Ideas

Harvard Account Sign In

Sign in with your HarvardKey to access my.Harvard Student, Teaching/Advising, Delegate, Harvard Chan, Admissions, and Admin.

Brown, MGH, & Tufts Students

Register for access to participate in Harvard cross-registration.

  1. Course Search
  2. FRENCH 88

Comic Relief: The Power of Humor in Social Fiction
FRENCH 88

Course Information

Description

Comic Relief focuses on fictional works in French which use humor to dorer la pilule, or make more palatable, the social ills and political dangers they reveal.  With naïfs and rebellious women as protagonists, these coming-of-age stories raise questions about the relationship between social critique and self-discovery.  We will explore nuances of irony, parody, satire, and slapstick in works by Voltaire, Vargaftig, Chraïbi, and Queneau.

Course Notes

Conducted in French. Counts toward Citation, Secondary, and Concentration in French or Romance Studies.

School Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Credits 4
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Course Component Seminar
Subject French
Grading Basis FAS Letter Graded
Exam/Final Deadline Dec. 11, 2026
General Education N/A
Quantitative Reasoning with Data N/A
Divisional Distribution Arts and Humanities
Course Level Primarily for Undergraduate Students