18th-Century Fiction (344-0-20)
Topic
Dangerous Liaisons: Passion, Betrayal and Intrigue
Instructors
Samantha Jo Botz
Meeting Info
Parkes Hall 214: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
The recent surge in popularity of the 18th-century period drama evinced by series like Bridgerton and The Great, and films like The Favourite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, speak to our modern moment's fascination with the era when, arguably, modernity was born. This course will approach a number of key 18th-century writings and their contemporary adaptations to reflect on the timeless appeal of the historical costume drama. In what ways does the eighteenth-century novel—a category only just beginning to define itself during the period—particularly lend itself to modern adaptation? And what do contemporary films and television series reveal about our relationship with the cultural sensibilities and complex politics of the past? Reading Enlightenment-era and Regency fictions like Aphra Behn's rakish romp, The Rover, Jane Austen's satirical novella Lady Susan, and Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's novel of the French Revolution, Dangerous Liaisons alongside films like Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, and Amma Asante's Belle, we will investigate the ways in which visual and written mediums attempt to offer us a glimpse into the past, as well as how we use might use them to historicize and critique questions of class, race, gender, and sexuality—then and now.
Teaching Method
Discussion-based.
Evaluation Method
Participation, short writing assignments and final essay/project.
Class Materials (Required)
Texts may include: Aphra Behn, The Rover; Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey; Jane Austen, Lady Susan; Mary Wollstonecraft, The Wrongs of Woman; Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liasons dangereuses (in translation); Mary Hays, Memoirs of Emma Courtney.
Films may include: Marie Antoinette, The Favourite, Belle, Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area