Literary Awards

In my upper level survey of literature class this semester we studied excerpts from a wide range of French literature like lais, fables, poems, plays, short stories, and novels.

To wrap up the course the last day I asked students to think of a name for a new literary prize awarded by our class (ex: le PLUR, le Prix littéraire de l'Université de Rockford) and then sub-categories.

Here are some of the best examples the students came up with and their own nominees (without consulting their notes or books):

• Prix de la Société Malheureuse (Ourika wins for slavery, 2nd place goes to L'Amant for its depiction of statutory rape, Le Père Goriot for the arrivisme, Candide for the violence women endure)

 

• Prix de Tristesse (in the "love" category-Le Père Goriot, in the death category Huis Clos, in the happiness category [??] "Lettre à M. de Coulanges" by Madame de Sévigné)
• Prix "I" (the most improbable-Les hommes invisibles, the most innovative-L'Amant, the most immoral-Le Père Goriot)
• Prix Survie (in the impossible category-L'Amant, in the resilence category Cunégonde in Candide, in the problematic category Ourika)

We then voted and debated different nominees. It was a fun, collaborative, effective way to sum up everything we've worked on this semester.