EC 2/15/16
FRENCH CULTURE AND SOCIETY (FR115)
AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE MODULE
Learning Outcomes
Aims
Students should be able to…
describe and discuss key French texts prior to the
Revolution.
identify key differences and points of convergence
between widely-accepted historical 'periods' as
these are represented in pre-Revolutionary texts.
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.
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 preRevolutionary 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.
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EC 2/15/16
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 Renaissance 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 Renaissance section of the module) must be submitted
in week 8. The deadline for submission is 12 noon on Tuesday the 22nd November,
2011. 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.
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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:
Cathy Hampton: C.M.Hampton@warwick.ac.uk
Michael Harrigan: M.J.Harrigan@warwick.ac.uk
Emma Campbell: Emma.Campbell@warwick.ac.uk
Vicky Turner: V.C.Turner@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
SO.13 / A0.23
Lecture
SO.13
1
Introduction to the module +
Gargantua
None
2
Gargantua
Gargantua
3
4
Gargantua / l’Heptaméron
Gargantua / L’Heptaméron
Gargantua
Gargantua / l’Heptaméron
5
L’Heptaméron
l’Heptaméron
Introduction to the module +
Renaissance Spaces and
Communities
Gargantua : forming the ideal
knight
Religion and reform
l’Heptaméron: Public and
Private Lives at Court
l’Heptaméron: Questions of
Marriage and Duty
6
7
Reading Week
L’Heptaméron
l’Heptaméron
8
Mont de Marsan/La Princesse
de Clèves
Mont de Marsan
9
La Princesse de Clèves
La Princesse de Clèves
10
La Princesse de Clèves/Le
Tartuffe
La Princesse de Clèves
Mont de Marsan: Self and
Society: moral and religious
questions
Introduction: from the
Renaissance to Classicism &
La Princesse de Clèves: a 17thcentury view on the past
La Princesse de Clèves - the
Court; Love & Marriage
Le Tartuffe – a controversial
text (religious & moral
questions)
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Term 2
Week
Topic
1
Le Tartuffe
Seminar
SO.13 / A0.23
Le Tartuffe
2
Le Tartuffe/La Religieuse
Le Tartuffe
3
La Religieuse
La Religieuse
4
La Religieuse/La Vie de saint
Alexis
La Religieuse
5
La Vie de saint Alexis
La Vie de saint Alexis
6
Reading week – no classes
7
La Vie de saint Alexis/La
Chanson de Roland
La Chanson de Roland
La Vie de saint Alexis
La Chanson de Roland/ Le
Chevalier de la Charrette
Le Chevalier de la Charrette
La Chanson de Roland
8
9
10
La Chanson de Roland
Le Chevalier de la Charrette
Lecture
SO.13
Le Tartuffe: family dynamics
& gender
Introduction to the
Enlightenment- La Religieuse
La Religieuse
Introduction to Reading
Medieval Literature/ La Vie
de saint Alexis
La Vie de saint Alexis:
Audience and Adaptation
La Chanson de Roland: Feudal
Society
La Chanson de Roland:
Nationalism
Le Chevalier de la Charrette:
Clergie and chevalerie
Le Chevalier de la Charrette:
Love
Term 3
Week
1
2
3
Topic
Seminar
Lecture
SO.13 / A0.23
SO.13
no classes for FCS [staff involved in final-year oral exams]
Le Chevalier de la Charrette /
comparative approaches
comparative approaches
Le Chevalier de la Charrette
Plenary revision session 1
Revision
Plenary revision session 2
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