Thinking-It-Through II

The US and France have not always seen eye to eye on issues such as the right to life and the death penalty. Public hangings attracted greater audiences than the theater in the age of Enlightenment, when the punishment seldom fit the crime. We will examine the arguments for and against such "judicial executions" starting with the era of the French Revolution, when the guillotine was first invented as a humanitarian reform. Engaged authors such as Voltaire, in L'AFFAIRE CALAS, Hugo, in CLAUDE GUEUX, and Camus, in L'ETRANGER, have enabled us to vividly imagine forms of torture, capital punishment, and life on death row. Students will follow the debate waged in the press, the halls of justice, the novel, poetry and film; a debate that President Macron recently announced should be reopened. Prereq: In-Perspective.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU IS; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM

Thinking-It-Through II

FRENCH 361

Section 01