2022/23 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

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

20 creditsClass Size: 100

Module manager: Nigel Saint
Email: n.w.saint@leeds.ac.uk

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

Year running 2022/23

Co-requisites

FREN1012	French for Beginners (A1 of the CEFR)
FREN1013	Pre-Intermediate French (A2 of the CEFR)

This module is mutually exclusive with

FREN1020

Introduction to French Studies

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module, taught primarily in English and through a combination of weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars, 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. A typical selection of topics would be: the 1789 Revolution, with its principles of liberté, égalité, fraternité; Emile Zola’s short novel Thérèse Raquin, a story of deadly desire, crime and 19th-century city life; contemporary French cinema, through Claire Denis’s Beau Travail (1999), about the trials and tribulations of an ex-Foreign Legion officer in Djibouti; Marjane Satrapi’s bande dessinée (graphic novel) Persepolis (2000), about a young Iranian exile in France; and the complex relationships between France and its former colonies via a short story by French Guadeloupean writer Gisèle Pineau, 'Paroles de terre en larmes'. We also offer a study skills lectures designed to help you analyse French-speaking culture and prepare you for the assessments, as well as language enhancement seminars to assist with the transition to the study of texts in French. The module is designed to give a general introduction to the range of French Studies available at Leeds via the research interests of teaching staff.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students will be able to:
- demonstrate an initial understanding of the development of French-speaking cultures and histories, with particular reference to those periods studied in more detail;
- analyse works from literature, cinema and other genres coherently and with due attention to questions of context and form, both orally and in writing ;
- discuss aspects of the history and culture of the French-speaking world clearly and coherently in written form.

Learning outcomes
1. knowledge of some key developments in French-speaking cultures during the periods studied in detail;
2. knowledge of some key aspects of the history of France, including colonial and post-colonial history.
3. in-depth knowledge of selected cultural texts from the French-speaking world
4. in-depth knowledge of selected historical texts

Skills outcomes
- Nurturing beginners’ language skills in French (reading and listening)
- Analysis of complex literary texts.

Syllabus

The module adopts a theme-based approach, in the first instance using the potent and multi-faceted concepts of 'resistance' and 'desire' to make connections between different periods and between themes that weave through French-speaking culture. Other themes may be used to connect texts in the future.

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

Private study

Weekly reading and discussion topics are assigned to enable you to benefit from the seminars and ongoing programme of lectures. Students should expect to spend an average of 5 hours per week (including two reading weeks, one each semester) preparing for lectures and seminars, including private reading, note-taking, viewing visual material, consultation of online resources, and preparation for unassessed group seminar presentations. Total = 110 hours.
Students should spend a further 55 hours of private study preparing, researching and writing their assessments.

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	Essay: 1250 words in English	50.00
Assignment	Commentary: 1000 words in English	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

A choice of formative essay and commentary questions are made available for each unit from week 1. A formative essay is submitted in the January assessment period and a formative commentary in the last week of teaching in term 2 (before Easter.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 07/10/2022

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