The Regions of France: History, Folklore and Culture

France is a patchwork of many regions, each boasting its own identity through its history, culture and dialect. Each week, this course will explore one specific French region—such as Brittany, Burgundy or Provence—from a variety of angles: its landscapes, folklore and legends; culinary traditions (the notion of terroir); and the way the region is portrayed through literature and cinema.
Examples of the latter include Germinal, in which Emile Zola captures the language and way of life of coal miners in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais; Colette’s memories of Burgundy and Georges Sand’s legends of her native Berry; and Marcel Pagnol’s Marius and Manon des Sources, in which the playwright highlights the social rituals, comic stances and devious plots of his Provençal characters. The class will read and analyze excerpts of these novels and plays, and will screen and discuss feature films relevant to each region.