HiLi G8200x. NARRATIVES OF WORLD WAR II Fall 2015 Carol Gluck Wednesday, 11am-1pm

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1 HiLi G8200x. NARRATIVES OF WORLD WAR II Fall 2015 Carol Gluck Wednesday, 11am-1pm The Course: An examination of literary, cinematic, and museal narratives of the Second World War produced in the decades since 1940 in France and other places. The analytic approach centers both on the history of, and the history in, the texts, with the goal of questioning the nature of narrative in different forms and practicing the blend of literary and historical approaches treated in the core course. Represented genres include autobiography, memoir, fiction, documentary novels, oral history, film, museums, monuments, memorials, and public ceremony. Because the war remains so prominent an issue in culture, politics, and memory in France and elsewhere, the course presents an opportunity to explore the connections between history and literature in a field rich with literary and cinematic texts and alive with dynamic historical debate. Requirements: Readings of literary texts, viewings of films, museum visits, and on-the-ground explorations of memorial sites in Paris; full participation in class discussion; weekly postings to CourseWorks (due 3 p.m. Tuesday); mid-term essay on an additional text or films of your choice; final thematic essay analyzing the narratives from both a literary and a historical point of view. Readings: The texts will be available for purchase and also on reserve. The films will be shown on Tuesday evenings, and the field trips will be funded by the program. Required Books on reserve, and recommended for purchase (pb=paperback): Irene Nemirovsky, Suite francaise [1942] (Livre de poche, 2006) pb Suite Francaise (Vintage, 2007) pb Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five [1969] (Dial, 1999) pb Abbatoir 5 (Seuil, 2004) pb Harry Mulisch, The Assault[De Aanslag, 1982] (Pantheon, 1986) pb L Attentat (Actes Sud, 2001) pb Masuji Ibuse, Black Rain (1965) (Kodansha, 2012) pb Pluie noir (Gallimard, 2004) pb Yannick Haenel, Jan Karski (Gallimard, 2011) pb The Messenger (Counterpoint, 2012) Alesandro Portelli, The Order Has Been Carried Out: History, Memory, and Meaning of a Nazi Massacre in Rome [2003] (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) pb W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz [2001] (Modern Library, 2011) pb original German : Fischer, 2003 ; in French : Folio, 2006 Georges Perec, W ou le souvenir d'enfance (Messageries du livre, 1993) W or the Memory of Childhood (Godine, 2010) pb Jorge Semprun, L Écriture ou la vie (Gallimard, 1996) pb Literature or Life (Penguin, 1998) pb Jenny Erpenbeck, The End of Days (New Directions, 2014), hardcover or kindle original German: Aller Tage Abend (Albert Knaus Verlag, 2012)

2 2 Syllabus 9. Sept. Introduction Time change : 1-3 pm WARTIME NARRATIVES 15. Sept. (Tuesday) Film : L Armée des ombres [1969], dir. Jean-Pierre Melville (139 min.) (based on 1943 novel by Joseph Kessel) 16. Sept. Irene Nemirovsky, Suite francaise [1942] (Livre de poche, 2006) «Dolce» Optional : «Tempête en juin» ; Notes, Correspondance Suite Francaise (Vintage, 2007) pb [English] Dolce Optional : Storm in June ; Appendices 1 and 2 Optional: Richard J. Golsan and Phillip Watts, Editors Preface: Literature and History: Around Suite française and Les Bienveillantes ; David Carroll, Excavating the Past: Suite française and German Occupation of France, Yale French Studies 121 (July 2012), p. 1-7; [available on CourseWorks] Before Sept. 27, visit Filming the War: The Soviets and the Holocaust ( ) at Mémorial de la Shoah (17 rue Geoffroy-l Asnier, Metro Saint-Paul) WAR RECOLLECTIONS 18. Sept. FRIDAY 11:30-1:30 Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five [1969] (Dial, 1999) Abbatoir 5 (Seuil, 2004) pb 29. Sept. (Tuesday) Film: Come and See [1985], dir. Elem Klimov (136 min.) based on the novel Khatyn by Ales Adamovich [1976], English trans Sept. Harry Mulisch, The Assault [De Aanslag, 1982] (Pantheon, 1986) L Attentat (Actes Sud, 2001) pb 2 Oct. Field trip to Mémorial de Caen (with a guided tour) 7. Oct. Museal narratives I Mémorial de Caen +Musée du Général Leclerc de Hauteclocque et de la Libération de Paris--Musée Jean Moulin; Musée de l Armée : Historial de Charles de Gaulle, Musée de l'ordre de la Libération [reopening June 2015]; Musée de la Résistance Nationale (Champigny-sur-Marne). 14. Oct. NO CLASS [Midterm paper due, Monday, 19. October]

3 3 WORKS OF FACT AND FICTION 20. Oct. (Tuesday) Film: Hiroshima mon amour [1959] dir. Alain Resnais (90 min.) 21. Oct. Masuji Ibuse, Black Rain (1965) (Kodansha, 2012) pb Pluie noir (Gallimard, 2004) pb 28. Oct. Yannick Haenel, Jan Karski (Gallimard, 2011) Optional: Patrick Boucheron, «Toute littérature est un assaut contre la frontière. Note sur les embarras historiens d'une rentrée littéraire», Annales. Histoire, Sciences sociales 65, n. 2 (Avril 2010), p (available on CourseWorks) MEMORY NARRATIVES 3. Nov. (Tuesday) Film: Indigènes [2006], dir. Rachid Bouchareb (120 min.) 4. Nov. Alessandro Portelli, The Order Has Been Carried Out (Palgrave Macmillan 2003), 1-21, Nov. NO CLASS: Media coverage of the Jour d'armistice, Nov. (Tuesday) Film: The Marriage of Maria Braun [1979], dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder (115 min.) 18. Nov. W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz (Penguin, 2011) 20 Nov. Field trip to Musée de la Grande Guerre at Meaux. HOLOCAUST NARRATIVES 25. Nov. Georges Perec, W ou le souvenir d'enfance (Messageries du livre, 1993) W or the Memory of Childhood (Godine, 2010) 1. Dec. Film: The Sorrow and the Pity [1969], dir. Marcel Ophuls, Part 1 (122 min.) 2. Dec. Jorge Semprun, L Écriture ou la vie (Gallimard, 1996) Literature or Life (Penguin, 1998)

4 4 TWENTIETH-CENTURY EPICS 9. Dec. Jenny Erpenbeck, The End of Days [2012] (New Directions, Dec. Exploration of memory sites in Paris: plaques, memorials, statues, including Mémorial de la Shoah, Mémorial des Déportés, etc. 16. Dec. Museal Narratives II and Summary Final paper due, Friday, 18. December

5 5 FILM SCREENING SCHEDULE Tuesdays, 6 pm 15. Sept. L Armée des ombres [1969], dir. Jean-Pierre Melville, France (139 min.) 29. Sept. Come and See [1985], dir. Elem Klimov, Soviet Union (136 min.) 20. Oct. Hiroshima mon amour [1959] dir. Alain Resnais, France (90 min.) 3. Nov. Indigènes [2006], dir. Rachid Bouchareb, France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium (120 min.) 17. Nov. The Marriage of Maria Braun [1979], dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Germany (115 min.) 1. Dec. The Sorrow and the Pity [1969], dir. Marcel Ophuls, Part 1, France (122 min.)