2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

FREN1023 Ab Initio Introduction to French Studies (Resistance and Desire)

20 creditsClass Size: 40

Module manager: Dr Richard Hibbitt
Email: r.hibbitt@leeds.ac.uk

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

Year running 2024/25

This module is mutually exclusive with

FREN1020

Introduction to French Studies

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module uses the guiding themes of resistance and desire to introduce you to the study of the culture, history, literature and society of France and its former colonies. Topics may include: the 1789 Revolution; colonial history; contemporary French cinema; the bande dessinée; and 19th-century fiction. Extra beginners’ seminars and a study skills lecture help you analyse French-speaking culture and prepare you for the assessments.

Objectives

This module aims to: 

1. introduce students, through lectures, to key approaches, themes and developments in French and Francophone Studies, embedded in the research context of the University of Leeds 

2. encourage students, through lectures, to think of French and Francophone Studies as an interdisciplinary field of study that includes literature, culture, history, politics and society  

3. support students, through seminars, and to engage with secondary literature and to develop a good general understanding of key principles in academic research  

4. teach students, through seminars, how to analyse a literary or filmic text coherently and with due attention to questions of context and form, both orally and in writing

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:

LO1.  recognise key approaches and discuss themes and concepts in French and Francophone Studies 

LO2. identify and critique the main arguments of a range of scholarly publications drawn from the discipline of French and Francophone Studies

LO3. analyse and evaluate through close reading the content and form of extracts from the set texts  
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:

SO1. locate primary and secondary materials in libraries and online  

SO2. present complex ideas and rigorous research in formal genres of academic writing in English, specifically a commentary and research essay 

SO3. analyse a range of primary materials, such as literature, film, media, political rhetoric, historical sources.

SO4. compare, contrast, analyse and evaluate academic secondary sources, assessing their strengths, weaknesses and methodologies.

Syllabus

Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	20	1.00	20.00
Seminar	15	1.00	15.00
Private study hours			165.00
Total Contact hours			35.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Progress is monitored by a) participation in and immediate oral feedback on seminars; b) written feedback on two practice assessments, one in each semester.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	Construction of an academic argument re-enforced with research	50.00
Source Analysis	Commentary: Close analysis of a primary source	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

The resits will take the same form.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 06/02/2024

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