CH8/15/14 FRENCH CULTURE AND SOCIETY (FR115) AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE MODULE Learning Outcomes Students should be able to… Aims describe and discuss key French texts prior to the Revolution. To introduce students to studying the interaction between texts and their social, cultural and historical contexts both within widely-­‐accepted historical 'periods' (the Middle Ages, the Renaissance...) and also across periods. identify key differences and points of convergence between widely-­‐accepted historical 'periods' as these are represented in pre-­‐Revolutionary texts. recognise some of the ways in which literary texts are implicated in and influenced by social and historical situations. discuss the relationship between text and context and to analyse what such texts tell us about the attitudes, values and beliefs of their time. assess how the attitudes, values and beliefs explored by different texts may have changed over time. recognise earlier forms of French and discuss basic matters of vocabulary and meaning as these are relevant to the texts being studied. To complement the rest of the first-­‐year programme both culturally and linguistically, by, on the one hand, providing students with knowledge of historically-­‐specific cultural difference and interaction and, on the other, by introducing them to earlier forms of the French language. interpret and analyse literature in its changing historical contexts. To provide students with the basic skills necessary to explore questions of interpretation and meaning in key representative texts of the pre-­‐
Revolutionary period. present the results of their studies in their own manner but with due attention to accuracy, comprehensiveness and clarity. To develop transferable study, research and presentational skills appropriate to first-­‐year level. 1 CH8/15/14 TEACHING Teaching will be by lecture and seminar; there will be one, one-­‐hour lecture and one, one-­‐hour class per week. The lectures for the medieval section of the module will begin in week 1 and the seminars will begin in week 2. Any failure to attend classes must be justified in writing to the tutor teaching you that week. Unless classes have been missed for personal or family reasons, an accompanying doctor’s note will need to be submitted to the office. Teaching will be conducted in English. STUDENT INPUT Students will be required to read all core texts in advance of lectures and seminars. For the medieval section of the course, students are allowed to read Old French texts in modern French translation or, in the case of the Vie de Saint Alexis, in the English translation provided by the department. Students will be expected to prepare all classes and to supplement material covered in class with independent study. ASSESSMENT The module as a whole will be assessed by three 1200-­‐1500 word essays counting for 60% and a 1 1/2 hour exam counting for 40%. This breaks down as follows: 60% -­‐ Three 1200-­‐1500 word essays (20% each): one essay to be submitted and assessed for each of the sections of the course (i.e. The Middle Ages; The Renaissance; Renaissance to Enlightenment). Each of these essays will focus primarily on literature from the period in question. 40% -­‐ One 1 1/2 hour exam: a closed exam requiring students to answer one essay question. The exam will take place at the end of the module. Students will be asked to compare and contrast the different periods covered in their answer. The first assessed essay (for the medieval section of the module) must be submitted in week 8. The deadline for submission is 12 noon on Tuesday the 19th November, 2013. Your essay must be submitted electronically via the e-­‐submission website. The deadline given above refers BOTH to the electronic submission AND to submission of the hard copy. Once it is submitted electronically, you will receive a receipt for your essay by email; this should be printed, anonymised and attached to a hard copy of your essay. Please hand in this hard copy (with your email receipt) to the French Studies Departmental Secretary before 12noon on the day of the deadline.
2 CH8/15/14 Further details regarding assessment of the module, as well as a list of essay questions, can be found on the FCS website: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/french/current/ug/modules/firstyear/fcs/assessment/ PROBLEMS/ QUESTIONS If you are experiencing difficulties with the module or wish to raise any questions or problems outside teaching hours, please contact your tutor: Emma Cambell: Emma.Campbell@warwick.ac.uk Cathy Hampton: C.M.Hampton@warwick.ac.uk Ingrid De Smet: I.de-­‐smet@warwick.ac.uk For general issues regarding the module as a whole, the module co-­‐ordinator is Cathy Hampton. PROGRAMME Term 1 Week Topic Seminar Lecture 1 Gargantua None 2 Gargantua Gargantua 3 Gargantua / l’Heptaméron Gargantua 4 L’Heptaméron Gargantua / l’Heptaméron 5 LIBRARY WORKSHOP 6 7 Reading Week L’Heptaméron LIBRARY WORKSHOP DISCUSSION L’Heptaméron Renaissance spaces and communities Gargantua : forming the ideal knight Religion and reform L’Heptaméron : Public and private lives at court LIBRARY WORKSHOP 8 Mont de Marsan L’Heptaméron 9 La Princesse de Clèves / Mont de Marsan Mont de Marsan 10 La Princesse de Clèves La Princesse de Clèves L’Heptameron : questions of marriage and duty Mont de Marsan: self and society: moral and religious questions Introduction: from the Renaissance to Classicism & La Princesse de Clèves: a 17th-­‐century view on the past La Princesse de Clèves -­‐ the Court; Love & Marriage 3 CH8/15/14 Term 2 Week Topic Seminar La Princesse de Clèves Lecture Le Tartuffe – a controversial text (religious & moral questions) Le Tartuffe: family dynamics and gender Introduction to the Enlightenment: La Religieuse La Religieuse (continued) Introduction to reading medieval literature / La Vie de Saint Alexis 1 La Princesse de Clèves / Le Tartuffe 2 Le Tartuffe Le Tartuffe 3 Le Tartuffe / La Religieuse Le Tartuffe 4 La Religieuse La Religieuse 5 La Vie de Saint Alexis / La Religieuse La Religieuse 6 Reading week – no classes 7 La Vie de Saint Alexis La Vie de Saint Alexis 8 La Chanson de Roland La Vie de Saint Alexis 9 La Chanson de Roland La Chanson de Roland 10 Lancelot La Chanson de Roland Week Topic 1 Lancelot Seminar Lancelot Lecture Lancelot: Love 2 Lancelot / comparative approaches comparative approaches Lancelot Plenary session 1 Plenary session 2 Plenary session 3 La Vie de Saint Alexis: Audience and Adaptation La Chanson de Roland: Feudal Society La Chanson de Roland: Nationalism Lancelot: Clergie and chevalerie Term 3 3 4