Séminaire de littérature 2

Titre : Contemporary American Literature: Narratives of Emancipation

The seminar will focus on the persistence of patterns of imprisonment and dependence in contemporary American literature, far beyond the times of slavery which generated extreme forms of said patterns. Various types of enslavement will be taken into account, at both the official, institutional level as well as at the individual level. Forms of internalized servitude will also be studied, or of the psychological integration of servitude, as well as some of the representations and behaviors both reflecting and perpetuating it. For enslaved individuals, be they concretely or symbolically enslaved, the question of identity is a crucial one. The emphasis will be laid on the role of writing within the processes of emancipation, identity quest and self-development, in relation to a practice of creative writing offered as part of the seminar.

The study of narratives of emancipation will allow to address a number of questions in the literary field, highlighting its aesthetic, ethical and political dimensions. More precisely, through the analysis of the formal choices structuring the narratives under study, the question of authority will be raised, as well as well as of the respective modalities of writing History or stories. Who tells the stories and for whom? What is at stake in the text, beyond the abolitionist aim of original slave narratives? What may the readers’ expectations be? Is it possible to challenge prejudice and avoid the repetition of History? More largely, how to build oneself, or build oneself anew, through writing?

Through the study of the texts on the syllabus, the persistence of patterns of imprisonment and dependence in contemporary American literature will be examined, in order to highlight the role of writing in emancipation processes, as well as to raise a number of major questions in the study of literature, in its aesthetic, ethical and political dimensions.

SESSION 1

- CC: 2 écrits (durée, de 1h à 2h), de 50% chacun 

- Dérogatoire : écrit de 2h 

SESSION 2 : écrit de 2h 

Continuous assessment: 2 written exams (between 1 and 2hours), 50% each

Session 1: one 2-hour written exam

Session 2: one 2-hour written exam

Use of Artificial Intelligence:

Dans le cadre de cet EC, l’usage de l’IA pour aider à la réalisation des travaux de contrôle continu soumis à évaluation est interdit. Vous n’avez pas le droit de faire appel à une IA générative à des fins de documentation, recherche d’idées, construction, rédaction ou édition (hors usages de recherche web augmentée, de correction orthographique et syntaxique).

A good command of the English language

Développer des méthodes de recherche, de recueil et d’analyse de données dans des domaines spécifiques, liés à la culture, l’art, la littérature et la civilisation dans une langue étrangère.

Développer la connaissance de la littérature états-unienne contemporaine dans sa diversité et dans la continuité d'une tradition. Développer les compétences d’analyse de texte littéraire et, de manière plus générale, en recherche littéraire. Les pratiques de « creative writing » proposées pourront contribuer à développer l’aisance à l’écrit.

Syllabus

Percival Everett. James. Doubleday, 2024.

Laird Hunt. Kind One. Coffee House Press, 2012.

Tiffany McDaniel. Betty. Vintage Books, 2020.

Toni Morrison. Beloved, Knopf, 1987.

Criticism and theory

Récit de la vie et des aventures de Henry Bibb, esclave américain, écrit par lui-même. Traduction et commentaire par Sandrine Ferré-Rode et Anne-Laure Tissut. PURH, 2018.

Cathy Caruth. Unclaimed Experience. Trauma, Narrative, and History. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.

Michaël Roy. Textes fugitifs. Le récit d’esclave au prisme de l’histoire du livre. Lyon : ENS Éditions, 2018. Consultable sur OpenEditions Books :  Textes fugitifs - ENS Éditions

Secondary syllabus (works mentioned in class)

Octavia Butler. Kindred. Headline 2014 (originally published by Doubleday in 1979).

Patricia Eakins. The Marvelous Adventures of Pierre Baptiste : Father and Mother, First and Last. NYU 1999.

Eddy L. Harris Mississippi Solo. Henry Holt and Company, 1988.

Laird Hunt. Neverhome. Little, Brown and Company, 2014.

Toni Morrison. Song of Solomon. Knopf Doubleday, reprint 2004 (originally published by Vintage in 1977).

M. NourbeSe Philip. Zong ! Wesleyan, 2008.

Claudia Rankine. Citizen. Penguin Books, 2014.

Jesmyn Ward. Let Us Descend. Bloomsbury, 2023.

Colson Whitehead. The Underground Railroad. Fleet 2017.

Margaret Wrinkle. Wash. Atlantic Monthly 2013.