Is it possible to reread the entire sweep of French literature from a world perspective? Recasting French literary history in terms of the cultures and peoples that interacted both within and outside of France's national boundaries, this volume offers a new way of looking at the history of a national literature, along with a truly global and contemporary understanding of language, literature, and culture. Questions concerning the relationship between France's territorial center and its extraterritorial peripheries are crucial to contemporary discussions of Francophonie. Boldly extendi.