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2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

FREN3490 Post-Holocaust Culture in France

20 creditsClass Size: 24

Module manager: Professor Max Silverman
Email: m.silverman@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2016/17

Pre-requisite qualifications

Successful completion of Level 2 French or equivalent at the discretion of the Course Director.

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

The Holocaust has left a profound mark on the post-war world. Not only have historians and political scientists grappled with the nature of this event but those in the arts and philosophy have also reflected on its import.This module considers some of the ways in which French post-war culture and thought have attempted to represent the Holocaust. It will also examine the changing representation of the Jew in post-Holocaust culture.Through analysis of selected fiction, film, testimony and theory we will discuss the following issues: crisis and apocalypse; history and memory; writing and representation; oppression and resistance; trauma, disavowal and testimony; assimilation and difference; ethics.

Objectives

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

1. show knowledge of major representations of the Holocaust in French fiction and film;
2. examine critically some of the major theoretical debates around representing the Holocaust and the figure of 'the Jew';
3. relate these representations and theoretical debates to wider historical and cultural processes in the post-war period;
4. form cogent and persuasive arguments, both orally and in writing, on the issues central to the module.

Skills outcomes
Enhanced skills in written and oral French in an academic register.

Syllabus

This module considers some of the major ways in which the Holocaust and the idea of 'the Jew' have been represented in post-war French fiction, film and theory. It will entail analysis of a selection of novels, films and philosophical texts to ask the following questions: why have the Holocaust and the idea of 'the Jew' become such powerful sites for the investigation of some of the major concerns, fears and desires of our age; to what extent does post-war philo-semitism converge with/diverge from pre-war anti-Semitism; what is the influence of postmodern theory on post-Holocaust culture; what effect has an understanding of the Holocaust had on more general developments in French culture and theory.

During the course we will touch on the following issues: crisis and apocalypse; history and memory; writing and representation; oppression and resistance; trauma, disavowal and testimony; ethics.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Seminar	21	1.00	21.00
Private study hours			179.00
Total Contact hours			21.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

- 180 hrs: 6 hrs reading and preparation for each lecture/seminar = 120 hrs
- 30 hrs for exam revision
- 30 hours preparation of assessed essay.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

1 seminar presentation on one of the works studied and participation in seminar discussion.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2,500-3,000 words in French	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	2 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 25/05/2016

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