Course
description
The purpose of this course is to study the
different types of French cultures ( French based Creoles and Francophone
languages and cultures) in North America. The main domains of study will be
Quebec, Acadie and New England, as well as their extension along the
Mississippi river from Ohio to Louisiana. The origins, history, and
linguistic characteristics of this French-speaking colonization will be
studied during the first part of the semester
while the second part will cover the contemporary
status of this French-speaking enclave in North-America. Cultural,
linguistic and artistic issues in each area will be studied from fictional
texts, art documents, audio-visual productions as well as contemporary
Quebec cinema. Contemporary works by Acadiens, Québécois, Américains, and
Cajuns writers (Nelligan, Caron, Maillet, Miron, Proulx, Tremblay, Blais,
Kerouac, Des Rosiers, Laferrière, Ancelet, etc. ) and filmmakers (Arcand,
Pool, Lepage, Lauzon, Coté, Chouinard, etc.) will help understand the nature
of this important Francophone cultural domain in the New World. The
Francophone area of the New World will be studied both locally and globally
so as to study it as a diverse and complex macrocosm of varied sedentary and
nomadic interests and identities. Special emphasis will be given to arts and
performing arts.
