Course Description

SPAN550B

Porn Lit: Critical Approaches to Erotic Literature in Latin America and Spain How do we approach a literary work that basks in an excess of erotic, even perverse, imagery? How do we think critically about bestiality, pedophilia, or chronicles of sexual escapades that, in a non‐academic setting, may be deemed gratuitous or obscene? What makes […]

FREN520

Écrire l’utopie en France (18e-19e siècles) Instructor: Joël Castonguay-Bélanger Language of instruction: French Construction imaginaire d’une alternative face aux limites et aux vices du présent, description d’un espace idéal qui se serait développé dans les marges de l’histoire, l’utopie participe à la fois de la quête d’un monde meilleur et de la critique de l’ordre existant. Parce […]

ITST333

In Search of “Italianness” through Novellas (in English) Like a feature film, the “novella” (longer than a short story but shorter than a novel) can be enjoyed in just one sitting.  Hence, the never-ending interest for a literary genre that dates back to Boccaccio and the Italian Renaissance. Thanks to its brevity, concrete symbolism and […]

FREN280

Québec’s Quiet Revolution: Cultural and Political Legacies Often used to describe the period of political and social change that took place in the province of Québec during the 1960s and the 1970s, the expression “Quiet Revolution” has become a category of mythological proportions in the Canadian collective memory. This historical period is understood as a […]

FREN380

What is Frenchness? “Boy, those French, they have a different word for everything!”                                                                             Steve Martin From baguettes and red wine to the Eiffel Tower, we all carry around an idea of what defines « Frenchness ». In this course, we will explore the idea of Frenchness from the point of view of three key concepts […]

SPAN309

Business Spanish of International Trade in the Hispanic World Numerosas economías emergentes en Latino América (v.gr., Chile, México, Perú) han logrado establecer un importante rol internacional gracias a la comercialización de sus productos. Dicha situación le ofrece a quienes dominan el español como idioma materno o lengua adicional, explorar interesantes oportunidades de desarrollo profesional y […]

FREN348

[Cross-listed with Medieval Studies 301] Journeys to the East: Tales of Travel and Conquest in Medieval French Literature The European Middle Ages did not occur in a bubble: medieval Europe was part of an interconnected social, political, economic and cultural continuum that spanned much of Eurasia and Africa, and included a myriad religions, languages and […]

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ITST234

Introduction to Italian Cinema This course introduces students to one of the world’s most respected and influential cinematic traditions and industries, which made the film art an inseparable part of Italian popular culture, and Italian cinema part of global cultural heritage. Each week we discuss one film from the post-WWII era by analyzing its historical, […]

FREN483A

La France et la Deuxième Guerre mondiale La Deuxième Guerre mondiale n’arrête pas d’être d’une actualité cuisante dans la France d’aujourd’hui, où les souvenirs de la défaite de 1940, de l’Occupation et des déportations ne cessent de troubler la conscience d’une nation. Quoique la génération de la guerre soit en train de disparaître, les souvenirs […]

SPAN420

Women in Theatre: Romance, Honour and Murder Ascent and Decline: Topics in Golden-Age Peninsular Literature and Culture Expect murder, romance, magic and mayhem as we read some of the most outstanding theatrical plays of the Golden Age. Much of today’s drama, from Broadway musicals to intellectual farces, descends from a rich Hispanic theatrical tradition dating […]