Unit information: France at War 1940-1944: Experience and Aftermath (Level C Special Topic) in 2014/15

Unit name	France at War 1940-1944: Experience and Aftermath (Level C Special Topic)
Unit code	HIST14000
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Beaumont
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	HIST13003
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

During the Second World War, France was defeated, occupied, and divided. Beyond the glorified exploits of the resistance, the period is generally characterised by national humiliation, social upheaval, material hardship, and racial persecution. Small wonder, then, that it is common to refer to the period as ‘les années noires,’ or ‘the dark years.’ And since Liberation in 1944 the consequences of the conflict have made themselves felt in numerous controversies centring on the Vichy regime, collaboration with Nazi Germany, and Jewish persecution, as well as the role and scale of the resistance. This special topic traces the political, social, and cultural history of war, Occupation, and Liberation, before examining the tortured memory of the war in contemporary French society. As well as engaging with historiographical debate, we will explore this topic through a range of sources, including films, images, and the Internet.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit students should have:

• identified, analysed, and deepened their understanding of the significance of key themes

• understood the historiographical debates that surround the topic

• learned how to work with primary sources

• developed their skills in contributing to and learning from discussion in a small-group environment

Teaching Information

10x 2 hour weekly seminars

Assessment Information

1 x 2 hour exam

Reading and References

J.-P. Azéma, From Munich to the Liberation 1938-1944 (1984)

H. Diamond, Women and the Second World War in France 1939-1948 (1999)

S. Farmer, Martyred Village: Commemorating the 1944 Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane (1999)

S. Fishman et al (eds.), France at War: Vichy and the Historians (2000)

R.Gildea, Marianne in Chains: In Search of the German Occupation of France 1940-45 (2002)

R.Golsan, Vichy’s Afterlife: History and Counterhistory in Postwar France (2000)

J. Jackson, France: The Dark Years 1940-1944 (2001)

R.Kedward, In Search of the Maquis: Rural Resistance in Southern France 1942-1944 (1993)

R. O. Paxton, Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order 1940-44 (1972)

H. Rousso, The Vichy Syndrome: History and Memory in France since 1944 (1991)

R. Vinen,The Unfree French: Life under the Occupation (2006)