This course focuses on texts that seek to reveal the reality of the self in the space of a book, including readings of confessional and autobiographical works by the twentieth-century writers Camus, Annie Ernaux, Roland Barthes, and Maryse Condé, and by their literary ancestors Augustine, Abélard, Montaigne, and Rousseau. Themes examined include: the compulsion to confess; secret sharing versus public self-disclosure; love, desire, and language; the search for authenticity; dominant discourse and minority voices; the role of the reader as accomplice, witness, judge, confessor.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 14

Prerequisites: At least one unit of FREN 205, FREN 206, FREN 207, FREN 208, FREN 209 or above, or an equivalent departmental placement score.

Instructor: Lydgate

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature; REP - Religion, Ethics, and Moral Philosophy

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: