Globalizing the Early Literature Survey: Challenges and Rewards

Since the late 1980s, French and Francophone Studies departments have diversified their course offerings and revised existing courses to integrate more fully the study of French-speaking areas outside of continental France into their curricula. However, the survey of early literature has remained largely unchanged. This article argues for the importance of taking a more global approach to the teaching of earlier periods. It examines the challenges and rewards of designing a course that considers oral as well as written traditions from cultures that are today French-speaking, presenting in detail one successful experiment in "globalizing" the survey.