La littérature en procès. In this class, we will read French novels and poetry from the 17th to the 19th century that either staged or caused real trials. We will address issues of censorship, (homo)sexuality, and intellectual property in their historical contexts, and we will analyze the literary strategies through which authors state their cases. We will study Théophile de Viau, an imprisoned libertine poet; the plea of Marie-Catherine-Hortense Desjardins, a successful novelist, against her ex-lover, who published her personal letters to him; the Enlightenment philosopher Diderot's dramatic recreation of the real-life trial of a young nun who sought to rescind her vows in La Religieuse; freedom of the press as seen by Robespierre and by France's most (in)famous pornographer, the Marquis de Sade, during the French Revolution; Flaubert's scandalous masterpiece, Madame Bovary and Baudelaire's Fleurs du mal. Grades will be based on attendance, participation, and the successful completion of assignments, including three analytic papers (3-4 pages), four reaction papers (1 page), and one mock trial to be staged in groups at the end of the semester. There will be no final exam. The course will be conducted entirely in French.