FREN - 034. Quebec & Franco-Amer Lit in English

3 credit(s)
This course will introduce students to the literature of both French Canada and Franco-American communities in the northeastern United States, with emphasis on the years prior to the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to representative fictional works, students will also examine personal correspondence, speeches, pastoral letters, biographies, memoirs, art and poetry that contextualize the values that helped shape French-Canadian identity. Absolutely central to that identity was religion, namely Roman Catholicism. Indeed, French-Canadian and Franco-American literature often mirrored the teachings of that institution. Therefore, even as we study three novels, we will also analyze the importance of faith in shaping these societies, including views on family, land, and linguistic, cultural and ethnic survival, as well as the part played by women in particular in preserving and advancing these values. We will also consider later writings as harbingers of dramatic social change.

Attribute: ARTS, CFH, NOEX