Module FREN3451: Genocide, Violence, and Trauma in French and Francophone Culture

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)

FREN3451: Genocide, Violence, and Trauma in French and Francophone 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

Corequisites

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint ‘with’ programmes: French Language 4 (FREN 3041) 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 Holocaust’s legacy in French and francophone literature, visual culture and cultural theory.
• To facilitate cross-cultural awareness and comparison by using literature, film, and art to discuss how cultural memory of the Holocaust intersects with transnational histories of trauma (the Armenian genocide, colonialism, the Cambodian Killing Fields, and Rwanda).
• To study literary, visual cultural, and critical theory concerned with the emergence of “multi-directional memory” and the representation of violence and trauma in a globalized age.

Content

• Coined by the Jewish refugee Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe the massacres of Jews and Armenians, the term “genocide” has acquired a host of legal, ethical, and cultural meanings.
• But the term’s exact meaning and when it should be applied are frequently debated.
• This ambivalence and conflict affect cultural representations of genocide, in which the problem of representing violence and trauma often plays a key role in constructing a text’s meaning. What does it mean to describe an event as “genocide”? Do experiences of trauma “compete” for memory in the public domain? What are appropriate ways of representing trauma and violence?
• France’s 2012 law outlawing denial of the Armenian genocide, the country’s controversial role in the Holocaust and the Rwandan conflict, and its contested colonial history demonstrate the way histories of violence continue to haunt French culture.
• This module examines these issues through novels, films, art, and non-fiction to understand how writers and artists negotiate violence, memory, and trauma.
• We will explore French and francophone representations of the Shoah, the Armenian genocide, colonialism, the Cambodian Killing Fields, Rwanda, and contemporary uses of the term “genocide.”
• Across the term we will compare texts on different events in order to understand common methods of representation and moments of radical difference without placing these experiences in competition. In order to understand the continuing concerns genocide poses for global conflicts, students will also follow the development of a human rights crisis.
• This module will appeal to students interested in genocide and trauma studies and cultural memory.

Learning Outcomes

• Critical knowledge and understanding of a range of texts, images, and films offering an insight into French culture in a transnational context;
• A knowledge of how literary and visual texts have responded to the difficulty of representing violence and trauma;
• An understanding of how the history of the Holocaust in France intersects with other historical moments in a global sphere.
• Knowledge of key debates and terms in Holocaust studies, trauma studies, and transnational theory.
• Knowledge of a range of critical approaches to the study of cultural history (Arendt, Bauman, Rothberg, etc.).

• Critical analysis and close readings of a variety of textual genres (historical, legal, literary, journalistic) and visual culture (film, photography, paintings);
• Ability to think across disciplines, drawing links between cultural, material and social history.
• Ability to undertake cross-cultural comparison while being attentive to historical and social differences.

• Critical and analytical thinking
• Essay-writing and oral presentation
• Structuring of arguments
• Independent learning and research

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

• Lectures and seminars;
• assessment will be two summative essays and a formative presentation.
• Independent research of an unfolding human rights crisis and will provide the basis for an in-class presentation.
• These assessments reflect the intended learning outcomes, namely critical understanding of texts and images based on detailed reading and in-depth discussion, and a broader cultural awareness.
• Teaching will be in English, with the module capped according to School norms.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One seminar presentation.

■ 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