Femmes écrivaines de la Renaissance

The French Renaissance is often imagined as a time of renewal and reinvention for France and the French language: Greek and Latin authors of Antiquity are rediscovered and influence major changes in science, philosophy, and literature; French authors reinvest in the French language as a literary language, pushing its boundaries and establishing new rules for literary invention; Portugal, Spain, and France embark on the “Age of Discovery” in which the so-called “New World” becomes a site of colonial conquest for European countries trying to assert their power; the shifting political and religious landscape influenced by the Protestant Reformation calls into question theories of political power and different forms of government.

While not always who we imagine when we think of the Renaissance today, women writers were important actors in, and contributors to, this period of French literary history. From theater to poetry to prose, this course examines how French women writers actively shaped the world around them through their literature. The authors we will read include Marguerite de Navarre, Hélisenne de Crenne, Madeleine and Catherine Des Roches, and Charlotte Duplessis-Mornay.