FR4079 Diversifying C19th French Poetry

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Module description

While diversity and inclusivity are at the forefront of current debates about curriculum in the arts and humanities, the field of C19th French poetry is dominated by a handful of male authors (Hugo, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmé) who share a narrow spectrum of identity markers. This module is designed to broaden our critical analysis of the field by studying the work of female, working-class, outsider and non-native French-language poets alongside the established 'greats'. The aim is not to ignore or overthrow the canon entirely, but rather, to bring it into productive dialogue with other, long-neglected, voices in order to re-examine fundamental questions about literary value, the socio-economic forces behind canon creation and maintenance, discrimination and omission. The lecturer and all students will work together in selecting the authors to be studied, and students will be encouraged to propose new texts for inclusion on the module as their research, using online library.