Race, Class, Gender, and Sexual Orientat

In this course, students will explore how race, class, gender, and sexual orientation are represented in French and Francophone literature and film released in the last decade. The class will focus on the various ways fictional, auto-fictional and autobiographical works tell stories of individuals confronted by inequality and discrimination, and searching for their identity. Drawing from the specificities of French history and culture, students will analyze how those works uncover structures of oppression (including patterns of intersectionality) and to what extent they experiment with creative forms of agency.

Students will have the opportunity to meet some of the prominent authors and film directors studied in class, through public events at Reid Hall, class visits, and a field trip.