FREN 421 - Nonbinary Bodies & Identities in 19th-Century France

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
This course will examine how various 19th -century French authors, artists, and medical doctors thought about and represented nonbinary bodies and identities. Similarly, we will investigate how fictional characters and living individuals navigated and chose to express an existence outside linguistic conventions and cultural gender norms. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we will study a range of objects, including literary fiction, poetry, autobiographical accounts, medical texts, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and films, as well as critical and historical writings. By examining different media types, we will attempt to understand how and why these fields overlap and intersect in their fascination with the status occupied by nonbinary figures. Finally, we will link 19th -century debates over sex and gender to socio-political issues in the present day. (Taught in French)

Prerequisites: FREN 301 or FREN 302 or FREN 309.