French Thought from Existentialism to Political Ecology (in French)

(4 Credits)

What is the meaning of existence, and of life in society? This is the question the principal thinkers of “French Theory” attempted to answer in the second half of the 20th century. This important moment of intellectual life continues to influence thinkers today around the world. The principal questions and intellectual movements studied in this course include: existentialism (Sartre), structuralism (Levi-Strauss), deconstruction (Derrida), the intersection of power and sexuality (Foucault), sociology of culture (Bourdieu), feminism (Beauvoir, Cixous), postcolonial identities (Glissant), animalism, political ecology (Serres).