This course traces the development of economic theory from Plato and Aristotle, who consider it in the moral context of oiko nomos, law of the household, to the more modern political economy of Adam Smith. It then examines economic themes, broadly considered, in French literature such as Perceval ou le Conte du Graal, Molière’s plays of the Classical Age, and Zola’s 19th-century novel about the department store, Au Bonheur des Dames. All works of economic theory not originally in French are read in French translation. Prerequisite: FREN 300 or placement.