THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT AT MILLS CAMPUS

Absolutism, Enlightenment, and Revolution in Early Modern France (1 unit)

Level Three is for students who have had significant previous instruction in French and who are already able to function independently in full immersion. Typically, students at this level demonstrate textual/writing ability beyond the sentence level. The individual components of the program are designed to complement one another, and all include intensive study of the language. Students will also arrive at a broader appreciation of French and Francophone cultures and literatures. N.B. All four courses are required.

From the sixteenth century’s bloody civil wars between Protestants and Catholics, through the “grand siècle” of Louis XIV the Sun King, to the great age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution, this course explores the civilization of early modern France. Studying film, literature, political documents, and secondary sources, we will investigate how this period produced the political, social, aesthetic, and philosophical foundations of modernity in France and beyond. Authors include Aubigné, Corneille, Lafayette, La Fontaine, Molière, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Beaumarchais, and Gouges.