FOUR CENTURIES OF FRENCH LITERATURE:
AN HISTORICAL LITERARY OVERVIEW

Arnold Ages

DESCRIPTION: This four-lecture series will cover the highlights of French Literature from its inception in the Medieval period, through the Renaissance, the Age of Classicism to the Age of Enlightenment. Knowledge of French is not required for this series – which is taught in English. Texts selected (and made available to students in hand-outs) will be in French accompanied by simultaneous translation and interpretation. The first lecture will include the origins of the French language, the great medieval epic La Chanson de Roland and the “mystery” plays. Lecture two will cover the poetic genius of Villon, Marot and du Bellay. Montaigne’s epoch-making Essays will also be analyzed. Lecture three will pivot on the theatre of Moliere, Corneille and Racine and the demands of 17th-Century French drama. Lecture four will explore the revolutionary concepts of Rousseau, Diderot and Voltaire and the ways in which these philosphes (intellectuals) might have prepared the terrain for the French Revolution of 1789.

FOUR LECTURES:

1. Medieval French Literature
   
2. Renaissance Literature in France
   
3. Classicism and the French Theatre
   
4. France’s Age of Enlightenment

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Arnold Ages received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Romance Languages from The Ohio State University. He has authored five books and 80 articles in scholarly journals. Dr. Ages retired from the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) with the title “Distinguished Emeritus Professor.” During his career at Waterloo, Dr. Ages was the recipient of many Canada Council grants including the Killam Fellowship, Canada’s highest academic award. His book reviews, belletristic articles and essays have appeared in numerous Canadian, American and other publications.