Literature in French comes from several far-flung regions of the world, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean and the Americas. This course asks first of all: what links such disparate francophone cultures besides a shared language and a history of colonialism? A common thread that runs through francophone literature is the coming-of-age story, where the process of growing up and traveling far from home involves or parallels the assimilation of regionally specific or traditional culture to a Western standard. The class readings will include coming-of-age narratives from four francophone regions by Dany Laferriere (Haiti), Mouloud Feraoun (Algeria), Fatou Diome (Senegal), and Gabrielle Roy (Canada), as well as shorter pieces by authors such as Aime Cesaire (Martinique), Frantz Fanon (Martinique), and Henri Lopes (Congo). As a class we will debate to what extent these narratives can or should be read as allegories of nation-building or representations of specific cultures on the one hand and as unique, idiosyncratic works of fiction on the other. These works will also invite students to consider the nature of cultural difference, the treatment of gender and race in fiction and the interrelatedness of themes such as family, migration and diaspora. Conducted in French.