(in Polish) Konwersatorium literaturoznawcze IIz/III z + p : W poszukiwaniu tożsamości – francuska literatura kobieca w okresie Renesansu 3304-1DZXW-KL-16
The seminar is dedicated to women shaping the cultural and intellectual life of the Renaissance. Works by both well-known authors (Marguerite de Navarre, Louise Labé) and lesser-known yet remarkably intriguing figures (Hélisenne de Crenne, Pernette Du Guillet) will be analyzed. Additionally, the discussion will include women who acted as patrons (Louise of Savoy, Catherine de' Medici).The discussion will address topics such as women's education, their activities, and their role in the cultural life of Renaissance France.
The course will address issues such as women's education, their activities, and their roles in the cultural life of Renaissance France. We will observe the changes in women's awareness and their growing activity in the literary field. The sessions will highlight the fascinating personalities of women from various social strata: queens as well as highly educated bourgeois women. Their works and projects will be examined. Students will also gain insights into the current state of research in this field.
Selected topics:
Louise of Savoy – a duchess with the motto Libris et liberis
Marguerite de Navarre – the queen-writer and protector of humanists
Hélisenne de Crenne and the modern novel about love and literature
Louise Labé – a poet and "anti-Petrarchist"?
Catherine de' Medici – between politics and art
Marguerite de Valois and her voice in the "Querelle des Femmes"
Marie de Gournay – Montaigne’s "adopted daughter," author, and editor
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Upon successfully completing the course, the student will be able to:
- accurately situate literary events within their cultural context,
- effectively reference the chronology of the period,
-explain the key concepts relevant to the discussed era,
-identify connections between literary phenomena,
- independently analyze a literary text,
- articulate organized thoughts on topics related to the course themes,
- independently draft a semester essay (dissertation) on a given topic within the discussed themes in French, ensuring both substantive and linguistic accuracy.
Assessment criteria
All students must have an email address ending with ...@student.uw.edu.pl.
Attendance and active participation in classes (a maximum of 2 unexcused absences per semester is allowed).
Preparation of a short presentation based on an article or a chapter of a monograph.
Preparation of a semester paper in French.
Final assessment in the form of an oral exam (PowerPoint presentation) on topics discussed in class or continuous evaluation based on active participation in classes.
Bibliography
- Evelyne Berriot-Salvadore, Les femmes dans la société française de la Renaissance, Droz, Genève, 1990.
-F. Joukovsky, Images de la femme au XVIe siècle, Éditions de La Table Ronde, Paris, 1995.
-M. Lazard, Images littéraires de la femme à la Renaissance, PUF, Paris, 1985.
-A. Loba, Le reconfort des dames mariées, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań, 2013.
-B. Marczuk-Szwed, Marie de Gournay (1565-1645): pierwsza francuska emancypantka, Uniwersitas, Kraków, 2020.
J-F. Solnon, Catherine de Médicis, Coll. Tempus, Perrin, 2009.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: