Novels can be ugly, revolting, outrageous. In this seminar, we set aside a pleasantly aesthetic appraisal of literary texts to foreground their potential for generating scandal. We focus on the emergence of the modern novel in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France. Our readings, which include Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Rachilde, Proust, Breton, and Colette, follow a chronological order and will be discussed as part and parcel of their own evolving socio-political and economic contexts. While familiarizing yourselves with major literary movements such as Realism, Naturalism, and Surrealism, we will pay attention to the forms and contents that provoked shock, political outcry, censorship trials, and pearl-clutching reactions. We will take disgust seriously and ask: what does it mean for a novel to be called "putrid," and what work does revulsion perform? We will explore themes such as obscenity and the law, prostitution and gendered deviance, and the role of the arts in a mass-culture society. By the end of the course, you will have developed a set of interpretive tools to understand how and why, both in the past and in our own moment, literary representations of reality are often met with more outrage than the realities they represent. PLEASE NOTE: No prior knowledge of French literature is required. All readings are available in English translation. Taught in English with option for written assignments in French.
3-5 units · Letter (ABCD/NP)
Novels can be ugly, revolting, outrageous. In this seminar, we set aside a pleasantly aesthetic appraisal of literary texts to foreground their potential for generating scandal. We focus on the emergence of the modern novel in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France. Our readings, which include Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Rachilde, Proust, Breton, and Colette, follow a chronological order and will be discussed as part and parcel of their own evolving socio-political and economic contexts. While familiarizing yourselves with major literary movements such as Realism, Naturalism, and Surrealism, we will pay attention to the forms and contents that provoked shock, political outcry, censorship trials, and pearl-clutching reactions. We will take disgust seriously and ask: what does it mean for a novel to be called "putrid," and what work does revulsion perform? We will explore themes such as obscenity and the law, prostitution and gendered deviance, and the role of the arts in a mass-culture society. By the end of the course, you will have developed a set of interpretive tools to understand how and why, both in the past and in our own moment, literary representations of reality are often met with more outrage than the realities they represent. PLEASE NOTE: No prior knowledge of French literature is required. All readings are available in English translation. Taught in English with option for written assignments in French.
Offered in Winter 2027 at Stanford University.