FR220: Introduction to the French Novel (19th & 20th centuries)

Module Provider:

French

Number of credits:

20 [10 ECTS credits]

Level:

I (Intermediate)

Terms in which taught:

Autumn, Spring and Summer

Module Convenor:

Dr J Waters

Pre-requisites:

FR101 or FR102 or equivalent excluded

Co-requisites:

Modules excluded:

Module version for:

2007/8

Aims:
The French novel, the most popular of contemporary literary forms, has a rich and often contestatory history. This module aims to introduce students to many of the historical, theoretical, cultural and aesthetic issues influencing the development of the genre, through the study of a representative selection of key texts from 19th and 20th-century French literature.

Assessable learning outcomes:
By the end of the module students will be expected to be able to:
• demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which shifting historical and social contexts affect the form and content of the novels studied.
• plot the development of evolving notions of the relation between reality and representation, author and work, individual and society, gender and genre.
• analyse the set texts in terms of such issues as form, theme, style, gender and narrative voice.
• draw relevant comparisons and contrasts between the different works studied.
• form and articulate individual critical responses to literary works.
• engage critically with the ideas presented in lectures, seminars, or secondary materials.
• organise and articulate a coherent written argument in a coursework essay and under examination conditions

Additional outcomes:
This module also aims to encourage the development of oral communication skills and pair/group presentation skills, as well as enabling students to analyse and contextualise literary texts, and to read both 19th- and 20th-century French novels with ease.

Outline content:
Texts for study will include two canonical, nineteenth-century novels, Le Père Goriot (Honoré de Balzac) and Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert), and two twentieth-century texts - La Jalousie (Alain Robbe-Grillet) and Moderato Cantabile (Marguerite Duras) - which consciously question, in different ways, the certainties on which the earlier works were based. Reference will also be made to the authors’ and literary critics’ theories of the novel.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
This module will be taught over three terms, by means of lectures, seminars, student presentations and revision classes. In the Autumn term, we shall study the set nineteenth-century texts in relation to theories of the novel form, authorship, realism, narrative viewpoint, and gender. In the Spring term, similar issues will be examined, and brought into question, through our analysis of the set twentieth-century texts. Students will be expected to read the novels in advance, in order to be able to contribute fully to discussions and assignments. In the Summer term, there will be four sessions of revision, incorporating feedback on the assignment.

Contact hours:

Assessment:
Coursework
Students will write one 3,000-word essay to be handed in on the Monday of the first week of the Summer term. The essay is subject to scrutiny by a second internal examiner.

Relative percentage of coursework: 40 %

Examinations
One three-hour exam paper to consist of two questions.

Requirements for a pass: 40 %

Reassessment arrangements
Re-examination in August/September. Coursework will be carried forward if it bears a confirmed mark of 40% or more. Otherwise it must be resubmitted by 1 September.