FRNCH-212 Before or Beyond the Gender Binary? Gender Identities in French Literature

In Before or Beyond the Gender Binary ? we will go way back ⎯ before Stonewall and de Beauvoir ⎯ to depictions of gender diversity in multiple medieval literary genres including romances, songbooks, lais, and a chantefable. As we learn about a wide range of literary medieval genres in Old French and Old Occitan (with their modern French translations!) we will dive deep into the ability of these texts to hold ambiguous and complex representations of gender and sexuality. We will discuss canonical literary works from the Middle Ages, alongside contemporary literary works, and works on gender, queer, and trans theory, to illuminate what these texts have to tell us about gender identities and desire processes that escape the binary.

Maximum Enrollment

Proseminar (16)

(Proseminar.)

Credits

1

Prerequisite

FRNCH-200, appropriate score on placement exam, or consent of instructor

Notes

Topics vary, may be retaken for credit