MODULE SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE
1
The title of the module
Paris: Reality and Representation
2
The Department which will be responsible for management of the module
SECL: Kent at Paris
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The Start Date of the Module
January 2010
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The cohort of students (onwards) to which the module will be applicable.
September 2009
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The number of students expected to take the module
10
6
Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module and consultation with
other relevant Departments and Faculties regarding the withdrawal
None
7
The level of the module (eg Certificate [C], Intermediate [I], Honours [H] or Postgraduate
[M])
M
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The number of credits which the module represents
Note: undergraduate full-time students take modules amounting to 120 credits per year and
postgraduate full-time students take modules amounting to 180 credits per year for a
Masters award
30
9
Which term(s) the module is to be taught in (or other teaching pattern)
Spring term
10
Prerequisite and co-requisite modules
None
11
The programmes of study to which the module contributes
Kent at Paris MA programmes in 1) English and American Literature, 2) Modern French
Studies, 3) Comparative Literature, 4) French and Comparative Literature.
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The intended subject specific learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their relationship to
programme learning outcomes
Students will increase their knowledge and appreciation of developments in architecture,
infrastructure and living conditions in Paris from the early 19th century to the present day, as
reflected in relevant works of prose fiction from the 19th to the late 20th centuries. The module
will thus allow exploration of the interface between historical reality, subjective perceptions,
fictional strategies and literary style. The texts, all with narratives set in Paris, will be taken
from English, American and European literatures, and will studied in English and in English
translation. The module will be taught in Paris and will incorporate reference to film
adaptations of the works studied and to relevant aspects of other visual arts, including
painting and photography, allowing students to incorporate into their studies the city’s
architectural heritage and cultural resources, such as galleries and museums, and to make
interdisciplinary connections and contrasts. The module will thus extend and enhance cultural
knowledge and analytical and communication skills developed during the autumn term in
Canterbury. The programme outcomes are enriched by the convergence in this module of
students who in the preceding autumn term will have been following modules from various
different programmes (see 11 above), here coming together to pool and share varied
knowledge, experience and perspectives.
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The intended generic learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their relationship to programme
learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will have:
 enhanced literary, historical and cultural knowledge
 improved verbal communication and presentation skills through participation in seminars
and through the delivery of a class presentation
 refined written communication skills, including the structuring of an argument
 enhanced their ability to read critically, undertake independent research and make use of
resources such as libraries and the internet
 improved their teamwork skills by collaborating with fellow students who during the
previous term have been working in different but related areas of the Faculty of Humanities.
Programme learning outcomes to which this module contributes include: enhanced
intellectual skills, resulting from close reading of literary works; subject-specific skills,
including close critical analysis; and transferable skills, including communication skills and
working collaboratively.
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A synopsis of the curriculum
The curriculum includes a selection of texts from various countries, all readily available in
English and all specifically relevant to the modern history, evolving population and changing
appearance of Paris and to how these aspects of the city has been perceived and represented
in literary prose. The set texts are by writers from different periods and of various
nationalities and they are all set in and inspired by Paris. The texts are chosen for their high
literary quality, but also because they represent essential aspects of the city’s evolution and
exemplify various narrative strategies and ways of engaging with the realities of life in the
city, always shaped by personal preoccupations and sensibilities. This varied selection within
the genre of prose fiction allows study of Zola’s naturalism and his presentation of the
political and aesthetic implications of baron Haussman’s plans for urban renewal and control;
Edith Wharton’s perspective as an American incomer; André Breton’s combination of oneiric
urban encounters with photographic illustrations of the city, inserted into the text; Jean
Rhys’s clearly gendered experience of the city in the 1920s and 1930s; the identity of the city
as a site for postwar liberation and literary dynamism in the work of expatriates from the Beat
generation; and the representation of today’s city as a centre for immigrant communities and
cultural diversity. The primary texts are thus all Paris-focussed but are chosen to open an
international perspective on the literary representation of an increasingly cosmopolitan city.
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Indicative Reading List
Emile Zola, The Kill
Edith Wharton, Madame de Treymes
André Breton, Nadja
Jean Rhys, Quartet or Good Morning Midnight
The Merchant-Ivory film adaptation of J. Rhys, Quartet
A course anthology of poetry and prose from Paris by the Beat generation
Calixthe Beyala, Loukoum The Little Prince of Belleville or Michel Tournier, The Golden
Droplet
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Learning and Teaching Methods, including the nature and number of contact hours and the
total study hours which will be expected of students, and how these relate to achievement
of the intended learning outcomes
The module will be taught by means of a weekly two-hour seminar (40 hours in total,
excluding reading weeks). The module will begin with an introductory lecture and subsequent
seminars will include, in varying proportions, short synthetic and presentational lectures from
the tutor, presentations by students, tutor-led whole-group discussions of pre-arranged topics
and student-led small-group discussions. The texts will be studied in chronological order so
as to illustrate evolving literary strategies for representing the changing face of Paris. For
some texts the tutor will be the Academic Director of Kent at Paris, who will be resident in
Paris during the spring term. For other texts, tutors with relevant research expertise from
SECL and the School of English will visit the Paris campus. The module will also include
independent or tutor-led excursions to sites and exhibitions that are relevant to the texts, to
seminars and to written work. Total study hours will be divided roughly equally between
reading, preparation time for seminar presentations and discussion, and researching and
completing the written assignment, amounting to approximately 250 hours in total (including
the contact hours). The learning and teaching methods will contribute to the attainment of the
subject specific and generic learning outcomes, including enhanced intellectual skills, close
reading and critical analysis; independence in navigating the city in order to locate and use
relevant cultural resources and recommended English-language libraries and in exploiting
those resources for research and writing. The module will also allow students to enhance their
communication skills, both written and oral, and their skills in working collaboratively with
fellow-students from different backgrounds and disciplines. The syllabus, topics and teaching
methods are also designed to make students aware of potential subject areas for their MA
dissertations.
Total study hours 300.
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Assessment methods and how these relate to testing achievement of the intended learning
outcomes
Assessment will be by an essay of up to 5000 words on a topic chosen from those defined by
the tutors or by the student in agreement with tutors. The assessment will measure
knowledge, research effort and ability, critical acuity, the relevance and organisation of
material, linguistic sophistication and quality of presentation. All these qualities are closely
related to intended learning outcomes.
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Implications for learning resources, including staff, library, IT and space
The Kent at Paris project has been organised and financed to allow students studying in Paris
all necessary facilities, tutors and pastoral support, including classrooms, study facilities and
IT resources at the Paris campus (Reid Hall in Montparnasse), access to Paris libraries with
English-language resources, an Academic Director resident throughout the term, convening
the module and leading some seminars, with three or four other seminars given by tutors
visiting from the Canterbury campus.
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A statement confirming that, as far as can be reasonably anticipated, the curriculum,
learning and teaching methods and forms of assessment do not present any non-justifiable
disadvantage to students with disabilities
As far as can reasonably be anticipated, the curriculum, the learning and teaching methods
and the form of assessment will not present any non-justifiable disadvantage to students with
disabilities. The methods of assessment will favour any students who are dyslexic insofar as
they will not require the production of any work in timed examination conditions, and such
students will be asked to indicate on their assessed work that they are dyslexic so that this can
be taken into account in the assessment of the work. Facilities at Reid Hall have been adapted
to allow wheelchair access to the cobbled courtyards and the extensive range of ground-floor
rooms and so, if necessary, an appropriate teaching room will be arranged.