Profile
Karen A Pagani
Assistant Professor — Ph.D., University of Chicago
Contact
- E-mail: kpagani@austin.utexas.edu
- Phone: 512-471-5737
- Office: HRH 3.112B
- Office Hours: By appointment
- Campus Mail Code: B7600
Biography
Karen Pagani began working at The University of Texas in 2008. She received both her M.A. and Ph.D from the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago. Her current book project, "Marginal Prophet Figures: Accounting for Forgiveness in the Age of Reason," explores what was a discursive crisis in understanding the concept of forgiveness in purely secular terms during the late seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Discursive crisis denotes in this context a peculiar situation in which a concept proved to be incompatible with a specific communicative system’s historically determined vocabulary but could not be abandoned for both ideological and practical reasons. Through an historical analysis of the literary, philosophical, theological and political discourses of the period, this project will provide a nuanced understanding as to why forgiveness was so difficult to speak about during this period and, in the conclusion, how these difficulties may still influence our understanding of the concept today. Much of the impetus behind this study stems from the observation that there is a historicity to the concept forgiveness. The project thus poses a challenge to more contemporary accounts of forgiveness that advocate a transcendent, universalizing notion of the concept. One of the questions implicit within this historical study, and to which the conclusion shall be devoted, may be stated as follows: how can we relate more recent accounts of forgiveness that pretend to universality to an otherwise predominant tendency to historicize the concept of forgiveness? Some of the majors authors studied in the work include: Corneille, Pascal, Racine, Molière, Joseph Butler, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau and Madame de Staël.
Interests
FR 322E • Advanced French II
36820 •
Spring 2013
Meets
MWF 1200pm-100pm MEZ 1.202
show description
Description of FR322E
FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 322E • Advanced French II
36755 •
Fall 2012
Meets
MWF 1000am-1100am HRH 2.112
show description
Description of FR322E
FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 326L • Intro Fr Lit II: Fr Rev-Pres
36785 •
Fall 2012
Meets
MWF 1200pm-100pm MEZ 1.212
show description
This course is intended to serve as an introduction to the reading and analysis of representative texts from the eighteenth century to the present. Particular attention will be paid to the historical and cultural background from which these texts emerged. The seminar will be conducted entirely in French. The students will be required to keep a journal and write a final seminar paper (8-10 pages in length). Texts to be studied include:
Voltaire, L'Ingenu; Chateaubriad, Rene; Flaubert, Un Coeur simple; Camus, L'Etranger; Balzac, Sarrasine; Beckett, En Attendant Godot; and Sartre, Huis clos. Students will also be required to purchase a course packet with a selection of poetry by Baudelaire, Aragon, Follain and others.
Prerequisite: French 320E.
FR 322E • Advanced French II
36670 •
Spring 2012
Meets
MWF 900am-1000am BEN 1.108
show description
Description of FR322E
FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 356 • 18th-Century French Novel
36720 •
Spring 2012
Meets
MWF 1200pm-100pm MEZ 1.208
show description
In this course we will read a number of literary masterpieces from the
eighteenth century, as well as some critical works. Particular attention
will be paid to the ways in which the genre of the novel evolved during this period. We
will examine the degree to which shifts in the basic frameworks of
understanding the passions and the emotions necessitated changes in the ways
that the personal experiences of fictional characters were both narrated and
evaluated. The course concludes with readings by French Enlightenment
writers. Our focus here will be on the degree to which political concerns
and the desire to utilize literature as a vehicle for social and political
change resulted in a dramatic re-evaluation of the genre. Primary texts to
be studied in the course include: Prevost, Manon Lescaut; Montesquieu, Les
Lettres persanes; Voltaire, Zadig; Rousseau, Les Solitaires and Diderot, La
Religieuse; Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses.
Assignments: students will be expected to keep a journal on their readings,
which will be collected periodically throughout the semester; 3 short essays
(3-5 pages in length).
FR 322E • Advanced French II
36605 •
Fall 2011
Meets
MWF 1200pm-100pm PAR 210
show description
Description of FR322E
FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 390L • The Passions And The Virtues
36715 •
Fall 2011
Meets
MW 200pm-330pm PAR 214
show description
Overview: The overarching aim of this course is to examine the sources and consequences of what was an overwhelming tendency within French Enlightenment literature and thought to posit that selfishness is the motivating force behind all moral action. As such, it will relate the revalorization of amour-propre by thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Holbach, Diderot, Voltaire and Condillac to both earlier and contemporaneous attacks on all forms of self-interest, such as those leveled by Pascal, Fénelon, Racine and Rousseau. Throughout the course we will be elucidating the precise stakes and claims of discussions concerning self-interest in Enlightenment moral discourse through an analysis of both literary and philosophical texts. In the process we will consider the extent to which such discussions may be read as both a response and a challenge to the decidedly religious tenor of prevailing seventeenth-century discussions of morality. The course concludes with works by Madame de Staël, Benjamin Constant, Kant and Nietzsche. These texts will enable us to specify how later thinkers in both France and Germany continued the debate regarding the relation of self-interest to human moral impulse.
Goals: Students will come away from the course with: comprehensive knowledge as to the central themes and issues within eighteenth-century moral discourse, with an emphasis on the French Enlightenment; familiarity with most of the major French Enlightenment thinkers who addressed morality in their writings, as well as with many of these thinkers’ immediate intellectual precursors and successors; an understanding of the effects of secularization on moral discourse during this period, as well as knowledge as to many of the prevailing religious discourses that influenced—either positively or negatively—Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment moral discourse (i.e. Jansenism, the Jesuits, Protestantism, Quietism, Deism); a good idea as to how the interplay between philosophy and literature during this period contributed to prevailing visions of morality; the successes, failures and limitations of the Enlightenment project's efforts to re-define morality.
FR 322E • Advanced French II
36870 •
Spring 2011
Meets
MWF 1200pm-100pm MEZ 2.122
show description
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FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2006. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 1-4130-0449-0; workbook 1-4130-6837-5): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 0-658-01799-5: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 0-19-861071-8: Recommended
FR 322E • Advanced French II
36875 •
Spring 2011
Meets
MWF 100pm-200pm BEN 1.106
show description
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FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2006. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 1-4130-0449-0; workbook 1-4130-6837-5): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 0-658-01799-5: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 0-19-861071-8: Recommended
FR 322E • Advanced French II
36635 •
Spring 2010
Meets
MWF 1100-1200 BEN 1.106
show description
Description of FR322E
FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 320E • Advanced French I
36905 •
Fall 2009
Meets
TTH 930-1100 BEN 1.106
show description
Description of FR320E
FR 320E • Advanced French I
Prerequisites
FR 612, 312L, 312M, 312N, or the equivalent.
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 320E • Advanced French I
36920 •
Fall 2009
Meets
TTH 1100-1230pm MEZ B0.302
show description
Description of FR320E
FR 320E • Advanced French I
Prerequisites
FR 612, 312L, 312M, 312N, or the equivalent.
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 322E • Adv French II: Oral Emphasis
36030 •
Spring 2009
Meets
TTH 930-1100 BEN 1.106
show description
Description of FR322E
FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
FR 322E • Adv French II: Oral Emphasis
36035 •
Spring 2009
Meets
TTH 1100-1230pm MEZ 2.122
show description
Description of FR322E
FR 322E • Advanced French II
Prerequisites
FR 320E with a grade of at least a C
Course Description
This course will be taught in French.
The objective of this course is to improve all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through a series of communicative tasks (compositions, listening comprehension activities, dictations, oral practice, etc.). Emphasis is placed on diversifying vocabulary, mastering a wider range of grammatical structures, increasing fluency, and developing appropriate rhetorical strategies for essay writing in French. And finally, participants can expect to learn about social issues in the French-speaking world (e.g. role of media in society, immigration, globalization, education, etc.)
Grading Policy
Chapter Exams (4 x 10%) 40%
Oral Exams (3 x 5%) 15%
Compositions (4 x 5%) 20%
Daily Assignments 15%
Final Project 10%
FINAL EXAM: NO
Texts
Oukada, Larbi. 2nd Ed. 2012. Controverses. Boston: Thomson/Cengage Heinle. (ISBN textbook 9780495797777; workbook 9781439082065): Required
Hawkins, French Grammar and Usage, (2nd edition), 2001, MCG, ISBN: 9780658017988: Recommended
Oxford, Compact Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198610717: Recommended
Publications
The South Central Review, volume 27.3. Winner of the Kirby Prize for Best Article of the Year in The South Central Review.
This paper provides an alternate explanation to those that have been offered by other scholars, such as Paul Newberry and Charles L. Griswold, as to why forgiveness as Butler understood it neither entails nor requires the overcoming of feelings of resentment but, rather, functions solely as an antidote to the potentially deleterious effects of vengeance. This is accomplished through an analysis of the distinction that Butler draws between self-interest and other-directed passions and, it follows, between those actions and emotions that are applicable within the public and private spheres respectively. These distinctions are cast in this paper as directing Butler’s discussion of forgiveness as per the Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel
