The seminar will examine the literary culture of France in the sixteenth century through selected masterworks of poetry and prose. During the age that marks the transition between the Middle Ages and neoclassicism, French society is engaged in a process of vigorous experimentation in such themes and issues as individualism, spontaneity, inspiration, eroticism, literary genre, poetics, the visual arts, and social conflict. We will give particular attention to the shift from oral to printed culture and the setting of individual works within the context of modern theories of language and writing. Authors to be studied: Rabelais, Du Bellay, Ronsard, and Montaigne. Conducted in French. Requirements: class participation, two short papers, an oral presentation, and a final exam. Prerequisite: French 109, 110, 112 or permission of the instructor.