Courses

This seminar will examine the evolution and varieties of French memories of World War II, specifically as concerns the still sensitive subjects of defeat, collaboration, and resistance. We will discuss selected works from 1945 to the present, representing a range of styles and genres as well as points of view. The focus of class discussions will be chiefly on fiction, memoirs, and a few films (documentary and fiction); and, in a supporting role, on current historiography. Required works by J-P Sartre, Irène Némirovsky, Claude Simon, L.-F. Céline, Robert Antelme, Marguerite Duras, Georges Perec, Patrick Modiano, and others.
Work in the seminar will consist of active class participation (students will sign up to lead weekly discussions) and the preparation of a substantial term paper. For each class meeting, students should prepare a short (300-400 words) response paper on a single assigned work or problem, in preparation for the final project.