Module FREN3221: CONTEMPORARY FRENCH WRITERS: AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND FICTION

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)

FREN3221: CONTEMPORARY FRENCH WRITERS: AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND FICTION

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 either FREN1041 or FREN2011 (which are taught and assessed in the target language) or a relevant cultural module at level 2 (such as FREN2021).

Corequisites

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: French Language 4 (FREN3041). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To develop final-year undergraduate students' skills of analysis with respect to a variety of contemporary literary styles and critical contexts and queries.
• To increase students’awareness of contemporary themes and questions raised by studies of autobiography, the writing of the past, and the representation of a wide range of concepts linked to specific social issues addressed by the chosen corpus.
• To encourage independent study and enable the individual formulation of research essay questions, while maximising the benefits of the collective debates provided in the forum of seminars.

Content

• This option, taught and assessed in French, focuses on 5 contemporary French writers examined from the multiple points of view of diverse critical theories of Fiction and Autobiography, linked to an overview of key psychoanalytical concepts prevalent in French Feminisms.
• Analysis of narrative strategies aims to highlight how the selected texts deal with a wide range of different social issues and specific themes such as the coded representation of identity, memory, autobiography, the uses of fantasy and the fantastic, the limitations of the representation of gender, family, race, age, violence, intolerance, subversion and love, as an echo of the different stylistic and linguistic strategies at work and at play in the chosen corpus.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should become familiar with a wide range of contemporary themes and questions raised by studies of autobiography, the writing of the past, and the representation of social issues.
• Students should develop a sense of distinction between literary genres and become aware of the variety of new trends in French prose writing.
• Students will develop and understanding of notions of authorship, autobiography and fiction, and therefore be able to do close textual analysis, following specific themes and stylistic devices.

• Ability to compare and expand their analysis of one of the set texts.
• Drawing on critical material and comparative analysis, students will be able to choose and analyse a supplementary book by one of the set authors.

• Extended development of general written communication skills.
• The ability to discuss topical or general issues with a high degree of fluency.
• Extended skills in the aquisition and interpretation of information through close reading and research.
• An extended ability to read complex and multivalent texts with intellentual nuance, and a sensitivity to context and genre.

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

• There will be a mixture of weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars.
• Independent study will be fostered by giving students the option to design their own essay topics in discussion with the tutor, as an alternative to the choice of prescribed essay topics.
• Seminars will include oral presentations in teams on topics announced at the beginning of the year.
• Students will therefore be encouraged to prepare their selected subjects/authors, as well as engage in general discussion of overall themes, critical contexts and emerging critical issues during the whole year.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

As noted above, seminar presentations include active participation and continuing preparatory work, via student-led group discussions, requiring independent reading and research, which benefits from on-going feedback.

■ 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