Module Identifier
FRM0930
Module Title
THE MONSTER IN CONTEMPORARY FRENCH LITERATURE
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Dr Bruno M L Sibona
Semester
Intended for use in future years
Co-Requisite
ELM0220
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 9 hours
Seminars / Tutorials 11 hours
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment 1 X 3,500 WORD ESSAY  75%
Semester Assessment 2 ORAL PRESENTATIONS  25%
Supplementary Assessment ESSAY TO BE RESUBMITTED, IF FAILED  75%
Supplementary Assessment PIECE OF WRITTEN WORK IN LIEU OF ORAL WORK, IF FAILED  25%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

demonstrate a critical understanding of the key developments in French literature since 1870;

demonstrate a critical understanding of contemporary debates concering these developments;

articulate their own stance on these debates;

demonstrate a critical understanding of the complex relationship between literature and society in contemporary France;

demonstrate that they have mastered advanced skills as critical readers of culture;

demonstrate that they have mastered sophisticated analytical skills;

use secondary literature critically;

express themselves clearly, coherently and in a logical fashion, both orally and in writing;

demonstrate that they have a solid foundation for further postgraduate research.

Content

Thsi module will examinea range of key literary texts produced by late nineteenth and tewentieth-century authors writing in French. Through close textual analysis, students will explore the issues raised by French thinkers like Bachelard, Bataille, Callois, Merleau-Ponty, Deleuze and Derrida, examining how writers are tackling concepts such as alterity, animality, the body, the monster, and looking, for example, at the tensions between desire, social behaviour and artistic creativity.

1. Introductory lecture. (1 hour)
2. Lautreamont, 'Les Chants de Maldoror' (1h lecture, 1h seminar)
3. K.J.Huysmans, 'A Rebours' and 'La-bas' (1h lecture, 2h seminar)
4. A Breton, 'Signe ascendant' (1h lecture, 1h seminar)
5. G. Bataille, 'Histoire de l'oeil (1h lecture, 1h seminar)
6. Michel Leiris, 'Aurora' , H. Bazin 'Vipere au poing' (1h lecture, 2h seminar)
7. Denis Roche, 'Louve basse' (1h lecture, 1h seminar)
8. M. Darrieusecq, 'Truisme' (1h lecture, 1h seminar)
9. E. Savitzkaya, 'Sang de chien' and 'Les Morts sentent bon' (1h lecture, 1h seminar)
10. Concluding seminar. (1 hour)

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number n/a
Communication Participating in seminars and writing of essay will require student to express ideas clearly, cogently and coherently.
Improving own Learning and Performance Independent preperation/research for essays and seminars
Information Technology Students will be required to access bibliographical informatio and to submit word processed essays
Personal Development and Career planning Students will be expected to show an ability to manage their own timw effectively and to engage in independent lines of research in preparing their essays
Problem solving Selection of reading material, answering questions posed by written assessment, seminar work
Research skills Researching for essays and seminars
Subject Specific Skills Students will be required to read material in French in order to prepare for seminars and/or essays
Team work This will apply in the seminars

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7