This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Undergraduate Handbook 2010-2011 (archived)
Module FREN3131: PROUST AND GIDE
Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)
FREN3131: PROUST AND GIDE
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 3 | 20 | Available in 2010/2011 | 30 | Durham |
Pre-requisites
- French Language 2 (FREN2051) OR an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.
Corequisites
- Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: French Language 4 (FREN3041) or French Language 4 following Year Abroad (FREN3351). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative
Excluded Combinations
- None.
Aims
- To introduce students to a representative selection of works by two of the most important and influential writers in 20th century French literature.
- Proust and Gide will be studied both individually and in relation to each other with particular emphasis being placed on questions of formal and narratological innovation.
Content
- Texts: Proust, 'Du cote de chez Swann', 'Le Temps retrouve' (extracts).
- Gide, 'Les Faux-Monnayeurs', 'La Symphonie pastorale', 'L'Immoraliste', 'La Porte etroite'.
- Topics covered will include questions of narrative technique, and especially the ways in which both writers use the novel as a medium for literary experimentation and innovation, moving far beyond the 'realism' of the 19th-century novel.
- In addition, the module will examine the relationship in Proust and Gide between the literary form and the individual's search for meaning and identity.
- The module will be taught and examined in English.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- By the end of the course students will have:
- an overview of the central themes and preoccupations in the work of Proust and Gide;
- an understanding of the different ways in which both writers use the novel as a medium for literary experimentation and innovation, moving far beyond the 'realism' of the nineteenth-century novel;
- a grasp of the relationship in their work between literary form and the individual's search for meaning and identity.
Subject-specific Skills
- Students should be capable of detailed stylistic analysis of selected characteristic passages from their work.
Key Skills
- In addition, students will have had practice at organising ideas and arguments in written work, at making intelligent use of secondary material and at working in a structured and independent way.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Students are required to attend one lecture per week. They are also required to attend, prepare for and participate actively in one seminar per fortnight, at a time to be arranged. Classes will be given in English.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 21 | Weekly | 1 hour | 21 | Yes |
| Seminars | 10 | Fortnightly | 1 hour | 10 | Yes |
| Preparation and Reading | 169 | ||||
| Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summative Commentary 1 | 20% | Commentary 1 | 1,200 words | 100% | No |
| Summative Commentary 2 | 30% | Commentary 2 | 1,800 words | 100% | No |
| Written Examination | 50% | Written Examination | 2 hours | 100% | No |
Formative Assessment
None
Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods
and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative
assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress
procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be
required to leave the University.