Unit information: Global French in 2020/21

Unit name	Global French
Unit code	FREN10011
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Damien Mooney
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	FREN10029 French Language
School/department	Department of French
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will encourage students to conceptualize the study of language and culture in a transnational framework and to consider French and French-language cultures within a global framework. It will introduce them to a selection of texts in French (films, literary, visual, spoken word) and specific historical contexts that highlight key themes of mobility, border-crossing, transnational/global identity and cultural exchange. The content of the unit will vary from year to year, but it aims to:

• provide students with an understanding of France’s colonial past and the contested notion of francophonie;
• explore the status and use of French outside of France from a sociolinguistic perspective, focusing on case studies in Europe, North America, Africa and the Caribbean, considering France's social and linguistic relationship with other francophone countries in Europe, as well as examining the linguistic implications of France's migratory and colonial legacies;
• discuss issues relating to European identity politics, tracing France’s relationship with the concept of Europe back through the Medieval and early modern worlds to the present-day European Union.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Successful students will:

a) Be able to demonstrate knowledge of a range of texts that engage with French and France in a global context.

b) Be able to use and think critically about key terms such as mobility, border, national, transnational.

c) Be able to evaluate and analyse relevant material from a significant body of primary and secondary source materials at a high level.

d) Be able to respond to questions or problems by presenting their independent judgements in an appropriate style and at a good level of complexity appropriate to Level C

e) Demonstrate good oral and written presentational skills and the ability to work in groups, as appropriate to Level C

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous sessions and asynchronous activities, including seminars, lectures, and collaborative as well as self-directed learning opportunities supported by tutor consultation.

Assessment Information

Formative: a seminar presentation (small group) testing ILOs a, b, d and e.

Summative: An individual ten-minute video presentation in French (30%) testing ILOs a-e, plus one essay of 1800-2000 words (70%) testing ILOs a-d.

Reading and References

French Global: A New Approach to Literary History. Eds. Christie McDonald and Susan Rubin Suleiman. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.

La Préférence nationale. Fatou Diome. Paris: Présence Africaine, 2001.

Ball, R. 1997. The French-Speaking World (London: Routledge)

Marley, D. et al. 1998. Linguistic Identities and Policies in France and the French-speaking World (London: CILT)

Walter, H. 1988. Le Français dans tous les sens (Paris: Laffont)

Bottici and Challand. 2013. Imagining Europe: Myth, Memory and Identity (Cambridge: CUP).