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Francis B. Assaf
Distinguished Research Professor of French
Distinguished
Research Professor, 2004
Francis B. Assaf, Professor of French, researches 17th and 18th
century French literature and culture. His recent book, 1715:
Le Soleil s’éteint, examines the year of King Louis XIV’s death,
which is considered to be the “hinge” year between Post-Classicism
and the Pre-Enlightenment. Dr. Assaf re-created the historical
context for 1715, summarizing the daily news and intellectual environment.
In his previous book, La Mort du roi: une thanatographie de
Louis XIV, Dr. Assaf studies the death of Louis XIV through
official literature, funeral orations, and vituperative writings.
His first book, Lesage et le picaresque, analyzes the work
of the French author Alain-René Lesage (1668-1747), who wrote narratives
about roguish (anti)heroes. Harvard University’s
Professor Tom Conley described Dr. Assaf as a “scholar’s scholar … who
knows the works that enabled Marivaux, Montesquieu and Voltaire
to write what they did.” In addition to publishing texts, critical
editions and numerous peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Assaf founded
SE17, a society to study 17th century France, which has grown into
an international organization. He also founded the journal Cahiers
du Dix-Septiéme and served as president of the North American
Society for Seventeenth-Century French Literature. In 2001 the
French government awarded him the title of Chevalier dans l’Ordre
des Palmes Académiques.
Source: 25th Annual Research Awards Program (2004)
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