Boisseron, French 391, spring2010
Francophone Children’s Narratives and Colonization
lundi, mercredi, vendredi: 2:10 – 3h00 p.m.
salle: LA 306
Bénédicte Boisseron Phone: 243-4004
e-mail: benedicte.boisseron@mso.umt.edu
Bureau: LA 404
heures de bureau: Lund,,merc, vend: 12:00 a.m. __ 1pm & rendez-vous
Course Description:
As the saying goes, la jeunesse d’aujourd’hui fait le monde de demain. How much did the youth of yesterday and the children of
today contribute to our understanding of colonization? What does it mean to be born a “colonial” or “postcolonial subject”? In this
course, we will examine the history of colonization and the post-colonial era through literary texts (Oyono, Laye, Pineau, Jelloun…)
from French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa (the Maghreb), and the Antilles (Martinique and Guadeloupe). We will focus
on coming-of-age narratives in which characters become conscious of their collective history as they also grow aware of their
individual identity.
These are some of the questions we will address: What does it mean to be born as the “Other”? How do today’s children feel about the
colonial status of their parents? How is the second generation of immigrants in France affected by the history of colonization?
Students will be invited to discuss issues of race, gender, oppression, alienation, minorities, beur culture, banlieue, etc.
Course Objectives:
Students will be introduced to the practice of reading entire books in French. They will learn to articulate sophisticated analyses in
the target language on specific cultural and literary topics related to the francophone world. Upon completion of this course,
students will have improved their reading, writing, and communicative skills in French. They will also have acquired specific
knowledge on the history of colonization in the Francophone world.
Policies:
Attendance: Attendance will be taken daily. There are no excused absences (work schedules are no excuse), so choose your illnesses
wisely and make arrangements with your instructor ahead of time to do equivalent alternative work to replace class of you must be
away. Late arrival or lack of preparation can be considered an absence. An excess of 3 absences can lower your grade, and an excess
of 6 absences can be grounds for an automatic F.
Late Work: Only homework assignments turned in on time will be given a full grade. Any written assignment not turned in on time
will result in a lowering of the grade for that assignment by 20% for every class day the assignment is late. Missed quizzes and exams
normally cannot be made up. Illness verified by a doctor's statement or death in the family might justify exceptions to this policy.
Plagiarism: please see the Student Conduct Code for a definition of plagiarism and University policies concerning it. All students
must practice academic honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to an academic penalty by the course instructor and/or a disciplinary
sanction by the University. All students need to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review online at
http://life.umt.edu/vpsa/student_conduct.php
Class participation: ……………………………………………………………..20%
1 presentation…………………………………………………………………….10%
weekly reaction papers ..…………………………………………………………20%
Midterm paper……………………………………………………………………20%
Final paper…………………………………………………………………… ….30%
Lectures:
Oyono, Ferdinand, Une vie de boy
Pineau, Gisèle, L'exil selon Julia
Ben Jelloun, Tahar, Les raisins de la galère
Alain Mabanckou, Bleu-blanc-rouge
Boisseron, French 391, spring2010
Tentative schedule
Boisseron, French 391, spring2010
Date
SEMAINE 1
25-Jan
27-Jan
Lectures/préparation
L’époque coloniale
Introduction
Le racisme expliqué à ma fille,
Tahar Ben Jelloun, « Tu as dit tout à
l‘heure…XIXe siècle », 50-54 .
29-Jan
Une vie de boy, F. Oyono part 1
(pp.7-31)
SEMAINE 2
01-Feb
Une vie de boy, F. Oyono part 2
(31-55)
03-Feb
Une vie de boy, F. Oyono part 3
(55-86)
05-Feb
Une vie de boy, F. Oyono part 4
(86-106)
SEMAINE 3
08-Feb
Une vie de boy, F. Oyono part 5
(107-136)
10-Feb
Une vie de boy, F. Oyono part 6/fin
12-Feb
Composition en classe
SEMAINE 4
15-Feb
17-Feb
Holiday: Washington-Lincoln Day
Film : Chocolat, de C. Denis
19-Feb
SEMAINE 5
22-Feb
Film : Chocolat, de C. Denis
L’époque postcoloniale
Algérie: présentations.
24-Feb
Mémoires d’immigrés: “Les
enfants”, Yamina Benguigui.
26-Feb
Mémoires d’immigrés: “Les
enfants”, Yamina Benguigui
SEMAINE 6
01-Mar
La république expliquée à ma fille,
Régis Debray
« Les deux modèles », 5-12
« Civilité, citoyenneté,
nationalité », 22-32
03-Mar
05-Mar
SEMAINE 7
08-Mar
Les raisins de la galère, Tahar Ben
Jelloun part 1 (début-49 « fou »).
Les raisins de la galère, Tahar Ben
Jelloun part 2 (49-84
« arracher ? »)
Les raisins de la galère, Tahar Ben
Jelloun part 3 (84-119
« complice »)
10-Mar
Les raisins de la galère, Tahar Ben
Jelloun part 4 (119-fin)
12-Mar
Boisseron, French 391, spring2010
L’immigration expliquée à ma fille,
Sami Nair ; « La longue histoire de
l’immigration en France », 16-20 ;
« Et l’origine ?», 21-24 ; « Devenir
français », 25-31.
SEMAINE 8
Composition en classe
15-Mar
La Haine, Mathieu Kassovitz
17-Mar
La Haine, Mathieu Kassovitz
19-Mar
présentations sur les banlieues et les
émeutes de 2005
présentation sur Le Pen, Front
National
SEMAINE 9
22-Mar
24-Mar
Rue Cases Nègres, Euzhan Palcy
présentations sur les banlieues et
les émeutes de 2005
présentation sur Le Pen, Front
National
26-Mar
L'exil selon Julia, 11-52
SEMAINE 10
29-Mar
31-Mar
02-Apr
SEMAINE 11
05-Apr
07-Apr
Spring Vacation
Spring Vacation
Spring Vacation
L'exil selon Julia, 55-107
L'exil selon Julia, 109-131
09-Apr
L'exil selon Julia, 135-166
SEMAINE 12
12-Apr
14-Apr
L'exil selon Julia, 167-192
16-Apr
L'exil selon Julia, fin.
National Conference on
Undergraduate Research
SEMAINE13
19-Apr
21-Apr
Composition en classe
Hospitalité française, Tahar Ben
Jelloun, « Le mythe du retour »,
135-144
Présentations sur immigration,
sans-papiers, identité nationale
23-Apr
Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, Alain
Mabanckou, début-54
SEMAINE 14
26-Apr
Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, Alain
Mabanckou, 55-87
28-Apr
Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, Alain
Mabanckou, 88-118
30-Apr
Boisseron, French 391, spring2010
Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, Alain
Mabanckou, 125-167
SEMAINE 15
03-May
05-May
07-May
Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, Alain
Mabanckou, 168-fin
Compositions en classe
Wrap-up