Middlebury

FREN 0389

World of Senses Early Mod FR

Passion and Pain, Love and Lust: The World of the Senses in Early Modern France
In this course we will examine early modern theories of emotion—“passion,” “affect,” and “sentiment”—as they are discussed in philosophy and represented in fiction. Seventeenth and 18th-century philosophers and other thinkers confronted questions that continue to haunt contemporary thinking: What is “feeling”? Does language promote or frustrate the expression of emotion? How do the senses relate to other experiences like cognition, memory, and imagination? We will look at texts that transformed how we talk, think, and feel about “feeling.” Readings include short works by Gournay, Lafayette, Descartes, Élisabeth of Bohemia, Du Plaisir, Bernard, Leibniz, Condillac, Rousseau, Condorcet, and Diderot. (FREN 0221 or equivalent) 3 hrs. sem.
Subject:
French
Department:
French
Division:
Languages
Requirements Fulfilled:
EUR LIT LNG PHL
Equivalent Courses:
PHIL 0389

Sections

Fall 2014

FREN0389A-F14 Seminar (LaBrada)