French 332: French Short Story

Brefs récits pour une longue vie, as 1 writer put it: FR 332 is designed to introduce you to short fiction in French as an initiation into its revolutionary histories and cultures of protest, as an observation deck onto humans and other beings, strange and familiar, and – yes—as a form of play. We’ll study a range of works, written worldwide in French from our own day to the earliest times.  Oral and musical story-telling, fables, fantasy and the ongoing experiment with the short story that includes correspondence, journalism, graphic and audio-visual writing.  Djebar, Marie de France, Fénéon, Madame de Lafayette, Diop, Balzac, and onto today’s writers, and a timely topic in the francophone world – le vivre ensemble –how to live together in Paris-Alger-Beirut.  Reading a pair of stories each week will equip you with methods of criticism. The seminar style will enable you to put them to the test, practicing oral expression, and developing your voice in writing.  By semester’s end, you will know how people imagining their communities in another language offer you a manual for living intrepidly in your own.  This course is intended for those who have reached the 300 level at Duke or equivalent and is conducted in French.