Topics in Art History: French Orientalism
FRE2111.02
Course Description
Summary
This course examines how French and Francophone cultures have imagined and represented the non-Western world, with particular attention to the Middle East and the Maghreb. Moving across theatre and costume design, the visual arts, literature, and film, including the work of Moroccan writer and filmmaker Abdellah Taïa, we will trace how these representations have constructed ideas of race and sexuality, and how artists from the region have responded to and rewritten them. Readings in critical and postcolonial theory will frame our discussions. A field trip to the Clark Art Institute will give us the chance to study several works in person.
Learning Outcomes
- 1. Define and analyze the concept of “Orientalism” as it has been used historically
2. Identify and interpret the use Orientalism in French classical theatre and its intersection with French national identity and the development of a strong centralized state, particularly through costume design.
3. Identify and interpret visual representations of Orientalism as it intersects with colonialism in French nineteenth-century art.
4. Identify and interpret Orientalism as it intersects with questions of sexuality and migration in the work of Abdellah Taïa.
5. Prepare and deliver a 15-20-minute group exposé that engages the class in discussion.
6. Synthesize the variety of manifestations of Orientalism over three centuries of French cultural production
Corequisites
A field trip may be scheduled outside of class meeting times.