FREN 4225

Denomic Possession or Hysteria

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2019-2020.

From 1857 up to 1870, a series of bodily seizures erupted in Morzine, a village in the Alps. They affected first adolescent girls, and then many women and some men. The crisis was attributed successively to sorcery, demonic possession of hysteria, and spiritualism. Should we interpret these trances as a clash between tradition and modernity? Did they display a female revolt? Analyzing what some have called the question of "evil," this course will investigate the transformations and fears in nineteenth century French society. Today, hysteria and possession still remain a source of inspiration for both artists and scholars. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective of cultural and historical anthropology, we will explore their posterity in cinema and novels, as well as in psychology, psychoanalysis and feminist writings.

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: FREN 2310 or CASE Q++.

Distribution Category (CA-AS)
Language Requirement Satisfies Option 1.

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