FREN 353 - Passions du corps et l’âme (1600-1900)

FC ARHU CD WINT

4 credits
French literature of the 17th and 18th centuries created a lasting myth of violent, irresistible passions. A single glance, a chance encounter, or a small act of kindness are enough to plunge the legendary characters of Racine, Stendahl, and Proust into fatal spirals of desire. Corneille’s Surena sums up the logic of the passions: “Toujours aimer, toujours souffrir, toujours mourir.” In a world of doubt and half-truths, love appears to the mind as an absolute certainty, like Descartes’s Cogito ergo sum . This course will examine the history of the passions and engage Foucault’s argument that heteronormativity is of recent origin.
Prerequisites & Notes: FREN 301, 309, or 321.