The overall impetus for this course is to explore the history and diversity of women in postwar France. It draws primarily, if not exclusively, on innovative works by women in philosophy, literature, and film. Often deemed scandalous at the time of their appearance, they have since acquired the status of classics and garnered a world-wide following. Whether Simone de Beauvoir’s Second Sex or Agnès Varda’s film, “Vagabond”, Dominique Aury’s Story of O or Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse, Godard’s “Masculin /Feminin” and “2 or 3 things I know about her,”  Kechiche’s Blue is the warmest color, or Ozon’s Young and Beautiful, these works offer nuanced, often formally daring vehicles to explore the inner life of women in the new world of modernized France. The material and social transformations of French society during the “Trente Glorieuses” and the economic crises since 1974 will be charted, with special emphasis on controversial turning points such as legalized contraception and same-sex marriage. CONDUCTED ENTIRELY IN FRENCH. Recommended: at least two 200-level courses or more. Requirements: To read, write and comment on course material.