This course is an introduction to the four major genres of French
literature: the poem, short story, play, and the novel.  The guiding
theme of the course will be that of "the other"--who is the other in
society? poor men or women?  the physically deformed?  the poet?  the
female poet?  the foreigner?  How is "the other" defined or made an
outcast?  How does the poet relate to the future of "the other"?  What
does "the other" reflect about the values or structure of society as a
whole?  These are just some of the questions we will explore together
over the course of the semester in a variety of texts, such as the
medieval tales of Marie de France, the poetry of Christine de Pisan, Du
Bellay, Marceline Debordes-Valmore, Baudelaire, and Musset, the stories
and novels of Voltaire, and Musset's play Cyrano de Bergerac.
Grades will be based on class participation, regular homework
assignments including a group "performance" of a scene from
Cyrano, a 5 minute oral presentation, and explication de text
(approx. 3 pages in length), and a mid-term and a final exam.