Module FREN3261: THE FANTASTIC IN FRENCH FILM AND LITERATURE

Department: Modern Language and Cultures (French)

FREN3261: THE FANTASTIC IN FRENCH FILM AND LITERATURE

Prerequisites

• 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 following Year Abroad (FREN3351). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative

Excluded Combination of Modules

• 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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University