Welcome!
If you’re interested in the 18th century, the history of literature and the ideas of the French Enlightenment, then this MOOC is for you!
Objectives
The aim of this MOOC is to give you as comprehensive a view as possible of the history of literature and ideas in 18th-century France. It aims to present the century as a whole, the works and authors as well as the battles of ideas that run through the Enlightenment.
It will, of course, present the “great authors” (Montesquieu, Prévost, Marivaux, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Sade, etc.) who provide the cultural background required for a general idea of the century. But we’ll also be describing major trends and movements, represented by authors who have a less individualized place in the literary pantheon, but who are no less important (clandestine texts, libertine novels, the development of women of Letters, etc.).
Finally, whether presenting the history of the novel, theater or philosophical struggles, we’ll be sure to provide the necessary historical context.
Organization
Each week’s course takes the form of a “salon”. It offers:
- Ten or so 5-10 minute videos divided into several lesson sections, covering different aspects of the weekly theme (the novel, theater, ideological struggles, etc.). You can activate subtitles for each video, in French or English.
- An epilogue to discover an 18th-century pictorial work and a text commenting on it following each conclusion.
- A “Learn more” section with a bibliography and an anthology in the form of downloadable e-books, enabling learners to read the texts referred to in the video content. You’ll also find a description of the historic location (Hôtel de Soubise, headquarters of the Archives nationales in Paris) where the videos for each salon were shot (sub-heading: Did you know?).
As the MOOC progresses, the “E-books” section will provide you with e-books containing transcriptions of the videos from each salon in French and English, anthologies of period texts for further reading, and extracts from texts on painting read in each week’s epilogues.
License for the course content
The contents and teaching resources of this MOOC are distributed under a Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND : Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives.
You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution (BY) — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives (ND) — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
