FREN 320 - Francophone Theater of Exile and Immigration

This course is a survey of francophone theater and film from 1975 to 2014. The plays and films will cover three main topics: the development of colonial and post-colonial subjects, the act of writing and performing while living in exile, and the idea of the Other in francophone film and theater. We will study a variety of plays and films that were written in and take place in all parts of the francophone world, including Quebec, Lebanon, Algeria, Belgium, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Martinique, Romania, and France. The form of each work varies widely, from classical French dramatic techniques to minimalist contemporary staging and characterization. Students will study blocking and staging techniques and explore contemporary performance theory in addition to writing literary and cultural analyses. Authors and filmmakers studied include Abla Farhoud, Wajdi Mouawad, Edouardo Manet, Michel Azama, Michele Cesaire, Anca Visdei, Pierre Gope et Nicolas Kurtovithc, and Moussa Toure. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): One 300-level French course. Occasionally. (4 Credits)