Still perceived as a "minor" genre at the end of the eighteenth century, the novel was quickly elevated as the literary form of choice in the years following the French revolution. In this course, we will study the evolution of the novel as a genre in nineteenth-century France, paying particular attention to the social and historical context in which the novel developed and transformed over the course of the century. Important areas of investigation will include the ways in which the novel serves as a "reflection" of contemporary French society, the emergence of new literary "types" in the nineteenth-century novel, as well as the impact of the changed and changing reading public on the genre. Texts will include examples of the romantic and historical novel (Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris), of the realist novel (Balzac's La Cousine Bette and Flaubert's Madame Bovary), and of the naturalist novel (Zola's Germinal). We will also look at the ways in which such literary "classics" have lent themselves-and continue to lend themselves-to cinematic adaptations, and will explore the blurring of the lines between elite and popular culture that results from such adaptations. Requirements: class participation, oral presentations, three short papers and a final paper. Prerequisite: French 109 or 110, or permission of the instructor. Expected enrollment: 15.

Hour: ROCHE