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 FREN3261: THE FANTASTIC IN FRENCH FILM AND LITERATURE

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)

FREN3261: THE FANTASTIC IN FRENCH FILM AND LITERATURE

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	3	20	Available in 2010/2011	30	Durham

Pre-requisites

French Language 2 (FREN2051) or French Language 2 [for those taking a year abroad] (FREN2071) or an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of Chairman/woman of 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 [including year abroad] (FREN3**1). Others: see Chairman/woman of Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combinations

None.

Aims

To introduce students to a representative corpus of literary and theoretical texts and films which exemplify and define the fantastic as a genre.
To explore comparative approaches to different genres of the fantastic and to study representative modern films and texts by French directors and authors.

Content

This module introduces students to a representative corpus of literary and theoretical texts and films which exemplify and define the fantastic as a genre.
The programme will vary according to the availability of material.
Typically, we will study theoretical essays by Freud and Todorov, literary texts such as The Sandman, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Dracula, and related films.
We will also study some short texts by French writers (e.g. Gautier, Maupassant, Ayme), as well as two French novelists (e.g. Barjavel, Le Voyageur imprudent, Tournier, Vendredi et les limbes du Pacifique) and two French films (e.g. Cocteau's La Belle et la Bete and Clouzot's Les Diaboliques).

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

Participants should acquire a good understanding of the aesthetic and psychological features that underpin the fantastic, as well as first-hand knowledge of selected works and films by major authors and directors.

Subject-specific Skills

Students will extend their research skills and independent learning as well as their competence in using the French language by working on individual projects assessed by a summative essay in French.

Key Skills

They will develop their skills in critical interpretation by undertaking close analysis of literary and theoretical texts and films, through written exercises and classroom discussion.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

In term one, the weekly seminar programme will introduce students to the theory and history of the fantastic in a European context from the Romantic period to the present, by detailed study of key extracts from the authors in the programme.
Given the comparative approach, all teaching and assessment of this strand will take place in English.
In term two, the weekly seminar programme will focus on close study of literary texts from the 19th and 20th centuries and films by French authors and directors.
Teaching will normally be in French during the second term.

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 Essay 1	50%	Summative Essay 1	2,500 words	100%	No
Summative Essay 2	50%	Summative Essay 2	2,500 words	100%	No
Summative Essay 2	50%			0%

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.