Contemporary short french fiction: social and literary trends since 1990

Seminars: One session / week, 2.5 hours / session

This course examines literary trends in France since 1990. It studies the impact of the dominant social, political, economic, and cultural events of the past 20 years on fiction and writing. Themes include the legacy of France's colonial experience, the re-examination of its wartime past, memory and the Holocaust, the specter of AIDS, changing gender relationships, new families, the quest for personal identity, and immigration narratives.

The class is based on the close study of four main short novels: Annie Ernaux, Je ne suis pas sortie de ma nuit; Nina Bouraoui, Avant les hommes; Marc Vilrouge, Air conditionné; Jean Echenoz, Ravel.

Sessions will be divided between:

The course is taught in French—an advanced level of French is required.

Final grade will be determined from four types of required exercises:

No students will be accepted in class beyond week 2. Auditing is not permitted unless a direct link between the auditor's research and / or professional project and the class is established.

The class has a maximum enrollment of 18 students. An advanced level of French, spoken and written, is required.

Using laptops, tablets, and cell phones is limited to searches related to the class.

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