French Society in Music From the Roaring Twenties to Today
FREN 232
Spring 2024
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01
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Music has kept the beat of French history through its ordinary and extraordinary chapters. How has music supported France's cultural power and interacted with its external influences? How do songs guard dominant narratives or rally people under revolutionary banners of protest? Over the course of the semester, we will explore music (and its multimodal nature) as a site of cultural expression and a means of understanding social and political movements of modern French society over the last 100 years.
In the first part of this course, we will situate the music of artists such as Josephine Baker, Edith Piaf, Boris Vian, and Serge Gainsbourg in relation to major 20th-century events, from post-World War I Annés folles to May '68. We will consider how songs engage political events and discover the ways in which music shapes and is being shaped by its society. The second part of the course focuses on contemporary music of French expression (Indochine, Orelsan, Yseult, Angèle, Stromae) as related to questions of gender and sexuality, the legacy of decolonization, immigration, technology, and consumerism. Listening to the voices of France and its "others," we will examine expressions of belonging and alienation within a society that constantly reinvents itself while endeavoring to preserve its "inherent" characteristics. Close readings of lyrics paired with historical contextualization will be supplemented with theoretical and literary texts, excerpts from films and documentaries, posters, and photography. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (COL)(FRST-MN)(FRST)(RMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
(excerpts from books and articles) will be available to students in CoursePack.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Students will participate actively in class discussions and will post reflections. There will be quizzes, in-class presentations, and essays at times to be determined at the beginning of the semester.
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Any student who has completed FREN215 (with a minimum grade of B) or has placed out of FREN215 through the placement test may sign up for this course. Readings, written assignments and class discussions will be in French. Only COL students may take this course CR/U. All others must take it for a letter grade. Students who are not admitted to the course through pre-registration are strongly encouraged to submit an enrollment request and attend the first class. |
| Instructor(s): Pshevorska,Liana Times: ...W.F. 10:20AM-11:40AM; Location: BOGH110; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 4 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 7 | FR: 1 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 8 | 1st Ranked: 1 | 2nd Ranked: 2 | 3rd Ranked: 2 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 2 |
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