FREN-356

FREN-356-A ST: (Re)penser le Musée francophone
4 Credits; Offered Fall 2025
E. Rossby

From an exhibit in La Réunion that presents a fictional reimagining of the island’s history, to a participatory initiative in Brussels where local residents exhibit artworks within the intimacy of their own homes, museums are institutions that can simultaneously reinforce and resist hierarchies of knowledge production. In this course, we will take a thematic approach to studying museums across time periods and in a range of Francophone cultures including in Montréal, Mauritius, Dakar, Brussels, and even in virtual realities. How do museums across the Francophone world function as microcosms for understanding ongoing legacies of French and European colonialism? How do contemporary debates surrounding the restitution of African artworks shape the present and future of museums? How might participatory initiatives and innovative exhibit designs serve to critically examine the cultural power of museums? Students will engage in critical analyses of multimedia objects both within and surrounding museum exhibits, from ethnographic collections and bande dessinée to exhibit catalogs and short-form documentaries. We will organize a French-language guided tour of public artworks in Walla Walla and connect course themes to curatorial practices at local museums and cultural sites. Conducted in French. Prerequisites: French 205 and 206; or placement exam; or consent of instructor. Distribution areas: Cultural Pluralism, Humanities.