Madness in Caribbean Literature

How have contemporary French Caribbean writers sought to understand madness and what can we learn from their literary representation of madness? How is madness said to exist in the Caribbean? What is its relationship with science, magico-religious beliefs, power, and community? We will examine these questions in this course through the reading and critical analysis of novels and essays by Carpentier, Chamoiseau, Fanon, Glissant, Pineau and Schwarz-Bart, among others. We will also investigate if, and how, these representations distance themselves from a positivist French conception of sanity and insanity. (FREN 0220-0232 or by waiver) 3 hrs. lect.