Expatriate Writers in Paris: 1890-WWI Sample Syllabus

ENGL 289E / 389E

Place:  FIAP “Jean Monnet” (Foyer International d’Accueil de Paris) 
30, rue Cabanis
75014 Paris
Tel. (33.1) 43 13 17 17
Fax (33 1) 45 81 63 91
E-mail: fiapadmi@fiap.asso.fr
Internet: www.fiap.assoc.fr

Welcome to “Expatriate Writers in Paris: 1890-WWI.”

If you’re booked at the FIAP, you’ll be placed in a double or triple room depending on number of people and proportion of male/female. If you want to stay longer, or arrive earlier, please let the hotel know immediately. Our reservation is for Sunday 4 Jan. through Sun.11 Jan. According to Let’s Go: The Budget Guide to Europe 2002, the Fiap’s “comfortable well-furnished rooms all with toilet and shower, are impeccably maintained.” Students in the past have found the rooms rather plain compared to American hotel rooms, no T.V., thick towels, or shampoo provided. The Fiap keeps costs down by providing towels every other day. You can buy extra sundries at the front desk.

Your 350$ covers hotel, two meals a day at the Fiap, literary salon, classrooms, and one museum visit. Metro is fastest way around Paris, and we’ll be using it every day. The metro runs from 5:30am to 1:15 am. Un carnet (book of 10 tickets) is 11 euros. Cheaper is a Carte Orange Hebdomadaire (unlimited bus and metro week’s pass , from Monday through Sunday), 13.27 euros.  You need a passport size picture of yourself to put on the card.  Both can be purchased at most metro stations. You can pay in cash (euros) or use a credit card. Good idea to get tickets or Carte Orange on Sunday when you arrive. The cartre is valid from Monday through the following Sunday.

Our hotel is on Etoile-Nation (line 1); the stop is Glaciere.   From metro walk down Blvd. St. Jacques, turn left on rue Ferrus, then right on rue Cabanis. (See map on the Fiap website: www.fiap.asso.fr/uk/  click on “access plan”). If you come from the airport (Charles-de-Gaulle, also called Roissy, or from Orly) you can take the following into Paris: 

- Air France shuttle bus to Montparnasse. Ticket is about 14 euros one way. (If four or more of you are traveling together, ask for 15% group discount.) Take metro five stops from Montparnasse to Glaciere (metro line 6, direction “Nation”).

- Roissy Rail (RER B) takes you to metro stop Denfert-Rochereau; from there it’s two metro stops to Glaciere. Train runs from 5:18am-00:4 am and costs about 10 euros.

- Bus 350 from airport to Gare de l’Est. From there take metro to Glaciere.

- Bus 351 from airport to Nation.  From there take metro to Glaciere. Bus is about 10 euros.

- Share a TAXI to the Fiap; taxis cost approximately 40-50 euros from airports.

For very helpful information/prices about Paris transportation go to http://www.letsgo.com/PAR/02-oncein-307.  When you arrive, ask for University of Maryland, find your name on the list, get your key and you’ve arrived!

On Sunday evening we will meet in the lobby of the FIAP for a general orientation at 6:00 p.m. All lectures will take place at the FIAP, classrooms to be announced on Sunday. 

Readings
As soon as you receive the books, read them in the following order:
Wharton  The Age of Innocence
Wilde in The Portable Oscar Wilde: Introduction, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Salome, James The American

· at the orientation on Sunday, you’ll also receive a Xeroxed packet with some brief readings to be discussed in class during the week

Requirements
-two quizzes(short answers)  20 points
-walks and class discussions 20 points
-literary salon                        15 points
-UL Project                            15 points
-Final Examination                30 points UL, 45 points LL

Walks and class discussion: Our class discussions are an important part of the course; you will be expected to participate: be prepared to discuss the readings; annotate your texts as you read so you have passages to refer to when necessary. Walks are required; you are expected to “absorb’ the sites and places we visit as part of the course.

Literary Salon
In the 1890’s literary salons in Paris were lively and intense! Our salon will recreate such atmosphere, so come prepared to discuss your “life” and “work” in Paris; bring a prop (it doesn’t have to be elaborate- a hat, jacket, scarf ) to transform yourself.  We’ll circulate a sign up sheet for the salon on Tuesday morning. In case someone else signs up for same character,  you need to have a second choice prepared.

The Final Examination is Sunday at 9:00am sharp; you’ll write short essays. The essay questions will reflect the week’s discussions, previous quizzes,  and the readings. Be sure your travel plans begin after the exam, You’ll be done by 12:30- 1:00 pm. UL students will present to the class, then turn in a project on Saturday. As a substitute for a traditional term paper required in an eight week class, the project should reflect an aspect of the course in Paris, also giving UL students the chance to experience being an expatriate  artist/writer working in the city at the turn of the century. The project can take several different forms: dramatic, artistic, or literary, as long as it reflects the themes of the course and the creative  equivalent of a term paper. Some successful past projects in this course include:
- a series of symbolist poems in the manner of Rimbaud and Verlaine
- a paper maiche bust of Oscar Wilde
- a one act play written and performed by three students, called “As the Left Bank Turns”
- an original ballet (dance & choreography by a student associated with the Berlin ballet) of a scene from Henry James’ novel The Ambassadors
- an original map of literary 1890’s haunts in Paris with comments by authors we’ve read
- a journal of the life of an 1890’s figure; it included an autobiographical sketch, a sample of her work (she was a painter in Montmartre), and descriptions of places she went, people she met (and a vivid description of a literary salon—guess whose?!)
- a short story in the style of Wharton, James or Wilde
These are examples (although we do not expect a ballet!) of what you might imagine. Paris WILL inspire you! However, before you come, as you are doing your reading, you might also do some preliminary research on the period, and  think of anything you might need to bring (drawing paper, pens, notebook) . Lectures will also provide you with historical background, a small library of works will be available to you in Paris, and we’ll be happy to discuss projects with you—and help!—throughout the week.

Paris can be very cold (and beautiful!) in January. The weather changes quickly from bright sun to rain, so come prepared. We will do extensive walking rain or shine),so bring comfortable shoes, but remember Paris is an elegant city.

Paris is also expensive. Right now the Euro and dollar are neck in neck, almost 1 to 1.  You’ll eat well at the FIAP and remember breakfast and lunch or dinner are included in your hotel fee. When you eat out, cafes are cheaper than restaurants and serve a “plat du jour” – a hot dish that changes each day and is usually the best buy--- as well as sandwiches, salads, and omelets. If you just want a coffee or a drink, you’ll save 20% by standing at the bar rather than sitting at a table!  A fun cheap restaurant for dinner is Chartier’s: 3, rue Faubourg-Montmartre. Metro: Les Grandes Boulevards (formerly: Montmartre) They stop serving at 9:00pm, but once seated, you can stay much later.

Additional Fees
The literary salon and a visit to the Gustave Moreau Museum are included in the room package of 350$. Related to the themes in our course are paintings, so you’ll want to visit the Musee d’Orsay and the Louvre (halfprice after 3pm, discount under 25 yrs, bring an ID) neither of which we’ll visit as a group. For up to date prices on the Internet see http://www.paris-tourisme.com/museums. We look forward to seeing you in Paris on Sunday evening.

A bientot,
Pauline Fry and Toni Sepeda