Peqod :: Classes - Columbia University Catalog of Classes

For many Americans, May ’68 is remembered as the French analog to Woodstock: the apogee of social and cultural effervescence brought on by youth rebellion. Idealistic slogans like “
sous les pavés la plage
” (“under the cobblestones the beach”) and “
il est interdit d’interdire
” (“it is forbidden to forbid”) are foregrounded in our own nostalgic memories of the Summer of Love or British counter-cultural movements (imported in France Johnny Hallyday) often overshadow the political foundations of the events. May ’68 can refer not only to the events of May proper, but to the preceding and following months, during which squabbles between students and administrators over pool and dormitory usage expanded to include the largest student-worker strike in French history. By May 20th, 1968, wildcat strikes in factories across France temporarily shut down the country, resulting in the dissolution of the French National Assembly and the flight of French President Charles de Gaulle. In this course, we will use literature and film, alongside primary historical sources and theoretical documents to explore May ’68 from multiple angles— as a social, cultural, and political moment that fundamentally marked French history. Beginning with
génération de Marxisme et Coca-cola
, we’ll consider how a thirty-year period of relative financial stability, called
les Trente Glorieuses
(1945-1975), fostered a youth culture marked by sexual liberation, anti-consumerism, and anti-Americanism. Fundamental shifts in the postwar French political landscape, such as French Communist Party’s slow demise and several wars of decolonization, paved the way for diverse political movements. Just as France of the 1960s turned inward, coming to terms with its own collaboration in World War II, it nevertheless continued to repress nationalist movements in Algeria and elsewhere. French thinkers turned their gaze to workers’ rights both home and abroad, turning East to Vietnam and China for inspiration. Feminist and gay rights theorists at home also began to organize. Finally, looking at contemporary France and mass movements in France today, such as the 2005 “riots” on the outskirts of Paris, the anti-gay marriage movement “
la Manif pour tous
,” or the
Gilets Jaunes
, we’ll consider the “aftermath” of May ’68. Was May a “faile

MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
Instructor: Aubrey A Gabel
CULPA: 2 Info
3 points

Details

FREN UN3762

Witches, Fairies and Female Vampires in

Witches, Fairies and Vamp

A French inquisitor said in the 17 th century: “To one wizard, ten thousand witches.” The
witches were seen, not only as “female wizards,” but as qualitatively different from
wizards and warlocks. There was something fundamentally female about their magic. At
first sight, witches, fairies and female vampires differ greatly. Yet they all embody a
certain female (supernatural or natural) power, that fearful men tried to restrain and
stigmatize over the centuries. Daughters of both Eros and Thanatos, they share features
that were frowned upon by political and religious institutions. Moreover, female vampires
may be former witches, while witches are often given names actually referring to fairies:
the borders between those categories, whether it is in medieval or romantic literature,
are definitely not as rigid as they might initially seem. The struggle against or for female
magic occurred within literature and art. This class aims at showing how the artistic and
literary representation of those creatures evolved from medieval times until our own,
oscillating between condemnation, ambiguous fascination, and mere rehabilitation. It
questions the role of gender politics in the literary construction of witchcraft and other
supernatural phenomena. An important place is given to female French writers, who, for
obvious reasons, envisioned those topics in a peculiar way, frequently turning
negative stereotypes into sources of empowerment. The final two weeks will be devoted
to a comparative, French-American approach to the Salem trials. We will discuss literary
excerpts, short stories and poems (mostly in French though a vast majority are
accessible in translation) as well as paintings and movies. The class is taught in French.
It is principally designed for French and Comparative Literature majors, or advances
undergraduates with a good knowledge of French.

TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
Instructor: David Haziza
Info
3 points

Details

FREN UN3921