| Unit name | Shaping France |
|---|---|
| Unit code | FREN10008 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Raymond |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of French |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The unit provides students with an overview of issues pertaining to the history, culture and identity of contemporary France by examining key moments and themes in the development of France as a political and cultural entity from the Middle Ages to the present. It will give students a better understanding of the evolving nature of French national identity, of the French Republic, and of its position in Europe and the world across the centuries in order to better comprehend the issues facing French national identity in the contemporary world. It involves a weekly lecture, and a weekly seminar some of which are conducted in French.
After following the unit students will have acquired a basic knowledge of the historical background to contemporary French society and culture, a range of skills and techniques for obtaining, researching and analysing this material, and competence in the appropriate linguistic register (oral and written) for presenting such research.
One weekly lecture plus one weekly seminar over 11 weeks/one teaching block.
The unit will be assessed by coursework only. Students are required to submit two coursework essays, the first of which must be written in English, the second in French. Essays should be between 2000 and 2500 words long. Titles and deadlines will be given in the dossier that accompanies this unit.
After following the unit you will have acquired a basic knowledge of the historical background to contemporary French society and culture, acquired a range of skills and techniques for obtaining, researching and analysing this material, and competence in the appropriate linguistic register (oral and written) for presenting such research.
Fuller details of the content of the units and the assessment arrangements are given in the unit dossier. To support your work in this unit, you must develop the habit, if you have not already acquired it, of consulting French newspapers and magazines, and listening to French radio, on a regular basis.
Labrune, Gérard and Toutain, Philippe, L'Histoire de France (Paris: Nathan) ISBN-10: 2091830984 /ISBN-13: 978-2091830988
Evans, Martin and Godin, Emmanuel, France 1815-2003 (Hodder Arnold, 2004) ISBN-10: 0340761415 /ISBN-13: 978-0340761410
Jones, Colin, The Cambridge Illustrated History of France (CUP: 1999)
NB All three are recommended reading. A detailed bibliography will be supplied in the unit handbook.
