Introduction to Realism and Naturalism

3 Credits

Rotating topics trace the development and the main tenets of latter 19th century literary, artistic, and cultural productions. Concentrates on various themes and genres, including poetry, theatre, and the novel as well as the socioeconomic and cultural matrices that fostered movements arising between 1850 and the Fin de siècle. Specific attention may be devoted to definitions of Realism, Naturalism, and Symbolism; representations of modern life and the industrialization of the literary market; the infiltration of scientific and mechanistic thought into literary productions (poetry or prose); and representations of women and the female body, of Paris and Parisian society.