2018/19 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

FREN3860 French Popular Culture

20 creditsClass Size: 24

Module manager: Dr David Platten
Email: d.p.platten@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2018/19

Pre-requisite qualifications

Ability to study a module taught in French, usually evidenced by having completed level 2 of a degree programme including French.

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Research into popular culture has tended to focus either on the discourse of the popular, or on its sociological and anthropological aspects, which has arguably been to the detriment of our understanding of how popular culture is produced and consumed. This module starts from the premise that works broadly categorised as popular are conceived as acts of creativity and invention. In relation to three popular genres that have achieved prominence in contemporary French society – the bande dessinée, popular film and television drama, and the roman noir - it will probe questions of aesthetic value and assess the impact of these works on public debate. It will explore the interface between cultural production and the evolution of modern and contemporary French society, asking specifically whether popular culture is fundamentally conservative or progressive, whether it reflects or effects changes in society.

Objectives

On completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Respond critically to different modes and genres of creative expression within modern and contemporary French popular culture;
2. Apply different cultural and social theories to the study of popular forms and in so doing build on current thinking around the impact and pre-eminence of popular culture on and in contemporary French society;
3. Develop an approach to the study of popular forms from an 'intermedial' perspective;
4. Explore notions of cultural value and assess the extent to which the popular creative arts bear on public debate;
5. Evidence their ability to initiate and conduct original research in the field of French popular culture;
6. Evidence an enhanced understanding of the nuances and resources of the French language in relation to the study of popular culture.

Learning outcomes
1. A deeper understanding of how French popular culture is produced and consumed;
2. Knowledge of the theoretical discourse and policy frameworks which orientate the processes by which popular culture is created and received;
3. Appreciation of how meaning is created within different popular genres, of how narratives circulate and of how critical judgements are made, and of the impact of popular forms of creative expression on public debate;
4. Exposure to, and possibly participation in, the latest, interdisciplinary research into (French) popular culture;
5. Confidence in ability to prosecute original research in a vibrant field of study.
6. Enhanced linguistic competence overall and specifically with reference to the fields dealt with.

Skills outcomes
Cultural awareness; ability to analyse critically a range of creative material (prose fiction, film, tv drama, graphic novel); ability to understand and apply different theories of cultural practice.

Syllabus

The module will investigate three forms of popular expression or genres: the bande dessinée (comics or graphic novel); film and television drama; and French noir (crime fiction), with three weeks (six hours) dedicated to each. Examples will include the first volume of Marjane Satrapi’s BD Persepolis (Paris: L’Association, 2000), the first series of the television drama Les Revenants (Canal +, 2012) and Leïla Slimani’s novel Chanson douce (Paris: Gallimard, 2016). A definitive list of set texts will be issued to those students who register for the module.



Starred Secondary Reading:

Popular culture -

John Fiske, Understanding Popular Culture (London : Unwin Hyman, 1989)

Diana Holmes and David Looseley eds., Imagining the Popular in Contemporary French Culture (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013)

Henry Jenkins III, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (New York / London: Routledge, 1992)

Dominic Strinati, An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture (London / New York: Routledge, 2004)

The bande dessinée –

Thierry Groensteen, Système de la bande dessinée (Paris: PUF, 1999)
- Un objet culturel non identifié (Angoulême : Éditions de l’an 2, 2006)

Laurence Grove, Text/Image Mosaic in French Culture : Emblems and Comic Strips (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005)

Ann Miller, Reading Bande Dessinée: Critical Approaches to French Language Comic Strip (Bristol: Intellect, 2007)

Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: the Invisible Arts (New York: HarperCollins, 1993)

Film and television –

Trisha Dunleavy, Television Drama: Form, Agency, Innovation (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)

François Jost, Le culte du banal. Du Duchamp à la téléréalité (Paris : CNRS Editions, 2013)

Lucy Mazdon ed., France on Film: Reflections on Popular French Cinema (London: Wallflower Press, 2001)

A.J. Mitchell, Visual Effects for Film and Television (Oxford: Focal, 2004)
Isabelle Vanderschelden and Darren Waldron eds., France at the Flicks: Trends in Contemporary French Popular Cinema (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007)

French Noir -

Claire Gorrara ed., French Crime Fiction (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2009)

David Platten, The Pleasures of Crime: Reading Modern French Crime Fiction (Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, 2011)

Jean-Bernard Pouy, Une brève histoire du roman noir (Paris: Points, 2016)

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Seminar	20	1.00	20.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Students are expected to engage thoroughly with the primary material, and prepare for seminars in the light of research questions foregrounded in lectures. Each student will have the opportunity in pairs to devise and design a seminar class, which will be delivered to the group. Students will be required to produce a formative essay on work covered during Semester 1. In consultation with the module leader they will determine an original question for their module essay, which they will research. In the light of guidance given by the module leader they will revise for their end-of year examination.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Student progress will be monitored via feedback on active participation in workshops that will include a 'debriefing' session. Individual consultations will be offered for the module essay and preparation for the examination and extensive feedback given on the assessed essay will be issued prior to the closed examination. All students will have the opportunity to discuss progress with the seminar leader outside of the stipulated contact time.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	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: 03/05/2018

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