Interpreting Literature - Modern Langs&Literatures
This foundational class will require students to read closely and analyze carefully a representative variety of prose, poetry, and drama. It will be a prerequisite for all second tier literature courses, as designated by each department.
Only one section of UCLR 100, UCLR 100C, UCLR 100E, or UCLR 100M may be taken for credit as an undergraduate.
Outcomes: Students will master key literary and critical terms, and explore a variety of core critical approaches to the analysis and interpretation of literature.
This foundational class will require students to read closely and analyze carefully a representative variety of prose, poetry, and drama. It will be a prerequisite for all second tier literature courses, as designated by each department.
Only one section of UCLR 100, UCLR 100C, UCLR 100E, or UCLR 100M may be taken for credit as an undergraduate.
Outcomes: Students will master key literary and critical terms, and explore a variety of core critical approaches to the analysis and interpretation of literature.
Foundational Literary Knowledge
Black Paris, the foundational course in literary studies, is a prerequisite for all second-tier literature courses, as designated by each department. Over the course of the semester, you will be introduced to the main literary genres (prose, poetry, theater) and learn a variety of analytical tools in order to understand how and why literature works. The theme of the course, Black Paris, gathers literary works by Black artists writing in, or about the French metropolis over the past century (1920- today). It also includes three films, which we will analyze in conjunction with the literature. Known as the ¿ville lumière¿ (city of light/ center of the Enlightenment), Paris has been one of the world¿s most coveted cultural centers over the centuries, and, more notably for our purposes, a site of transnational encounters. The writers included in the syllabus come from Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean, which will lead us to questioning the very terms of our theme: what is Blackness in the context of these works? And what representations of Paris emerge from them? Conversely, how do these texts enter into conversation with historical events, political and literary movements in France, and internationally? Last but not least, how do ideas about race relate to issues of class, gender, or sexuality?
Class Details
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