Paris: Study of French Capital in Translation

Textual and visual exploration of historical and imaginary (re)constructions of Paris, beginning with its earliest history and gradual formation of this great urban complex in maps from Renaissance to 20th century. Study of city’s streets and quarters, traffic and transportation, multiple layers of past, present, and future, and flâneurs and insurrectionists through wide range of literary and critical texts. Readings cover mainly 19th and 20th centuries—Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, Jules Verne, Emile Zola, André Breton, Walter Benjamin, Roland Barthes, and others.

P/NP or letter grading.