Course Description
The literature of England, France, and Germany in the eighteenth century, with emphasis on political and intellectual developments: the French Revolution and the Enlightenment. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of the texts under discussion to the contemporary world.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional reading, writing, and research assignments.
Athena Title
Enlightenment and Revolution
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
- to introduce students to major works of European 18th- century literature, with emphasis on the Enlightenment and the relevance of these texts to contemporary society around the world; - to situate those works within the social, historical, political, and cultural developments of the period; - to enhance students' critical abilities through the analysis of individual texts; - to improve students' communication skills through oral presentations and expository writing assignments. Students' performances will be assessed through presentations, tests, papers, and a final examination.
Topical Outline
The readings of literary works structure the course, with the specific works selected varying with the instructor. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of these texts to contemporary society around the world. Topics frequently covered in the course include: sentiment and enlightenment; reason and revolution; the domestication of women and the drama of marriage; courtship and seduction; comedy and the popular theater; gothic fiction; French classicism and the development of the German theater. The following is a sample syllabus of readings for a single semester: Swift. Gulliver's Travels Diderot. Rameau's Nephew Voltaire. Candide Marivaux. The Game of Love and Chance Rousseau. Confessions Goldoni. The Mistress of the Inn Lessing. Amelia Galotti Goethe. The Sorrows of Young Werther Schiller. The Robbers Laclos. Dangerous Liaisons
Syllabus