Narrative identity is one of the very controversial concepts in literature. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the question is still the same as it has been since it was discovered or since its invention in literature and philosophy: What is a narrative? Whats the basis of a self identity? The authors selected in this essay have each in his own manner, first Paul Ricur, by means of a philosophical discourse, and then Claude Simon, in terms of a fictional discourse, have explored the notion of narrative identity in both practical and theoretical terms. Some may say that the narrative identity is a concept that lays beneath the experiences that can be verify. Others may say that the narrative identity is what takes place inside every living person: thus, the way I define myself is my narrative identity. The confrontation between those who believe in life and facts and those who think that life and experience are not always in what you can see, but they exist rather in what you say. We must accept that facts or fantasies cannot be expressed without the power of the language and our ability to use words. The concept of identity is an empty concept without the support of the narration. Although language supports the meaning of identity, it still makes no sense without clearly understanding of the concept of time. It is time that gives a sense to the story that one tells about him or her self. We have tried to sort out the relationship between factual and fictional discourse in selections from Paul Ricurs philosophical writings about narrative identity and in Claude Simons novel, La Route des Flandres.

This dissertation explores the writings of contemporary Francophone writer Vassilis Alexakis. I interpret Alexakiss uvre as an attempt by the writer to exorcize his own exile. The author left Greece in the 1960s, settled in France, and started to publish novels in French in the mid-1970s. By looking closely at the patterns of cultural dispossession, language loss, estrangement, and identity crisis in his writings, I show that Alexakis constructs an aesthetic of displacement that allows him to free himself cathartically from the angst of exile. A close analysis of Alexakiss eleven novels, his autobiographical text, and his collection of short stories demonstrates that this aesthetic of displacement is three-fold. First, Alexakis projects his own life story onto his fictional works. The recurrence of characters who are Greek exiles living in Paris and struggling with their identity, is indeed the sign of a displacement from the autobiographical to the fictional. Thanks to the autofictional aspect of his writing, Alexakis manages to evacuate the traumatic events of his life in exile by repeatedly describing them in his fiction. Alexakis also relies on patterns of linguistic displacement. After initially choosing French as his exclusive literary language, the author now alternates between French and Greek. In addition, regardless of the language used, he translates his works from one language to the other. The analysis of Alexakiss literary bilingualism and self-translation practices, as well as that of language-related themes in his fiction, shows that this linguistic displacement is also inherent to his works. Finally, I illustrate how Alexakis relies on patterns of spatial displacement to exorcize his geographical dislocation. By looking closely at the authors spatial choices, I show that his characters are spatially hypersensitive and always on the move. The examination of the geographical aspect of Alexakiss writing demonstrates an evolution in his spatial practices, suggesting a change from French to Greek locales. This dissertation ultimately demonstrates that this exiled bilingual Francophone author has come to terms with his geographic displacement and is currently moving away from French and exile-related themes in order to experience an imaginary return to the homeland through his fiction.

Students of foreign languages are well aware that every language has its own vocabulary and word-for-word translations are rarely valid. It is therefore unsurprising that identifying literal translations in French for the English lexical term warm is problematic. This study demonstrates that not only is there a variety of French lexical terms that can be used to convey the meaning that the English lexical term warm conveys, but that certain French lexical terms are more likely to be used only in certain situations. Furthermore, an examination of this phenomenon through the lens of linguistic relativity has revealed differing conceptualizations of temperature for native French versus native English speakers. Linguistic relativity is the theory that ones native language can actually affect the way one thinks about the world. In this study, the theory is examined from the points of view of various linguists and translators, including Whorf, Saussure, Wierzbicka, and others. Linguistic relativity is then applied to French and English speakers conceptualizations of temperature. Both oral and written data is collected for this study; participants are both interviewed on tape and fill out a written questionnaire. Native French speakers are from various regions of France, Switzerland, Quebec, Africa, and South Louisiana. This study is limited to the adjectival and non-figurative use of the English lexical term warm. The results of this study reveal that while there are many possible translation into French of the English lexical term warm depending on the situation and the speakers personal preferences and intents, certain French lexical terms are more likely to be used in particular situations. Based on the results of this study, the preferred French translations of the English lexical term warm are: chaud hot, tiède lukewarm, and bon good. Due to their differing language systems, native French speakers and native English speakers classify temperatures differently, and in doing so, their experiences of temperature are interpreted differently. This difference in interpretation undoubtedly means that linguistic relativity is at play.

This thesis explores the roles of French patriarchal ideologies of the Enlightenment and exoticism in Alfred Merciers novel, Lhabitation Saint-Ybars. His novel portrays the antebellum Creole plantation as a hierarchy of strict gender roles similar to those that Enlightenment philosophy espoused. I use the family in Bernardin de Saint-Pierres classic, Paul et Virginie, as one example of such a hierarchy. There are also, however, several instances where Mercier departs from the paternalistic norm. I interpret Merciers moving away from this model to be a declaration of a unique Louisianian identity.

To study language change within South Louisiana Catholic Church, I examined the sacramental registers of more than 250 churches, the country of origin of 1043 priests, the parish visitation reports of 37 individual churches and 160 original data cards from 1906 Census of Religious Bodies. Metalinguistic elements were collected from various files available at the archives. This study reveals the complex nature of the language switch from French to English, a network structure of top down management and elements of change in each community of practice which pressured the other levels. It is specific to the Louisiana Catholic population, the clergy, and the administration of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Results make clear that most of the language changes in the sacramental registers happened at the turn of the twentieth century. The linguistic tip occurred during the administration of Archbishop Blenk when, in 1907, the mean switch date of the sacramental registers occurred, followed by the 1910 loss of French control in the administration, and the 1913 switch of the archiepiscopal council minutes from French to English. Results also show that priests who made these switches were comfortable in both French and English. Analysis of the pastoral letters to the clergy and parishioners revealed that the status of the French language within the archdiocesan administration slowly changed over time. The body of priests who ministered in the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1860 to 1920 changed from a heavily dominated French-born clergy to a more multi-ethnic clergy, but more importantly the archdiocese began to recruit men from Louisiana to enter the priesthood. The evidence suggests that the priests overriding motivation for language change is rooted in important societal changes taking place within and outside their locality. The source of language change was rooted in the massive migration of Irish Catholics. One important social change was the establishment of Protestant institutions in parishes once dominated by the Catholic faith. This dissertation presents how through mutual engagement it negotiated both explicitly and implicitly a language shift from French to English.

Languages are the verbal and non-verbal codes of a culture. A culture houses a language(s) and is comprised of the gaze and distance/use of personal sphere. Linguists and anthropologists have long since argued over which takes priority: culture or language. French and Louisiana are synonymous: it is unimaginable to picture Louisiana without French because French constitutes the culture in Louisiana. Since linguists have debated the priority of language or culture, looking at Louisiana within the confines of this debate proves informative. <p> The language shift forced upon the residents of South Louisiana by the 1921 State Legislature made English the sole language of the state. This study will examine the possibility of a culture shift brought about by the language shift. If the previous culture was assimilated into the new language, researchers could infer that culture precedes language. <p> The purpose of this pragmatic study was to analyze the gaze behavior patterns in turn-taking among speakers of Cajun English in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. By analyzing these behaviors, precedence of culture over language can be inferred. The study consisted of ten participants: seven were from Avoyelles, and the other three constituted a control group. <p> According to the data, the Cajun English participants exhibited the gaze behavior patterns demonstrated by French speakers as described by Nash. The Cajun English participants did not show the same patterns as speakers of Standard American English and/or Southern Alabama English, strengthening the argument that culture constitutes language and is more primitive. The results show that culture precedes language in the pragmatic realm of language.

Nineteenth-century France, obsessed with personal property, strained under multiple changes in government and the new 1804 Code Napoléon, becomes fascinated with criminal literature. Victor Hugo, Eugène Sue, and Emile Zola span the century with their criminal literature and fascinate their audience. Taking advantage of this nineteenth-century French interest in crime, these popular authors also spread political commentary through their novels. Theft, rape and murder are each treated differently in the nineteenth-century French Penal Code, and I suggest that Hugo, Sue and Zola mirror this inconsistency on the part of the law and its resulting effect on society so well that the out-of-touch law slowly draws nearer to the people it is created to protect. I demonstrate my argument by comparing nineteenth-century French Penal Code articles on theft, rape and murder to Hugos messages in Notre-Dame de Paris (1833) and Les Misérables (1862), Sues messages in Les Mystères de Paris (1840) and Zolas messages in Au Bonheur des Dames (1883) and La Bête Humaine (1889). This comparison shows that some nineteenth-century French Penal Code modifications occur after each of these authors publications, and moreover, these modifications are made in the very areas Hugo, Sue and Zola critique in their crime novels.

One of the most interesting thematic elements of the male-authored epistolary texts of the 18th century is what Katharine Ann Jensen refers to as the Epistolary Woman: Seduced, betrayed, and suffering, this woman writes letter after letter of anguished and masochistic lament to the man who has left her behind (Jensen 1). Jensen notes a pattern of this portrayal in texts such as Lettres portugaises and also in the letter-writing manuals written by men of the period. Epistolary Woman stems from masculine efforts to limit and define womens writing as highly emotional, and in turn, Epistolary Woman is a male creation designed to marginalize women (Jensen 2). This creation compensated for the shift in gender power roles that was occurring in salon culture, where women had cultivated power and influence. The Epistolary Woman trope appears in its most vividly obsessive portrait as Gulleraguess Portuguese Nun, Mariane. Marianes abandonment in the texts series of unanswered letters creates a portrait of amorous despair and suffering. These themes of betrayal found in the letters of Epistolary Woman also have marked the works of two modern Francophone authors: Mariama Bâ and Ying Chen. In Bâs Une si longue lettre and Chens Les lettres chinoises, the authors develop female characters that are initially defined by the absence of the man they love from their lives. As francophone women, Bâ and Chen possess a clear knowledge of French literary history and in turn, the manner in which to create works that promote change within the parameters that the male Epistolary Woman text has come to represent. I will therefore examine Une si longue lettre and Les lettres chinoises as modern representations of the classic epistolary narratives of suffering, amorous women and also as re-evaluations that eventually serve to advocate a more realistic and (at times) more feminist portrayal of a new Epistolary Woman.

This dissertation explores the exciting world of eighteenth-century French dramatic writing, performance and criticism from the point of view of the theatrical spectator. Instead of focusing on one single genre or writer, I assemble the textual creation, performance, and criticism of certain polemical plays into what I term a theatrical event. This optic provides a holistic vision of theater and an accurate view of how drama underwent noticeable change due to playwrights political associations, public reactions to performance, and the emerging power of the periodical press. In sum, this project differs from previous studies by focusing on the increasing rhetorical and tangible significance of the theatrical spectator, and more specifically, on how he or she altered normative, established processes in dramatic writing, performance, and criticism. In the first three chapters of this dissertation, I closely examine Charles Palissots Les Philosophes, Voltaires lEcossaise (1760), and atypical critical reactions to both polemical comedies. Here, I focus on the way partisan dramatists and their cohorts fashioned theatrical events through pre-performance strategies, narrative effects, and performative ruses. Then, I inquire as to why critics emphasized audience reactions to and participation in performance, rather than summarizing the plays narrative or weighing in on traditional literary subjects. Switching gears from a more synchronic study to a more diachronic analysis, in chapter four, I highlight a few theatrical events from the last years of the Ancien Régime in order to show how playwrights and critics borrowed both processes and themes from the original Palissot/Voltaire affair of 1760. With clear pictures of specific moments and more general shifts in theater history and criticism, this dissertation aims to reassess the way we think about dramatic production during the pre-Revolutionary period in France.

While many studies have been conducted on study abroad programs, few have sought to examine the inner workings of a short-term, non-traditional (non-classroom based) program, particularly from the participants point-of-view. This in-depth case study explores a short-term (4-week) cultural and linguistic internship program, LSU in the French Alps, as well as the perspectives of four program participants. This research was conducted during four phases of the study abroad experience: the pre-departure orientation (4 days on LSUs main campus), the in-country stay (4 weeks in the French Alps), re-entry into the United States (first 10 days upon return), and post study (6 months after re-entry). Extensive participant observation was essential to gaining an emic, or insider, view of the program, its surroundings and its participants. Data sources included individual interviews with participants, numerous questionnaires about their experiences, participants reflective papers and their final video project. The fieldwork conducted in this study uncovered details about the immigration history among the Ubaye Valley, parts of Mexico, and southern Louisiana. The development of this program abroad and its founding principles and goals were also unearthed. Findings revealed that the lack of structure and organization of the pre-departure orientation left the participants anxious and unprepared for the programs internships. The participants suggested ways to improve the pre-departure orientation and the program in general. They experienced minimal culture shock in France. However, some stress within the group was reported, as the participants grew frustrated with the constant interaction with one another. They perceived numerous benefits and positive effects from studying abroad, including in all areas of development which were investigated in the study (academic, personal, career, cultural and linguistic). Every participant believed the most substantial growth occurred in his or her cultural acquisition, followed by personal development. They also revealed what and how they learned from their experiences during the programs internships and their outside-the-classroom contacts with host nationals and the French culture. The results have opened up new possibilities for inquiry into non-traditional programs and their connections to experiential learning.