CAS LF 343 La France À Paris : Paris in Literature Credits: 4 Professor

CAS LF 343 La France à Paris : Paris in Literature Credits: 4

Professor: Jennifer E. Row ([email protected]) Schedule: Fifteen 2.5 hour sessions over 7.5 weeks May 25, Monday (2:30-5:30 PM) May 26-29, Tuesday-Friday, (11:00-2:00 AM and 3:00-5:30 PM)

June 2P P-July 7, Tuesdays (5:00-7:30 PM) Final exam: July 15 from 5:00-7:30 PM Office hours: Monday 1-2 PM and by appointment Course visits: - The Eiffel Tower - Guided walk through the Saint Germain-des-Prés and the Marais neighborhoods - Luxembourg Gardens - Place St. Sulpice - The Carnavalet Museum (of the history of Paris) - La Place des Vosges - Musée Arts et Métiers (history of science, technology and industry) - Musée des Arts Décoratifs (museum of fashion and interior design history) th - Les Passages and Galeries (historic covered “shopping malls” of the 19P P century)

Course material: - A course pack with all required literary readings (to be purchased by each student). - Histoire de la Marquise-Marquis de Banneville. François-Timelon de Choisy, Marie- Jeanne l’Héritier, Charles Perrault. Ed. Joan DeJean. ISBN: 9780873529310

I. COURSE PRESENTATION AND OUTCOMES

This seminar proposes a journey through the literary and cultural history of Paris, from the seventeenth century up to our contemporary moment. Even though it may be evident that Paris can serve as a source of inspiration for many literary and artistic works, our course will instead ask another question: How can Paris itself be read as a literary text? The City of Light is a teeming space, a character, a metaphor for society at large. Capital of fashion, symbol of progress, contested political hotspot for philosophical and revolutionary minds alike: Paris is not just one place, but rather a complex mosaic comprised of many kinds of stories and histories. We will examine Paris as a book (a literary text to be analyzed and interpreted closely) as well as a prism that magnifies and multiplies diverse representations of what is “France.” The th literature of Paris traces many historic movements: literary salons of the 17P P century, the th search for enlightened knowledge in the 18P P century, the revolutionary fervor of the French th revolution, the engines of urbanization and progress of the 19P P century, and the influx of th immigration and diverse populations of the 20P P century.

We will examine certain key themes as expressed by certain classic authors of past centuries, as well as their stylistic and aesthetic traits. We will seek to find echoes and resonances between these past works and our modern moment. By drawing upon observations of the city—our reading of Paris as a book—we will seek to deepen our understanding of “La France à Paris.” Books and materials: Students will have access to all materials through the Blackboard site and in a course packet. Most of the longer novels listed will be excerpted. Students will also be guided through digital archives held by BNF Gallica as well as other resources such as period dictionaries and images. For each class session, students will read and prepare “Devoirs” (homework) for the assigned texts, responding in detail to four key questions: 1. What does the text say? What image of Paris does this writer construct? If Paris is also a book (one that is constantly changing) what historic, cultural, or political elements contribute to the work of “Paris”? 2. How does the writer construct this representation of Paris (metaphor, stylistic effects, vocabulary, etc.)? 3. What passage(s) would you like to investigate more closely? Students should identify citations and phrases that inspire, move, or puzzle them. Students should prepared to speak about and share this passage with the rest of the class. 4. What questions do you have regarding the text? Each session will be organized around this preparatory work; student-led discussions are therefore an essential foundation of the course.

The course, including additional seminars and visits, is conducted entirely in French.

Outcomes By the end of this course, students will have developed . basic knowledge of major French literary movements from 1600 to present day and their main characteristics. Students should feel familiar enough to engage, compare and discuss movements such as classicism, Romanticism, decadence, post-modernism, and postcolonial writing. . The ability to identify and explain the main stylistic processes and figures of speech (lexical field, metaphor, repetition, juxtaposition, etc.) in order to determine their impact on the meaning of a text, to organize and develop observations and reflections in a coherent and structured analysis (oral or written). This represents an ability not only to talk about what a text means, but how it means (how does it make meaning?) . Familiarity with experiential learning skills: the difference between a “surface” experience of a place/building/or neighborhood and a “deeper” reading; how to synthesize Paris experiences into analysis, how to read neighborhoods, buildings and other urban “texts” that Paris offers. . The necessary analysis and reading skills to comprehend a range of literary texts. . An intermediate high speaking proficiency (ACTFL) in order to communicate effectively across most time registers regarding their thoughts and opinions vis-à-vis texts and experiences.

II. ASSESSMENT AND GRADING

Exams: 30% There will be a mid-term exam (weighted toward the first half of the semester) and a final exam (cumulative, but topics treated will be weighted toward the second half of the semester). The exam will contain both short-answer questions on literary trends and texts, as well as an essay.

Oral presentation: 10% Students prepare a 20-minute presentation (close analysis, literary and cultural relevance, history) on a Parisian site and a theme or question inspired by the readings. Students will work with the professor to develop their research and present their work to their classmates in a creative and pedagogic fashion.

Homework: 40% Throughout the course, students will complete 9 short assignments, answering the four key comprehension questions for each text through brief written responses. These assignments ensure that students prepare adequately for each class session, harness curiosity and energy around the texts prior to in-class discussion. Peer and professor corrections of these short responses will refine writing skills.

Participation, effort, and progress: 20% Since this class is based on communication and discussion, students are expected to come to class having completed all of the assigned reading and the homework to prepare. While no one is expected to arrive to the first day of class with perfect French, a large part of this grade will be dedicated to effort and progress: are students energized to participate? Are they enthusiastic about ameliorating their speaking and reading skills? A generous, respectful attitude towards peers and toward the professor will be expected and can be demonstrated by listening attentively to others, asking questions, and contributing ideas and suggestions.

Attendance Policy 1 absence (class session or activity) = -1 point on the overall grade 4 or more unexcused absences = grade of F for the course Missed assignment or test = grade of 0 for the assignment Plagiarism on an assignment = grade of 0 for the assignment

NB: Excused absences must be justified by a doctor’s note or a scheduled internship interview. Frequent lateness may be counted cumulatively as an absence, as per the professor’s discretion.

Plagiarism (BU Policy) All students are responsible for having read the Boston University statement on plagiarism, which is available in the Academic Conduct Code. Students are advised that the penalty against students on a Boston University program for cheating on the examinations or for plagiarism may be ‘expulsion from the program or the University or such other penalty as may be recommended by the Committee on Student Academic Conduct, subject to approval by the dean.’ Read the full Academic Conduct Code online at

0TUhttp://www.bu.edu/academics/policies/academic-conduct-code/U0T.

III. CALENDAR Texts may be subject to change as per the instructor’s discretion.

Session 1 Course introduction Eiffel Tower study 1. Eiffel Tower history dossier : letters protesting and defending the tower (1887) 2. Calligramme “Salut Paris” Apollinaire (p. 15 dossier) 3. Guy de Maupassant, La Vie errante (extrait, p. 6 dossier) 4. Louis Aragon “La Tour Parle” (p. 17 dossier) 5. Roland Barthes La Tour Eiffel (extract, p. 19 dossier)

Visit : Eiffel Tower (practicing “reading”a monument as a text)

Session 2 Loving, Observing: Gardens, Cafés and Public Spaces 1. Les Misérables (the meeting of Marius and Cosette in the Luxembourg Gardens) 2. Pérec, “Tentative d’épuisement d’un lieu parisien”(extract) 3. Gavalda, “Petites pratiques germanopratines”(5-14) 4. Charles Baudelaire “À Une Passante” poem

Session 3 VISIT : The Saint German-des-Prés neighborhood, Place Saint-Sulpice and the Luxembourg Gardens

Session 4 The Paris of the Sun King: Seventeenth Century Paris 1. Selected letters of Mme de Sévigné 2. Françoise de Graffigny, Lettres d’une Péruvienne (lettres 32-34) & discussion of salon culture and women’s roles

Session 5 VISIT : The Marais neighborhood, Musée Carnavalet (Museum of the history of Paris) and La Place Royale (currently La Place des Vosges)

Session 6 Science, Human Rights, and Revolutions: Paris of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution 1. Dénis Diderot, Encyclopédie (excerpts) 2. Olympe de Gouges 3. Auguste Barbier, “La Cuve” 4. French Revolution pamphlets

Session 7 VISIT : Musée Arts et Métiers (Museum of the History of Technology, Science, and Industry)

Session 8 Paris of the 19th century : fashion and industry 1. Walter Benjamin “Paris, capitale du XIX siècle” (excerpts) 2. Guy de Maupassant “La Parure ” 3. Émile Zola “Au Bonheur des dames” (excerpts) 4. Honoré de Balzac, Père Goriot (excerpts)

Session 9 VISIT : Museum of Decorative Arts (history of design and fashion) ; The Arcades

Session 10 Midterm exam. 1. Baudelaire, selected poetry.

Session 11 Disappearances and Fleeing: Paris and WWII 1. Patrick Modiano, Dora Bruder (excerpts) 2. Irène Nemirovsky, Suite Francaise (excerpts) VISIT (Recommended) : Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation ; Cimetière de Père Lachaise

Session 12 Paris of Engaged Intellectuals 1. Simone de Beauvoir L’invitée (excerpts) 2. Jean-Paul Sartre, Les Mots (excerpts) VISIT (Recommended) : Montmartre neighborhood, the Montparnasse Cemetary

Session 13 Paris and the Theatre 1. Victor Hugo, Lucrèce Borgia (excerpts) 2. Charles Perrault, François Timelon de Choisy, Marie-Jeanne L’Héritier de Villandon, L’Histoire de la Marquise-Marquis de Banneville VISIT : BU Paris outing to the Comédie-Française to see Lucrèce Borgia

Session 14 The Diversity of Paris. 1. Emile Ajar, La Vie devant soi (excerpts) 2. Calixthe Beyala, Le Petit prince de Belleville (excerpts) VISIT (Recommended): the Belleville neighborhood and the Buttes Chaumont park

Session 15 Paris, Utopias and Dystopias 1. Louis-Philippe Mercier, L’An 2440 (excerpts) 2. Phillipe Vasset Un Livre blanc (excerpts)

FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, July 15 (5:00-7:30PM)

Course readings : Barthes, Roland. La Tour Eiffel. [Rev. éd.]. Paris: CNP/Seuil, 1989. Print. Photo copies ; 13e. Baudelaire, Charles. Les Fleurs du mal. Paris: Larousse, 2011. Print. Beauvoir, Simone de. L’invitée. Paris: Gallimard, 1972. Print. Beyala, Calixthe. Le Petit Prince de Belleville. Paris: Albin Michel, 1992. Print. Diderot, Denis, Jean Le Rond d’Alembert, and Alain Pons. Encyclopédie 1, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris: Flammarion, 1993. Print. Gary, Romain. La vie devant soi. Paris: Belin - Gallimard, 2009. Print. Gavalda, Anna. Je voudrais que quelqu’un m’attende quelque part. Paris: J’ai lu, 2001. Print. Hugo, Victor Les Misérables. Paris: Larousse, 2007. Print. Graffigny, Francoise De, Joan E. Dejean, and Nancy K. Miller. Lettres D’Une Peruvienne. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1993. Print. Hugo, Victor. Lucrèce Borgia. Paris: POCKET, 2011. Print. Maupassant, Guy de. La vie errante. Paris, Pollendorff, 1903. Print. ---. La Parure et autres nouvelles. Paris: Larousse, 2009. Print. Mercier, Louis-Sébastien, Christophe CAVE, and Christine MARCANDIER-COLARD. L’an 2440. Paris: La Découverte, 1999. Print. Modiano, Patrick. Dora Bruder. Gallimard. Paris: Gallimard, 1999. Print. Némirovsky, Irène, and Myriam Anissimov. Suite française - Prix Renaudot 2004. Paris: Folio, 2006. Print. Perrault, Charles. Histoire De La Marquise-Marquis de Banneville: Francois-Timoleon De Choisy, Marie-Jeanne L’Heritier, and Charles Perrault. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2004. Print. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Les mots. 1re ed. Paris: Gallimard, 1977. Print. Sévigné, Madame de, and Bertrand Raffalli. Lettres. Paris: Flammarion, 1976. Print. Vasset, Philippe. Un livre blanc : Récit avec cartes. Paris: Fayard, 2007. Print.

Additional readings

UTheoretical works Roger Caillois, “Paris, mythe moderne », in Le Mythe et l’homme, Gallimard/Folio essais, 1987. Jean-Paul Clébert, La Littérature à Paris, Larousse, 1999. Magazine littéraire n °332, “Paris des écrivains », Magazine littéraire, 1995.

U Literary descriptions of Paris Théophile Gautier, Paris et les Parisiens, Boîte à documents, 1996. Joris-Karl Huysmans, Croquis parisiens, Bibliothèque des arts, 1994. Louis-Sébastien Mercier, Le Tableau de Paris, La Découverte/poche, 1998. Restif de la Bretonne, Les Nuits de Paris, Gallimard/folio, 1986.

UParis in 20th century poetry André Breton, Poison soluble, Gallimard/poésie, 1996. Yves Martin, Le Partisan. Le Marcheur, Table ronde, 1996. Jacques Réda, Les Ruines de Paris, Gallimard/Poésie, 1993.

UParis in classical literature novels Honoré de Balzac, Le Père Goriot, Gallimard/Folio, 1999. Alexandre Dumas, Les Mohicans de Paris, deux volumes sous coffret, Gallimard, 1998. Gustave Flaubert, L’Éducation sentimentale, Gallimard/Folio, 1972. Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame-de-Paris, Gallimard/Folio classique, 1989. Gérard de Nerval, “Les faux-saulniers”in Œuvres complètes, tome 2, Gallimard/Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1984. Eugène Sue, Les Mystères de Paris, Robert Laffont/Bouquins, 1999. Jules Verne, Paris au XXe siècle, Hachette/Le Livre de poche, 1996. Émile Zola, L’Assommoir, Gallimard/Folio classique, 1999.

UParis in 20th century novels Guillaume Apollinaire, Le Flâneur des deux rives, Gallimard/Imaginaire, 1993. Marcel Aymé, Le Passe-muraille, Gallimard/Folio, 1982. Joseph Delteil, Les Chats de Paris, Les Éditions de Paris, 1994. Eugène Dabit, Hôtel du Nord, Gallimard/Folio, 1990. Patrick Modiano, La Petite Bijou, Gallimard, 2001. Patrick Modiano, La Place de l’Étoile, Gallimard/Folio, 1975. Jacques Réda, Le Méridien de Paris, Fata Morgana, 1998. Philippe Soupault, Les Dernières nuits de Paris, Gallimard/Imaginaire, 1997. Boris Vian, Manuel de Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Hachette/Le livre de poche, 2001.