Teaching the Cult of Literature in the French Third Republic

M. Martin Guiney is Associate Professor of French at Kenyon College.

"Teaching the Cult of Literature is a highly successful undertaking, one full of rich cultural insights. Professor Guiney's principal objective is to demonstrate the construction and transmission of a specific literary pedagogy during the Third Republic in France. He sheds light on the key issue of nation building and French cultural identity, as well as the role of canon formation during this period. In his analysis of the pedagogy underlying the teaching at both the primary and secondary levels of the curriculum, he shows quite well this pedagogy constituted an urgent national mission and to what extent evangelism was inherent in republican schooling: the literary cult was indeed an integral part of the national cult. This book will surely represent a major contribution to French cultural studies." - Ralph Albanese, Dunavant Professor of French at The University of Memphis "Teaching the Cult of Literature in the French Third Republic is a wholly engaging and valuable contribution to the cultural history of education, to understanding the emergence of literature as secular scripture - and to understanding contemporary culture wars, in France and in the U.S. Guiney's account is based in extensive scholarship, and also eminently readable." - Peter Brooks, University Professor, University of Virginia

• Preface * Introduction: Literature vs. Scripture * Part I: Origins: The Revolution and the Republican Cult of Literature * The Taboo against Literature in the School of the Republic * Beyond Condorcet: The Revolutionary Attack on Literature * Part II: Language and Literature in Primary Education * The Evangelism of National Education * The Fathers of Pedagogical Science, Gabriel Compayr� and Ferdinand Buisson * Suppression and Expression of Literature in Primary Education: The Evolution of the Manuel de fran�ais * The Theme of Assimilation in Primary School Textbooks * Part III: Literature in Secondary Education: The Question of Latin, the Crisis of French * Latin as Symbol for the Mysteries of French * Against Literature: The "Question of Latin" * For Literature: the "Crisis of French" * Part IV: Third Republic Literary Pedagogy in Modern French Criticism * The Sociological Critique of Literary Pedagogy * National and Literary French: the Work of Ren�e Balibar * To Teach Nothing But Literature: Third Republic Literary Pedagogy and la Nouvelle Critique * Conclusion: The Spirituality of French Literature * Bibliography