FRE 413 Tahitian Art and Literature
Our course charts the artistic and intellectual development of Tahitian works beginning with the first points of colonial contact and culminating in contemporary works that both assimilate and contest Western narratives. The primary academic focus is upon Tahitian Francophone literature, art, and theatre, in post-colonial contexts of identity and gender, specifically in terms of the way amorous discourse both inscribes and resists traditional Western representations of love, identity, and gender. Through understanding Tahiti’s history and contemporary responses to ways of loving, identity, and gender representations, students’ appreciation of the post-colonial Francophone landscape is enhanced and refined outside of the canonical academic boundaries.