Edwige Crucifix
Scheherazades: Depicting Oriental Women in French & Francophone Culture/
Shéhérazades : Dépeindre “l’orientale” en France et dans le monde Francophone
Advanced undergraduate course/ graduate seminar. Taught in French or English.
Jean-Etienne Liotard, Woman on a Sofa Reading, 1748-52.
The following syllabus is for an advanced undergraduate course, but could be easily modified to become a graduate seminar. Set within the theoretical framework of postcolonial studies, this course studies a wide variety of materials and periods and could be taught either in French or English depending on the department under which it is proposed (almost all the assigned readings have an existing English translation). The course could be cross-listed in the following departments: French Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Comparative Literature, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
If taught as a graduate seminar, the assignment sequence would change. Instead of the current assessment sequence (participation, ten online entries, two close-readings, one portfolio presentation and one final portfolio) the students would be graded on the following assessments: participation (15%), one in-class reading presentation (15%), one mid-semester 10 page paper (15%), one mock-conference paper (15%), one 15-20 page final paper based on the mock-conference paper (40%).
- Course Outline and Requirements -
Schedule:
This class will meet twice a week, for sessions of 80 minutes each OR once a week for 150 minutes.
Course Description:
Centered around the storied figure of Shéhérazade, this course explores literary and visual representations of “oriental” women in France from the 18th century to the contemporary period. Structured in a chronological and thematic manner, the course confronts students with highly influential Orientalist depictions of women (from Voltaire, Loti, and Orientalist painters among others), as well as postcolonial and feminist answers to Orientalism (including Djébar, Sebbar and Slimani). Primary sources will be supplemented with theoretical readings from Edward Said, Fatima Mernissi and Joan Scott among others, in order to question the evolution and relevance of the concept of “Orientalism” today, especially in France’s current political climate. From an enticing mystery and an object of Western benevolence to today’s sexualized beurette, the cultural construct of the “Orientale” bears on French society in numerous ways that will be further explored in the course. Taught in French or English.
Required Material:
Most readings and all movies will be made available online by the instructor. Students are responsible for purchasing the following books:
• Voltaire. Zaïre, 1732 (price tbd)
• Loti, Pierre. Aziyadé, 1879. (165 pages; price tbd)
• Sebbar, Leïla. Shéhérazade: 17 ans, brune, frisée, les yeux verts, 1982. (268 pages; price tbd)
• Slimani, Leïla. Paroles d’honneur, 2017. (106 pages; price tbd)
Learning Outcomes:
• [IF IN FRENCH] Language proficiency: Train students to speak and write critically in French.
• Key Terms: Develop a critical lexicon and study theoretical concepts relevant to francophone studies, postcolonial studies and gender studies.
• Critical analysis: Identify and evaluate claims, synthesize ideas, and develop well-substantiated, coherent, and concise arguments.
• Research Skills: Locate primary and secondary resources and learn to build a research project. Develop well-focused projects.
• Writing skills: Train students to humanities writing style and communication.
Assignments Sequence:
• Participation (15% of the final grade): Students should contribute actively to the discussions. Students are encouraged to engage directly with their classmates by adding to their remarks, asking questions, or making summary remarks.
• Online Notebook (15% of the final grade): Students will compose 10 weekly responses over the course of the semester (250- 350 words), which provide brief summaries of all assigned readings, identify key themes, and pose one critical question. Responses must be posted on the class blog/canvas by 8am before class. Students may occasionally share parts of their entries during discussion.
• Close-Readings (30% of the final grade - 15% each): Students will be required to provide two short readings (4-5 pages each) on two of the assigned readings. Students are encouraged to build on their weekly responses and on class discussions for the close readings. Close readings can refer to secondary sources and theoretical readings, but should remain focused on the assigned texts.
• Final Portfolio (40% of the final grade): Students have two options for the final portfolio. Option A) A critical introduction (1-2) pages, all responses papers in polished form, and a research paper (6-8 pages). Option B) A critical introduction (1-2 pages), all response papers in polished form, a creative component pending my approval (examples: a video, play, archive- based project, etc.) and a 3-4 pages rationale. For both, a minimum of 5 peer-reviewed articles and outside academic sources must be consulted. In preparation for the portfolio students will compose a 1-page proposal outlining their research project and/or creative component, as well as a preliminary bibliography. During our last meeting all students will briefly present their projects to the class.
Requirements:
• Readings in French and English will be assigned. All readings must be completed prior to our discussion. Please bring all assigned texts to class.
• All written-work must adhere to the MLA style guidelines. Students unfamiliar with this style might consult the very detailed website of the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
• Attendance is mandatory, however, each student will be permitted three excused absences. Every absence thereafter will result in the deduction of one point off your final grade. Only documented emergencies will be considered excused absences.
• Late assignments will be accepted only if previously discussed with the instructor.
• Academic honesty is required of all students. For more information please refer to the Academic Code of our school, but please see me if you have any doubts or questions.
Diversity and Inclusion statement:
In order for the class to be an equally rich opportunity for all of us to learn, it is essential to respect each other’s perspectives, backgrounds and beliefs. As understanding the particulars of individual experiences is a central feature of Francophone studies and gender and sexuality studies, it is important that the course reflects this commitment. The classroom should be a safe and comfortable environment for all to exchange opinions, ask questions an learn. If you feel like something has been said or done to make you feel uncomfortable in class or in the readings, please contact me or any other trusted facilitator.
Accessibility and Accommodations:
Please inform me early in the term if you have a disability or other conditions that might require accommodations or modification of any of these course procedures. You may speak with me after class or during office hours. For more information, please contact Student and Employee Accessibility Services at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Students in need of short-term academic advice or support can contact one of the deans in the
Dean of the College office.
- Calendar -
I. Sketching the Orientale/ Ébaucher l’Orientale
WEEK 1: What is Orientalism?/ Qu’est-ce que l’Orientalisme ?
• Paul Valéry, “Orientem versus,” 1938.
• Edward Said, Orientalism, Introduction, 1978.
• Madeleine Dobie. "Translation in the Contact Zone: Antoine Galland’s Mille et une nuits: contes arabes" in The Arabian Nights in Historical Context (2008): 25-50.
WEEK 2: The Oriental vogue in the 18th century/ La vogue orientale au 18ème siècle
• Montesquieu, Les Lettres Persanes, 1721. (excerpt)
• Voltaire, Zaïre, 1732.
Assignment: Beginning of the online notebook.
WEEK 3 : Fantacizing the Other/ Fantasmer l’Autre
• Pierre Loti, Aziyadé, 1879.
Assignment: Online notebook.
WEEK 4
• Pierre Loti, Aziyadé, 1879.
Assignment: Online notebook.
WEEK 5: Women in Orientalist Painting/ Les Femmes dans la peinture orientaliste
• Lynne Thornton, introduction to La Femme dans la peinture orientaliste, ACR éditions, 1985.
• Assia Djébbar, Femmes d’Alger dans leurs appartements, 1980. (excerpt)
• Selection of orientalist paintings includes : Eugène Delacroix (La mort de Sardanapale, 1827; Femmes d’Alger dans leurs appartements, 1834), Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (Grande Odalisque, 1814 ; Le Bain Turc, 1862) ; Fernand Cormon (The Deposed Favourite, 1872); Jean-Léon Gérôme (Pool in a Harem, c. 1876); Théodore Chassériau (La toilette d’Esther, 1841).
• Lalla Essaydi, exhibitions « converging territories », « les femmes du Maroc », « harem », « Harem revisited », « bullet », « bullet revisited ».
Assignment: First close reading due. No online notebook.
II. Penetrating the Harem/ Pénétrer le harem
WEEK 6: Life in Costume: women traveling to the Harem/ De l’habit à l’habitat : des voyageuses dans le harem
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Lady Wortley Montagu, Turkish Letters, 1763. (excerpts)
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Mary Roberts. Introduction to Intimate Outsiders: The Harem in Ottoman and Orientalist Art and Travel Literature. 2007.
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Isabelle Eberhardt, Lettres et Journaliers, 1987. (excerpts)
Assignment: Online notebook.
WEEK 7 : Voices from the Harem/ Voix du harem
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Elissa Rhaïs, Les Juifs ou la fille d’Eléazar, 1921.
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Emily Apter. "Ethnographic Travesties: Colonial Realism, French Feminism and the Case of Elissa Rhaïs." In After Colonialism : Imperial Histories and Postcolonial Displacements, 1995.
Assignment: Online notebook.
WEEK 8 : The Dancing Nymph and the Jewess/ De l’alouette naïve à la belle juive
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Elissa Rhaïs, Les Juifs ou la fille d’Eléazar, 1921.
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Fromental Halévy, La Juive, 1835. (clips from the opera)
Assignment: Online notebook.
WEEK 9: “Lifting the Veil” : the Oriental woman and French benevolence/ “Soulever le voile”: L’Orientale dans la mission civilisatrice
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Joseph Chailley-Bert, discours in L'émigration des Femmes aux Colonies, 1897.
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Alloula, Malek. The Colonial Harem, 1986. (selected photographs)
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Claudine Guiard. "Être féministe en contexte colonial dans l'Algérie des années 1930." Revue historique 673, no. 1 (2015): 125.
Assignment: Online notebook.
III. Can the "Orientale" speak? / Les Orientales peuvent-elles parler?
WEEK 10 : Shéhérazade feminist/ Shéhérazade féministe
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Assia Djébar, « La femme en morceaux, » in Oran langue morte, 1997.
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Gayatri C. Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak?,” 1988.
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Fatima Mernissi. Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems, 2001. (excerpt)
Assignment: Second close reading due. No online notebook.
WEEK 11: Postcolonial Shéhérazades/ Shéhérazades postcoloniales
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Leïla Sebbar. Shéhérazade: 17 ans, brune, frisée, les yeux verts, 1982.
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Pierre Gaspard-Huit, Shéhérazade, 1963. (film)
Assignment: Online notebook.
WEEK 12
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Leïla Sebbar. Shéhérazade: 17 ans, brune, frisée, les yeux verts, 1982.
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Marie-France Brière, Princesse Shéhérazade, « La piste des éléphants » and « la note universelle », 1998. (animated series)
Assignments: Online notebook.
Individual meetings with the instructor to discuss final portfolio
WEEK 13 : Shéhérazade and Marianne/ Shéhérazade et Marianne
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Joan W. Scott, "Symptomatic politics: The banning of Islamic head scarves in French public schools." French Politics, Culture & Society 23.3 (2005): 106-127.
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Ni putes ni soumises, "Mariannes d’aujourd’hui" exhibit, 2003 (selected photographs).
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Leïla Slimani. Paroles d’honneur. 2017.
Assignment: Last entry for the online notebook due.
One page description and annotated bibliography for the final project due.
WEEK 14 : Presentations