French 83: Photography and Literature

Since its invention, photography has inspired and provoked writers. In this course, we will consider how the histories of photography and literature are intertwined, with a particular focus on how photography has served many modern and contemporary French writers as an important point of reference in their investigations of self and identity. How do we define ourselves in relation to images? How can literature help us understand and read photography as we make our way through our own image-saturated realities? How has photography influenced literary form and practice? As we ponder these questions, we will study a variety of genres, including the novel, the essay, and the memoir, as well as works that blur the boundaries between traditional generic classifications. Readings may include works by Charles Baudelaire, Félix Nadar, Paul Valéry, Hervé Guibert, Georges Perec, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, and Roland Barthes.