introduction to a set of novels originally written in French but read in English translation. The course will involve detailed attention to the novels themselves as well as to the cultural and historical circumstances in which they were written, and also the importance they have had for other novelists, artists, and readers in other times and places. The selection of novels studied may change from semester to semester.

Roiled by revolution upon revolution, inundated by massive migration, and all but razed to the ground and rebuilt by Haussmannization, nineteenth-century Paris was a volatile place to call home. For many, finding and keeping a place to live within the city walls was an impossible task; those who did stay housed were constantly confronting the gaze of the unhoused others. What transpired in those gazes? What made them possible—and sometimes, impossible? In this course, we will investigate the divisive politics of housing in three nineteenth-century French novels (Cousin Bette and Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac and L'Assommoir by Émile Zola), as well as some verse and prose poems (Baudelaire), excerpts from Les Misérables (Victor Hugo), and selected essays in critical theory.

PLEASE NOTE: Discussions and readings for this class will be in English; no knowledge of French is required.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills