Spring 2009
From Decolonization to "La France plurielle"- Ethnic Identity and Change since 1945
Conducted in French, this course examines the relationship between French national identity and ethnicity from the end of World War II to the present. A study of how poetry, theater, fiction, film, and popular culture (including sports) reflect the changing demographics and politics of ethnicity, race, religion, and historical memory in France. Considering differing views of what it means to "be French," the course will refer to the French Caribbean, the Maghreb, and the African Diaspora in examining the effects of immigration and decolonization on the changing complexion of France as the Hexagon. Concepts such as négritude, créolité, beur, black, and banlieue will be explored in the work of artists and performers who confront, represent, and re-envision struggles born of multiethnic identities, such as Camus, Djebar, Sebbar, Césaire, Glissant, Condé, Mabanckou, Le Clezio, Beyala, et Pineau. Prerequisite: French 312, or 313, or permission of instructor.
