Aspects of French Literature
2017-18
Tutor: Prof. Susannah Wilson
Term 2 (wks 3-10) & Term 3 (wks 1-?)
French Lectures: Wednesday 9am, Millburn House A1.28
Seminar: Wednesday 10-1, also in A1.28
PRIMARY TEXTS
Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary (1856)
Gide, Andr�. The Immoraliste (1902)
Proust, Marcel. Combray (1913)
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Nausea (1938)
Camus, Albert. The Plague (1947)
ESSAY QUESTIONS
Marking Guidelines
Help for the Commentary:
Module Description
This module (re)introduces students to some of the most important prose works of the French literary canon of the first half of the twentieth century. Keeping in mind that labels such as “the canon” and “modernity” are fluid, we will pay special attention to where the texts appear to break with literary or cultural norms of the time.
We will investigate how these authors use form, style, and other literary techniques to convey meaning as well as what sorts of philosophical, social, or political factors may have motivated them. In other words, we will approach these texts in two different manners. At times, you will be asked to perform close readings of literary works where meaning is found within the text itself. At others, you will carry out contextual research which places the texts in their broader cultural significance.
Module Objectives
In this module, you will undertake study of Modern French culture and literature as well as developing your mastery of textual analysis and written organization of ideas. You will leave this class having attained a competence in critical analysis that is appropriate to a first-year Film and Television Studies student. By the end of term, you will have gained a better understanding of the culture of the early 20c in France and, more generally, will have improved your ability to construct valid arguments when speaking and writing about literature.
Previous Module Schedule 2015-16
Seminar Groups
TBC