Emile Zola’s Paris: The Underbelly of the Belle Epoque:

Wednesdays, September 30 - November 18, 6-7:30pm ET

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This is an invitation to explore the gritty, brilliant literary universe of Émile Zola. Looking beyond the glittering surface of 19th-century Paris, we’ll seek out and explore the dark social mechanisms that lurked beneath France`s Second Empire. Zola’s fearless portrayal of human imperfection offers a particularly salient lens for viewing how modernization, greed, and human vulnerability shaped the modern world.

Masterworks & Core Themes: To set the stage, Professor Barsky will provide an overview of four novels from Zola`s famous Les Rougon-Macquart cycle, and together we’ll peruse seminal scenes and discuss some of the principal themes of each of the following works:

La Curée (The Kill): A deep dive into the aggressive real estate speculation that rebuilt and fractured Paris.

L`Argent (Money): A remarkably prophetic look at high-stakes stock market manipulation, banking panics, and financial hubris.

L`Assommoir (The Drinking Den): A moving, unflinching study of working-class survival, alcoholism, and systemic poverty.

Nana: An examination of sexual politics through the rise and fall of a high-class courtesan who upends high society.

Seminar Discussion Topics will include:
The architecture of greed
The illusion of progress
Scientific determinism
Fashion and the cost of luxury
Corporate and human commodities
Speculation on the Paris stock market bubble, and Hausman’s real estate boom

Learning Objectives

Connect Zola’s vivid fiction to actual historical events, political regimes, and economic shifts in France.

Analyze literary naturalism as both a highly artistic style and an early form of investigative journalism.

Engage in rich, collaborative debates comparing the social crises of Zola`s era tocontemporary global challenges.

COURSE FORMAT:

This is an interactive online seminar course that meets weekly over 8 weeks. Live online sessions will use the zoom platform. Weekly reading or other forms of materials may be assigned. Weekly sessions will be recorded and available for registered participants to access throughout the course.

There are no papers or grades. This course does not offer any credits or certificates. This course is intended for learning for the love of learning.

COURSE MATERIALS:

This course will require participants to rent/buy/borrow the following texts from Émile Zola (either in French or English):

La Curée (The Kill), Oxford World Classics, 978-0199536924

L`Argent (Money), Oxford Word Classics, 978-0199608379

L`Assommoir (The Drinking Den), Oxford World Classics, 978-0198828563

Nana, Oxford World Classics, 978-0198814269

Registrants will receive access to the course website about two weeks before the course starts.

COURSE CANCELLATION POLICY:

Registrants can cancel and receive a full refund up to September 15. After September 15, there will be no refunds issued. Yale Alumni College courses are subject to schedule changes as well as cancellations. If Yale Alumni College must cancel any course prior to its start due to low enrollment, you will be notified of this by the cancellation date. Upon cancellation of a course, registrants may transfer their registration to another available course or have the registration fee fully refunded.

In the event of a disruption to the original course schedule, including but not limited to; Professor absence, hazardous weather conditions, or local travel restrictions, Yale Alumni College will do its best to reschedule the missed class for the week immediately following the original end date at the same course time and day.