Women’s Emancipation : literature, history, visual arts
The aim of this course is to investigate the history of woman’s emancipation since the seventeenth century, relying on various sources: their representation in literature, in visual arts (painting, photography, cinema, contemporary graphic novels), and through the analysis of historical and theoretical studies on the subject. The lessons will alternatively propose the following moments :
• presentation and debate on a theoretical, critical, historical or sociological study
• reading and analysis of a literary text
• presentation and investigation of a visual document

We will particularly examine women’s access to knowledge and education, as well as their recognition as creators. What liberty can a woman enjoy as an author depending on the period? Analyzing fairy tales (Mme d’Aulnoy), novels (such as Boule de Suif (Maupassant), La Maison (Becker), etc.), theatrical plays (from a classical basis with Molière), biographies (in graphic arts such as Culottées (Bagieu), in films such as Les Figures de l’ombre) and confronting them with historical and sociological studies, our goal will be to question the evolution of the norms of society, as regards women’s access to autonomy.

Required texts:
• Molière, L'Ecole des Femmes, Hatier, ISBN-13 : 978-2401059399
• Molière, Les Femmes savantes, Hatier, ISBN-13 : 978-2218997556