Voice and Register Mastery

A graduate-level writing sequence focused on deconstructing and reconstructing French literary voices through the study of register, pastiche, and narrative authority. Students analyze styles ranging from 18th-century satire to modern fragmentation to master the art of register manipulation.

Students analyze lexical and grammatical shifts across argot, courant, and soutenu registers, exploring the sociolinguistic implications of language choice.

Realist Vision

Focusing on Balzac or Flaubert, students study the use of detailed description and the 'imparfait' to create atmosphere. They write a 'physiognomy' of a modern classmate in the style of a 19th-century novel character introduction.

Interior Worlds

Students examine modernists like Duras or Sarraute to understand fragmented syntax and internal monologue. They practice writing a scene that focuses purely on psychological interiority rather than external action.

Enlightenment Wit

Analyzing extracts from 'Candide', students identify techniques of irony, understatement, and false naivety. They write a short satirical piece on a contemporary social issue using these 18th-century tools.

The Ultimate Pastiche Project

Students select a distinctive author studied in the sequence and rewrite a current news story in that author's voice. They present their work, and peers must guess the author being mimicked based on stylistic clues.