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War and Conflict in French Literature

Module description

In this module you will deepen your understanding of French and Francophone history and culture through reading texts that examine three critical moments in modern France – the Franco-Prussian war, the Second World War and the Paris massacre of Algerians in 1961. Through appreciation of three literary texts you will analyse issues that continue to shape French national identity such as the power of silence and of shame, the topography of the modern city and inter-generational relationships.

Module aims - intentions of the module

• To introduce you to important wars and analysis through the connecting themes of war and conflict by analysing literary texts in their historical and conflicts in French history via literary texts.
• To examine the impact of war and conflict on the development of French history and culture.
• To develop a comparative approach to literary socio-cultural context

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate familiarity with and understanding of selected texts in the target language, and key aspects of their historical, literary and cultural context.
• 2. Describe and evaluate under guidance from course tutor(s) key critical responses to the topic and apply standard critical approaches to the material

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Recognise the existence of differing critical responses to the material
• 4. Mount an argument in an appropriate register applying basic textual evidence

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Plan and write an essay to a specified deadline and length, showing awareness of basic academic conventions, and showing evidence of engagement with secondary material

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• An introductory session to the course, giving context and alerting you to landmark episodes in French history
• Establish themes underpinning the course
• Each book will then be studies in turn

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Guy de Maupassant – Boule de suif Garnier Flammarion
• Patrick Modiano – Dora Bruder Folio
• Leila Sebbar – La Seine était rouge Babel

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1350
• There is a good selection of secondary texts placed on the ELE page.

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Key words search

Maupassant, Modiano, Sebbar, silence, national identity, conflict, war, collusion, Algeria, Prussia, Germany, France