Framed? Literature Heroines on Screen (FRE4809.01)

Noëlle Rouxel-Cubberly

French literature and film have always reciprocally inspired one another – as early as 1897, Lumière represented the main characters of Hugo’s Les Misérables. This course will offer students the opportunity to analyze literary representations of women and their film adaptations in terms of intermediality and intertextuality. Adaptations will include: La Princesse de Clèves (La Fayette/Sauder), La Religieuse (Diderot/Rivette), La Noire de… (Sembène/Sembène), La Prisonnière/La Captive (Proust/Akerman). Students will focus on the strategies used to turn a book into a film. Students will discuss adaptation theory, exploring notions such as “faithfulness” to a source text, Millicent’s Marcus concept of “umbilical scenes”, the translation of thought, literary and film metaphors, as well as Glissant’s idea of “relation”. Advanced. Conducted in French.


Learning Outcomes:
- analyze literary and film representations of women, using a theoretical frame
- advance proficiency in spoken and written French
- practice and perfect spoken French in a formal setting
- progress in spontaneous, interactive communication
- develop the skills of advanced-level speakers
- mastery of narration in the present, past, and future
- narrating and describing in paragraph-level connected discourse
- drawing hypotheses, defending opinions, and discussing abstract ideas


Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor - contact Noëlle Rouxel-Cubberly (nrouxel-cubberly@bennington.edu) for registration.
Corequisites: Attendance at 2 Language Series events
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 4
M/Th 1:40PM - 3:30PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 18
Course Frequency: Every 2-3 years

Categories: 4000 , All courses , Four Credit , French , Fully In-Person
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