Take FREN 307g, Public Memory and the Ghosts of History, in Paris, France!
In Paris, the past is ever-present, embedded throughout public space, in what Pierre Nora calls lieux de mémoire (“realms of memory”). But which past? Whose history? Which stories from the past are conserved, reconstructed, transfigured, or overwritten upon the palimpsest of collective memory? Which losses are remembered, mourned, commemorated, and represented today? Which ones are forgotten, disavowed, or concealed? And of those lost histories—effaced from public memory, official archives, and master narratives—what traces remain? In this Maymester, we will explore ghostly figures of the past that are left behind, or that emerge, within the cultural spaces of the French République.
Taught in English, this course fulfills a GE-B as well as French major/ minor credit. Pre-req: FREN-150 or equivalent. Priority enrollment will be given to French majors and minors. For more information on this course, please fill out an interest form here or contact Professor Guilan Siassi, Program Director at gsiassi@usc.edu
