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Bulletin Archive

This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Undergraduate courses in French Literature

In this section:

FRENLIT 130. Authorship, Book Culture, and National Identity in Medieval and Renaissance France

FRENLIT 131. Absolutism, Enlightenment, and Revolution in 17th- and 18th-Century France

FRENLIT 132. Literature, Revolutions, and Changes in 19th- and 20th-Century France

FRENLIT 133. Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean

FRENLIT 151. 19th-Century Realism: Balzac Versus Flaubert

FRENLIT 165. The French Short Story, 1690-1780

FRENLIT 189A. Honors Research

FRENLIT 189B. Honors Research

FRENLIT 199. Individual Work

Up one level:

French Literature (FRENLIT) Courses

These courses typically require knowledge of French. Students interested in literature and literary studies should also consult course listings in Chinese, Classics, Comparative Literature, English, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Spanish, and Modern Thought and Literature. Undergraduate and graduate majors should also consult the listings of the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages. For information on undergraduate and graduate programs in French, see the French and Italian" section of this bulletin. For courses in French language instruction, see "French Language" courses section of this bulletin.

FRENLIT 130. Authorship, Book Culture, and National Identity in Medieval and Renaissance France

Introduction to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The birth of a national literature and its evolution. Literature as addressing cultural, philosophical, and artistic issues which question assumptions on love, ethics, art, and the nature of the self. Readings: epics (La Chanson de Roland), medieval romances (Tristan, Chrétien de Troyes' Yvain), post-Petrarchan poetics (Du Bellay, Ronsard, Labé), and prose humanists (Rabelais, Montaigne). Prerequisite: FRENLANG 126 or consent of instructor. GER:DB-Hum, WIM

4 units, Aut (Galvez, M)

FRENLIT 131. Absolutism, Enlightenment, and Revolution in 17th- and 18th-Century France

The literature, culture, and politics of France from Louis XIV to Rousseau. How this period produced the political and philosophical foundations of modernity. Readings include Bodin, Hobbes, Racine, Lafayette, Locke, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, and Beaumarchais. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 126 or consent of instructor. GER:DB-Hum, WIM

4 units, Win (Tamas, J)

FRENLIT 132. Literature, Revolutions, and Changes in 19th- and 20th-Century France

Major literary genres, and social and cultural contexts. Focus is on the emergence of new literary forms such as surréalisme, nouveau roman, and nouveau théâtre. Topics of colonization, decolonization, and feminism. Readings include Balzac, Baudelaire, Césaire, Colette, and Ionesco. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 126 or consent of instructor. GER:DB-Hum, WIM

4 units, Win (Apostolides, J)

FRENLIT 133. Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean

(Same as COMPLIT 141.) Major African and Caribbean writers. Issues raised in literary works which reflect changing aspects of the societies and cultures of Francophone Africa and the French Caribbean. Topics include colonization and change, quest for identity, tradition and modernity, and new roles and status for women. Readings in fiction and poetry. Authors include Laye Camara, Mariama Ba, and Joseph Zobel. In French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 126 or consent of instructor. GER:DB-Hum, EC-GlobalCom, WIM

4 units, Spr (Boyi, E)

FRENLIT 151. 19th-Century Realism: Balzac Versus Flaubert

What is realism? Is cynicism more realistic than idealism? The French realist novel in its literary historical milieu; methods by which realist authors created an effet de réel. Philosophical shifts that motivated realism. Focus is on stylistic conventions and formal qualities of realist prose. Readings: novels by Honoré de Balzac and Gustave Flaubert, and secondary readings from 20th-century criticism and theories of realism. In French. GER:DB-Hum

3-5 units, Spr (Elghoroury, A)

FRENLIT 165. The French Short Story, 1690-1780

From fairytale to conte libertin, a century of fantastic stories. From 1690, how classical authors, folktale writers, translators of oriental fictions, aristocrats, and femmes du monde produce a corpus of short stories especially in the Parisian salon. The evolution of story writing through sources including: texts by Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot; translation of the Arabian Nights by Antoine Galland; and tales such as Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. In French. GER:DB-Hum

3-5 units, Aut (Calefas-Strebelle, A)

FRENLIT 189A. Honors Research

Senior honors students enroll for 5 units in Winter while writing the honors thesis, and may enroll in 189B for 2 units in Spring while revising the thesis. Prerequisite: DLCL 189.

5 units, Win (Staff)

FRENLIT 189B. Honors Research

Open to juniors with consent of adviser while drafting honors proposal. Open to senior honors students while revising honors thesis. Prerequisites for seniors: 189A, DLCL 189.

2 units, Spr (Staff)

FRENLIT 199. Individual Work

Restricted to French majors with consent of department. Normally limited to 4-unit credit toward the major. May be repeated for credit.

1-12 units, Aut (Staff), Win (Staff), Spr (Staff)

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