Module FREN3391: REPRESENTING CATASTROPHE: THE GERMAN OCCUPATION AND ALGERIAN WAR IN POST-WAR FRENCH CULTURE

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)

FREN3391: REPRESENTING CATASTROPHE: THE GERMAN OCCUPATION AND ALGERIAN WAR IN POST-WAR FRENCH CULTURE

Prerequisites

• 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 AND AT LEAST ONE OF French Literature and Culture in the 19th and 20th Centuries (FREN2011), Politics and Culture of Contemporary France (FREN2041) or Introduction to Francophone Literature and Culture (FREN2061).

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 explore the historical and social causes and the cultural and ideological consequences of the two major catastrophes that struck mid-twentieth century France: the defeat and occupation by the Germans in 1940, and the loss of Algeria in 1962 following an eight-year conflict.
• To consider how the impact and legacy of these conflicts on French society are portrayed in a range of literary texts, films and visual material.

Content

• Topics to be covered include: defeat and occupation; resistance and collaboration; liberation and the aftermath; breaking the mirror; the crisis of decolonisation; the struggle for Algerian independence; terrorism and torture; the impact on contemporary France. Material to be studied include texts by Vercors, Marcel Aymé, Marcel Ophuls, Henri Alleg, Didier Daeninckx, Claire Etcherelli, and films by Rachid Bouchareb, Michael Haneke among others. Photographic and other visual material will also be considered.

Learning Outcomes

• knowledge of significant French texts and films relating to the periods under discussion
• knowledge of a crucial period in French history and key cultural elements in that period
• knowledge of approaches to analysing texts, films and visual culture depicting historical events and related historiographical, ideological, moral and aesthetic issues

• development of critical skills - close analysis of primary texts, films and visual material
• ability to relate primary material judiciously to overarching themes
• ability to analyse imaginatively and rigorously relationships between literature, film, history and society
• ability to synthesise and critique secondary material

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

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

• Weekly lectures will provide historical and theoretical perspectives and serve as starting points for close engagement with key events, concepts and cultural works in seminars and summative essays, as well as offering an overview of historiographical and critical approaches to the subject.
• Fortnightly seminars will offer the opportunity for more detailed, guided study of key issues and works and allow the development of appropriate research and analytical skills, mainly through group presentations and class discussion.
• Two tutorial sessions (in small groups) will allow students to research and plan the summative essays using appropriate sources and methodology.
• The module is assessed by two extended summative essays, in order to allow students to further develop autonomous learning and research and to demonstrate knowledge in depth of both historical and cultural material.

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