An examination of the rapid modernization and urbanization (haussmannization) of Paris in the Nineteenth Century and the changes it brought to the life of Parisians. Two authors fond of Paris: Balzac, the eternal Parisian wanderer, and Zola, the social scientist, will be the focus of this course. Balzac witnesses the birth of the bourgeoisie and of the power of money; Zola evokes the monsters they engender. 

In this class we will discuss the modernization of Paris in the XIX Century and its effects on the life of Parisians. We will study a novel by Balzac, Ferragus, in which the author emphasizes the “monstrosity” of the French Capital, which is a theater of a struggle between the new and the old. In Ferragus, Balzac contrasts the old and dirty streets and neighborhoods of Paris, where shady, destitute characters roam, and the new polished “quartiers” where the bourgeoisie and the Bank have just established their bearings. Inequalities abound and extremes between the social classes become prevalent. We will also study excerpts from César Birotteau, a novel about financial speculation and the evolution of commerce in the early 1830’s.

Advertising and marketing, two factors of success evoked by Balzac in Histoire de la grandeur et décadence de César Birotteau dominate the retail market in Zola‘s Au bonheur des dames. In the latter novel, Zola recalls the birth of the large department stores and explores their successes. The availability of goods, mass consumption and cost cutting are part of the new trade strategies and symbolize the modern activity that Zola describes in Au Bonheur des dames. Zola’s goal in his Histoire naturelle et sociale d’ une famille sous le Second Empire was to portray his century as a century of conquest and action which witnessed the transformation of Paris from an unsanitary medieval town into a modern urban city. In La Curée, he recreates the commercial Paris of the “Grands Boulevards” as well as the bourgeois Paris riddled with speculation and corruption. Gold and pleasure are the two driving forces of the century.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 14

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

Instructor: Tranvouez

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature; ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video

Typical Periods Offered: Winter

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: