countries), but other national cinemas will be discussed as well. Counts toward the Studies in World Literatures (STWL) major, and the concentration in Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies (GSWS). No prerequisite. Conducted in English. One Unit.

A topical examination of contemporary African societies and cultures as expressed through the camera lens. A study of films from across the continent focusing on the dynamics of change, gender, migrations, conflicts, politics, globalization, and marginalization. The course aims to highlight the internal diversity of perspectives and aesthetics in the representation of such issues. The course focuses less on the technical or theoretical considerations of the films and more so on the examination of the themes and issues they raise, internally and globally. (Films from Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, South Africa, etc.)

Intended as an introduction to French visual culture during the long 19th century (beginning with the French Revolution and ending with the outbreak of World War 1), this course takes a multifaceted look at the masterpieces paintings, lithographs, illustrations, photographs that capture Frances many landscapes. As well as studying the cultures reflected in these works of art and the emerging technologies that played a role in their mass-production, we will read works by canonical French authors inspired by the rapid succession of artistic movements which shook the 19th-century art world. Through the identification of various artistic strategies and techniques (inc. color theory, composition, perspective, etc.), students will learn to write detailed analyses of the works studied in class. The readings and discussions will emphasize the relationships between 19th-century art and the social, technological, and political changes that took place, while visits to the Worcester Art Museum and the American Antiquarian Society will bring these artistic movements and their techniques to life. Recommended for students interested in art history, politics, history, as well as French cultural studies and French language.

This course studies 19th-century French literary and artistic depictions of environmental disaster as a starting point to explore the evolving dynamics between the human and the non-human world from the Enlightenment to the present day. This period saw new forms of expression from the notion of pathetic fallacy to Science Fictions dystopian worlds emerge alongside the growing presence of news (true and false) of planetary upheaval in the public sphere. We will ask ourselves how representations of volcanic eruption, earthquake, flooding, etc. effect not only the literary, journalistic, and artistic production of the time, but also human wellbeing. How does French societys relationship to nature fluctuate throughout the 19th century? By the fin-de-siècle, does modern France need re-sensitizing to nature? And perhaps most importantly, what can we learn about climate change and our own ecological crisis by uncovering the roots of collapsology and eco-anxiety in these depictions of planetary upheaval?

In this course we will study how early modern authors and artists tackled questionsof great relevance for today: Does nature have a language and display agency? Do plants think? Should we regard ourselves as an ecosystem interrelated with awider ecosystem? Can women reclaim their association with nature in a non-detrimental manner? We will see how these authors and artists disrupted thehuman/nonhuman and the male/female divides. We will begin with selected mythsfrom Ovids Metamorphoses and explore how Titian, Velazquez, and Rubensdepict transformations of humans into natural entities. We will analyze lyrics byPetrarch Gaspara Stampa, and Mary Wroth; selected cantos from TorquatoTassos epic poem Jerusalem Delivered; passages from ModerataFontes Floridoro; Cervantes short story The Dialogue of the Dogs; Montaignesessay, On Cannibals; William Shakespeares The Tempest. We will also readselected Shakespearean passages to see in what ways the bard associates femalecharacters (Ophelia, Marina, Perdita, Helena) with plants.