Topic:  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.