FYS 1063 FRNCH PWR COUPLES SEX GEND LIT

In this first-year seminar, students will examine how French literature has influenced and constructed sex, gender, and social status, both in France and within European-influenced cultural spheres more generally. Alongside readings on the theme of romance and creativity, students will study real-life relationships that have shaped contemporary French culture, such as the literary power triad Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Violette Leduc.  Students will analyze the impact of interpersonal power dynamics on their writing and their status as public intellectuals. This course will help students question how categories like “good literature,”  “high culture,” and “French feminism” have been determined by societal norms and it will help them explore how literature, in turn, confirms or challenges these norms.