FREN 0364
Happiness in Ancien Regime FR
The Pursuit of Happiness in Ancien Régime France
We will consider the evolution of the notion of happiness in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France, and trace how that notion, initially based on the idea of a civic or social aspiration to a greater common good, gradually became a more individual conception, closely linked to that of personal autonomy. This evolution coincided with a gradual emancipation from the dominion of outside intellectual and moral authority and the growing reliance on individual judgment that marked the Age of Enlightenment. We will read works by authors who defined the intellectual and social climate of their time, possibly including Corneille, Molière, Mme de Lafayette, Marivaux, Voltaire, Graffigny, Rousseau, Charrière, and Beaumarchais. (FREN 0221 or by waiver). 3 hrs. lect./disc.
We will consider the evolution of the notion of happiness in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France, and trace how that notion, initially based on the idea of a civic or social aspiration to a greater common good, gradually became a more individual conception, closely linked to that of personal autonomy. This evolution coincided with a gradual emancipation from the dominion of outside intellectual and moral authority and the growing reliance on individual judgment that marked the Age of Enlightenment. We will read works by authors who defined the intellectual and social climate of their time, possibly including Corneille, Molière, Mme de Lafayette, Marivaux, Voltaire, Graffigny, Rousseau, Charrière, and Beaumarchais. (FREN 0221 or by waiver). 3 hrs. lect./disc.