FREN 242 - Studies in Genre ISemester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Study of narrative and prose forms including the novel, autobiography, and the essay.
Topic for 2015/16b: Mirrors of Ink. The course studies the literary practice of écriture de soi in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A malleable and versatile instrument for discovering or masking past personalities through role-play and reinvention, autofiction permits the transformation of the self through the looking-glass of narrative, whether to explore new horizons, confront inner torment, or flee adversity. The art of reflecting one’s own story by adopting another persona invites innovative and resourceful storytelling. The inscription of the avatar is retraced in the works of Borgès and Doubrovsky and explored in several compelling modern novels and novellas in which writers enter a hall of mirrors of their own devising. Authors may include Azouz Begag, Maryse Condé, J. M. G. Le Clézio, Amélie Nothomb, Marie Ndiaye, Patrick Modiano. Mr. Andrews.
Prerequisite: FREN 212 or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
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