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: FREN 301 or FREN 309 or FREN 321.