This dissertation investigates textual representations of writing in twelfth-century French romance. Grounded in an historical context that establishes the twelfth century as the foundation of the modern book, I explore the complex relationship between author, audience, and text. My thesis asserts that medieval authors, following the intellectual enlightenment of the Twelfth Century Renaissance, express apprehensions, fears, enthusiasm, and wonderment at their craft. Looking at metaphoric representations of writing, I employ cognitive science, principally Lakoff and Johnson's theory of metaphor, to better understand the complex and multifarious attitudes toward writing as a new and changing technology. By first establishing the integral link between metaphor and culture and the historical context for writing's expansion, I look at writing acts and the written word as they appear explicitly and implicitly in the narratives in order to trace an emerging literary subjectivity. Beginning with the metaphoric comparison of pen and ink to sword and blood, my first chapter looks at the early so-called aristocratic version of Floire et Blanchefleur and its popular counterpart. Focusing less on the individual versions but rather on the divergences between them, I examine apprehensions surrounding writings potential. Looking at writings integral role in translatio, I trace writing as a means of transfer to a tool for authority, an instrument of power, and eventuallyas a means of destruction. The following two chapters explore writings reproductive nature and issues of gender, from authorship as insemination in Chrétien de Troyes romances to the book as child in Marie de Frances lais. In the final chapter, I examine the authorial "I" in Partonopeu de Blois in order to demonstrate that literary subjectivity took root in the twelfth century, in a text that predates the Roman de la Rose by some fifty years. Each of my chapters serves to highlight the intrinsic relationship between writing and culture in the twelfth century, revealing attitudes toward writing as well as many unexplored aspects of these important literary productions. This dissertation will contribute to medieval French studies in two important ways: by offering a complementary view of authorship and writing which stems from and is grounded in the literary texts rather than in historical archives, and to shed new light on authorial, aristocratic, and popular attitudes toward writing.

Creole African American Vernacular English or CAAVE is a variety of English spoken by African Americans of French ancestry who live primarily in the French Triangle of Louisiana. Dubois and Horvath (2003b) have previously published on glide absence in CAAVE and have suggested that CAAVE is a unique dialect of English. They attribute CAAVEs glide absence to the contact of Creole African Americans with diverse groups of English speakers and not to language interference from French. This research further pursues these hypotheses by studying the phonological realization of word final syllable-codas for six old male speakers of CAAVE. The reduction of word final consonant clusters and the deletion of word final single consonants will allow us to compare CAAVE with other dialects of English and to find further support for the assertion that CAAVE is a distinct variety of English. From this analysis, theories for the formation of the CAAVE dialect will be explored resulting in the general conclusion that CAAVEs unique properties of word final coda reduction are likely attributable to the presence of similar features in an older variety of English spoken by African Americans who were first brought to Louisiana as slaves after the Louisiana Purchase. The eventual merging of this group with the existing Francophone Louisiana-born black population resulted in the formation of Creole African American communities who further came into contact with other English-speaking groups of diverse origins to form CAAVE. The claim by Dubois and Horvath (2003c) that older Creole African Americans and Cajuns from the same geographical area speak the same unique dialect of English will also be discussed through the comparison of Dubois and Horvaths preliminary evidence from Cajun Vernacular English with data collected for CAAVE. This analysis finds support for the argument that among old male speakers, CAAVE and Cajun Vernacular English are in fact the same dialect of English, although race remains as a social distinction separating the two groups.

This thesis illustrates the distinction established by Maurice Blanchot in Le Livre à venir, between novel and narration, as it appears in Chrétien de Troyes' Le conte du Graal ou le roman de Perceval. The novel accompanies the hero to the meeting with the Sirens, while the narration constitutes the meeting itself. Once the hero had his meeting with the Sirens, in Perceval's case he has the privilege of hearing God's names, he disappears from the novel, entering the realm of silence, which dominates the narration. In leaving the novel, Perceval gains access to a superior meaning, hidden to the reader, which will save him from the futile repetition of the same experience. What this paper demonstrates is that Perceval and Gauvain as well, had several meetings with the Sirens, but they either willingly ignored them or did not even see them in the first place. The reason is no other than their remarkable rhetorical skills which would be of no value outside the novel. If Perceval makes the vow to silence and saves himself, it is because he realizes that after several years of glorious combat, chivalry has nothing new to offer him. On the contrary, Gauvain, too superficial to become aware of his own degradation, will remain faithful to the world of the novel and to the Arthurian fiction.

This study of four 19th and 20th century colonial texts, as well as a later postcolonial novel exposes the cadres exotiques, or exotic frameworks, of literary exoticism. The thesis names and interprets the moods of and reactions to exoticism, including colonial exoticism, antiexoticism, and autoexoticism. Poetic and theoretical interpretations of exoticism, such as Victor Segalens Notion du Divers and Edouard Glissants Opacité and Poétique de la Relation challenge the prevalent assumptions that the literary practice was only an unfortunate byproduct of colonialism. The first chapter presents literary history and theoretical considerations relating to exoticism: Orientalism, nostalgia, colonial literary history, and a critical literature review. Chapter II explores Le Roman dun spahi (1881) and Les Trois dames de la Kasbah (1882) by Pierre Loti, two texts dating from Frances high colonial period of the late 19th century. Chapter III studies works and contexts of the 1930sLouis-Ferdinand Célines Voyage au bout de la nuit (1932) and Michel Leiriss LAfrique fantôme (1934). These modernist texts appeared with the decline of colonial exoticisms popularity. conclude with an analysis of Simone Schwarz-Barts Pluie et vent sur Télumée Miracle (1973), a postcolonial novel about the life of a Creole woman in the former French colony of Guadeloupe.

This work aims at filling a gap in African cinema studies. The plurality in film production has been neglected or overseen by Africanist critiques as well as most of the filmmakers from the continent. Such continental shield of a monolithic Africa has been carried by European anthropologists and fostered in part by the Negritude movement in the late 1930s, still conveyed by mimetic writing. We begin by assessing such a uniform vision and explaining the ways in which it resisted time after more than 40 years of cinema in Africa. Then we introduce the notion of national cinema by exploring the evolution of thematic discourse in Senegalese film, in order to highlight national specificities, which have been overshadowed by a Pan-africanist approach. Our focus on Senegalese film production allows us to unearth the cultural and social elements embedded in a peculiar history of Senegal. The countrys early contacts with Islam and later with Christianity and colonization on the one hand, and its relatively privileged relationship with the colonial power, i.e. France, before and after independence have generated a unique socio-cultural and political landscape. We investigate how filmmakers have used such a rich and complex historical stream to question and challenge Senegalese national identity and esthetics. In analyzing the thematic evolution in Senegalese filmic discourse, we come to find that not only Nations-states have always existed in Africa, but above all, the various styles and themes, which have emerged from the different approaches to filmmaking. Age, and therefore generation in Senegalese film production is crucial to understanding the Pan-africanist, yet local pattern in Sembenes films, the national and urban focus of Djibril Diop Mambety, the poetry and evasion in Moussa Sène Absas work as well as the various discourses on women through the male cinematic gaze which culminates with Joseph Gaye Ramakas controversial Karmen Geï. Ultimately, lAfrance is a pretext to explore the continuous, yet varied thematic evolution of migration between Senegal and France specifically through these generations of filmmakers, within the contiguous context of migration of texts and bodies.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the relationship between language and themes in Marie Darrieussecq's novel Truismes. Having as its core the theme of metamorphosis, Truismes tells the story of a young woman who after passing through a multitude of experiences transforms into a pig. The character's journey through the metamorphosis is marked by excesses. The excess manifests itself at all levels: in the physical and mental transformation of the female character, in the description of the secondary characters, in the composition of the environment that sustains the narration, and ultimately in the language. By using Julia Kristeva's theory of the abject, while conducting a careful analysis of the language and narrative style of the author, this thesis illuminates the relationship between the main character's use of language and the development of themes in the novel. Thus, Marie Darrieussecq's Truismes is shown to be a work concerned with the notion of "speaking the unspeakable." The thesis analyses not only the position of women in a predominantly masculine society, but also the political and economical relations that govern the activities described. Ultimately, this interpretation of Truismes discusses the notion of what it means to be living outside the social norm and, therefore in close relation to nature.

This dissertation addresses Samuel Beckett's bilingualism in an effort to understand how the author's use of language affected his writing style and depiction of gender. Beckett began writing in English, switched to French for the composition of new works for ten years, and then returned unexpectedly to English. His first English works are characterized by stylistic virtuosity, erudition, and misogyny. With Beckett's adoption of French his style became simple, spare, and cerebral. Plot structure based on a journey in early works was abandoned in favor of static situations and dialogue. Women were either ignored or viewed negatively. In 1956, Beckett returned to his mother language with All that Fall, a radio play. The setting and language are distinctively Irish, the plot is built around a trip to the train station, and the protagonist is a woman. Another play from the second English period, Happy Days, displays a more balanced synthesis of style and contains elements of both the English and French writing. It retains the French period qualities of static plot and simple language; however, it has a female protagonist who may be, in part, based on the author's mother. The study of these two plays in the context of Beckett's bilingualism shows the influence of the mother tongue on writing style and the introduction of positive depictions of women.

This dissertation is focused on the contribution of literature in the establishment of democracy in four French-speaking countries of the Golf of Guinea between 1988 and 1998. They are Benin, Cote dIvoire, Guinea and Togo. In 1991, a democratization movement that started in Benin occurred in many West African countries. It was propelled by an invented idea of National Conferences that were gathered by the countries elites either with the support or against the will of the ruling government. Thus, it was possible to organize a successful National Conference in some of those countries like Benin, Mali and Niger. But it was a fiasco in others like Togo. Others like Côte dIvoire and Guinea opposed that spirit of national consensus and held National Forums. The causes of the movements were sociopolitical and economic. In fact, since the acquisition of their independences in the 60s most French speaking countries of the Golf of Guinea, experienced diverse economical plans for development. Varied political systems were also implemented in order to achieve that goal. Unfortunately, the populations never had the chance to live a better life. They went poorer and poorer. The economic dire has been worsened by the oppressions perpetrated by the tyrant leaders who chose to hang on power. Some writers with their endeavor to peace and justice, decided to fight against those powers of tyranny and oppression. La naissance dAbikou written by Olympe Bhêly-Quenum, En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages by Ahmadou Kourouma, Un rêve utile of Tierno Monénembo and La Polka of Kossi Efoui were published on that purpose. They focused on the citizens sociopolitical and economic daily misfortunes to convey their literary messages. They enlightened peoples mind about arbitrary rules and encouraged them to pass over to action in order to overthrow dictatorship and establish democracy. The comments and reports made on the different novels prove that they positively influenced the success of the democratic movements in the Golf of Guinea between 1988 and 1998. Once again, literature has mingled its roots with social realities to prove that African history cannot be conceived today excluding literary texts.

Jean-Paul Sartre's autobiography Les Mots (1964) is shown to be a departure from the Sartrean oeuvre because it represents an abandonment of littérature engagée. In Les Mots Sartre not only abandons littérature engagée, but also embraces a view of literature which he formerly opposed--l'art pour l'art. Sartre defines his views of literature--littérature engagée--in Qu'est-ce que la littérature? (1948) Robbe-Grillet defines l'art pour l'art in Pour un nouveau roman (1963). In Les Mots Sartre embraces Robbe-Grillet's l'art pour l'art and abandons his own littérature engagée. Since these two views of literature are theoretically opposed, it is interesting to find that Sartre makes this one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. Sartre's shifted view of literature, as represented in Les Mots, is further supported by a comparison of it to the autobiographies of a selection of Nouveaux Romanciers: Alain Robbe-Grillet's Le Miroir qui revient (1984), Nathalie Sarraute's L'Enfance (1983), and Marguerite Duras's L'Amant (1984). The autobiographies of the Nouveaux Romanciers are used as illustrations of Robbe-Grillet's notion of l'art pour l'art. Although Sarraute and Duras do not claim allegiance to Robbe-Grillet's view of literature, nor to the name "Nouveau Romancier," their autobiographies are similar enough to Robbe-Grillet's that they seem to be part of his school of thought. The relationship between Sartre and Robbe-Grillet adds to the irony of Sartre's shifted view of literature. Sartre rejects practitioners of l'art pour l'art in Qu'est-ce que la literature? and Robbe-Grillet specifically rejects Sartre and his littérature engagée in Pour un nouveau roman.

My dissertation examines the rewriting of myths by writers from the Ivory Coast: Maïéto Pour Zékia by Bohui Dali, La guerre des femmes by Zadi Zaourou, La révolte d'Affiba by Régina Yaou and Assémien Déhylé, roi du Sanwi by Bernard Dadié. I analyze these texts in the context of nineteenth and twenty century French works by Baudelaire (Le peintre de la vie moderne); Camus (Le mythe de Sisyphe); Aragon (Le paysan de Paris). Comparisons with feminist texts by Beyala (Femme nue, femme noire); Djebar (Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement); Bâ (Une si longue lettre) underline how the rewriting of myths by Ivorian writers corresponds to a general discourse reflecting the struggle for women's liberation which goes beyond geographical, social and religious boundaries. To define the myth, I explore the works by Barthes (Mythologies), Calame-Griaule (La parole chez les Dogon), and Eliade (Aspects du mythe) on this subject. By questioning ideologies contained in old traditions such as human sacrifice and the inability of women to inherit the material properties of their late husbands, I demonstrate how Ivorian writers analyze and challenge the cultural traditions of their country in order to find how they conflict with modern values. By studying the rewriting of myths in the aforementioned francophone texts, I also address topics such as violence and identity. Since most myths grant more rights to men than to women, the debate over myth in Ivory Coast has become an ideological 'war' between those who take pride in their cultural traditions and refuse to change them and those who want to rewrite them to reflect the greater respect given to women's and children's rights. The examination of these myths has proven how Ivorian writers use their rewriting to make a detailed self-criticism of their cultural traditions and to raise questions about the rights of children and women in Africa. Women's and children's increased access to education is the best 'weapon' against old misogynist myths. 'Education' will lead people to more independent thinking and change the way they look at the world and see themselves in it as well.