This course will explore the history of French Canada through its literature and culture. Tracing the development of French Canada from the seventeenth century to contemporary Quebec, the course will focus on the key themes of messianism, collective memory, ethnic identity, religion, language, nationalism, feminism, immigration, and multiculturalism as seen in fiction, poetry, theater, and film. We will examine texts on exploration, colonization, the Acadian Deportation of 1755, Conquest of 1759, the Patriots' Rebellion of 1837-38, Louis Riel and the Métis rebellion, Quebec nationalism and its impact on Francophones outside of Quebec. Authors and filmmakers to be studied may include Brian Moore (Black Robe), Louis Hémon (Maria Chapdelaine), Roch Carrier (La Guerre, Yes Sir!), Marie Laberge (It Was Before the War, Down at L’Anse-a-Gilles), Gabrielle Roy (The Tin Flute), Michel Tremblay The Sisters-in-Law), Denise Boucher (The Fairies Are Thirsty), Dany Laferrière (How to make Love to a Negro), Denys Arcand (The Decline of the American Empire, The Barbarian Invasions), as well as Acadian and Western francophone writers . Readings in English, but reading knowledge of French useful.
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