Childhood and Youth in French and Francophone Cultures
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this seminar on how French and francophone societies have imagined childhood and youth since the eighteenth century, taught entirely in French. Bruno Perreau, Cynthia L. Reed Professor of French Studies at MIT, guides students through the rise of family sentimentality, the child as a figure of artistic inspiration, and the political idea of youth as a generation to be protected. Readings and screenings draw on literature, film, and song to trace shifting representations across eras. Materials follow the standard OCW format: syllabus, readings list, and assignments, with no enrollment fee and no certificate offered. Best suited to students with strong French reading and listening skills who want a cultural history angle on childhood rather than a developmental psychology approach.