Course Description

In this class we will explore a century of Francophone literature, from different authors of different geographical and cultural origins. Next to fictional writings such as poems, short stories and novels, we will also explore comic books and read classical, non-fictional texts that have marked the field of post-colonial studies. We will learn to consider and try to answer to the following questions: What is Francophone literature and who are its main representatives? How does the experience of colonialism inform their writing? How does the language choice of their writing (French) affect their writing? What kind of identity-negotiation do they have to go through to tell stories of their own culture, in a foreign, dominant and dominating language? Topics discussed in class will include national and cultural identity, race and class, orality and textuality, gender and sexuality, trasnationalism and cosmopolitanism, colonialism and post-colonialism, history and memory, and the politics of language. (Taught in French)