Module Identifier FR31820  
Module Title REPRESENTATIONS OF BRITTANY  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Dr Heather M Williams  
Semester Semester 2  
Course delivery Lecture   10 Hours  
  Seminars / Tutorials   10 Hours  
Assessment Semester Exam   2 Hours   60%  
  Semester Assessment   Continuous Assessment: Two essays of 1500 - 2000 words each   40%  

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to critically contrast different literary representations of Brittany, and show an awareness to the relevance of the theoretical frameworks explored.

Brief description

This module examines the way Brittany is, and has been, 'represented', or even 'constructed' in French culture. We will explore different literary representations of Brittany through analysis of texts ranging in date from 1828 to 1975, and in genre from the Realist novel to symbolist poetry and 'bande dessinee'. The module approaches France as a set of diverse cultural and linguistic identities, questions the hegemony of the French language, and the notion of a literary canon and introduces the theoretical framework of post-colonialism. More specifically the module focuses on contrasting examples of literature that seek to represent, explain, describe or chronicle a 'region' of France.

Content

Weekly lectures will provide the necessary historical (and literary-historical) background, and seminars will concentrate on the close analysis of 'representations' of Brittany.

Reading Lists

Books
** Essential Reading
Balzac, Honore de. (1998) Les Chouans. Pocket
Corbiere, Tristan. (1973) Les Amours jaunes. Gallimard
Flaubert, Gustave. Par les champs et par les greves. (extracts)
Helias, Pierre-Jakez. (1975) Le Cheval d'orgueil. Plon
Renan, Ernest. (1992) Souvenirs d'enfance et de jeunesse. Pocket
Souvestre, Emile. (1836) Les derniers Bretons Le Foyer breton: Contes et recits populaires. 2 tomes
Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. 'L' Intersigne in Contes cruels.