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 FREN3341: CULTURE AND CONFLICT IN THE WARS OF RELIGION

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)

FREN3341: CULTURE AND CONFLICT IN THE WARS OF RELIGION

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	3	20	Not available in 2010/2011	None.	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 offer an advanced course in French literature and/or visual culture of the sixteenth (and early seventeenth) century
to enable students to reflect critically on relationships between literature, visual culture and history, and on the specifications of 'literary' or visual texts in understanding the past
to enable students to analyse relationships between literature and visual culture, on the one hand, and war and conflict, on the other
to develop students' critical and analytical skills in relation to various genres (which could include the essay, fiction, poetry, prints, painting)
to offer a course related to Dr Banks's current and future research

Content

Analysis of a small selection of sixteenth and early seventeenth century works (which will vary from year to year)
Introduction to sixteenth century conflict involving France - the Wars of Religion, national rivalries, conflict in the New World
Sustained focus on relationships between literature and/or visual culture and history - on what particular 'literary' or visual objects can tell us about historical periods (e.g. ideals and anxieties, fantasies and fears) which other historical objects cannot, and on how they do this

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

Knowledge of important French texts
knowledge of a crucial period in French history and literary history
knowledge of innovative approaches to analysing relationships between literature, visual culture and conflict, and between literature, visual culture and history

Subject-specific Skills

development of critical skills - close reading of primary texts
ability to relate works judisciously to overarching themes of conflict and war
ability to analyse imaginatively and rigorously relationships between literature, visual culture and history
ability to critique secondary material

Key Skills

critical and analytical
essay-writing and commentary
structuring of arguments
independent learning

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

fortnightly seminar in small groups, which will focus on student-led critical analysis of works
weekly lecture which will be used both to provide historical information and also to analyse primary (and occasionally secondary) material

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total Hours
lectures	21	weekly	1 hour	21
seminars	10	fortnightly	1 hour	10
Preparation and Reading				169
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Written Examination	50%	Written Examination	2 hours	100%	No
Summative Essay	30%	Summative Essay	2,000 words	100%	No
Summative Commentary	20%	Commentary	1,000 words	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.