| Unit name | Shaping Contemporary France |
|---|---|
| Unit code | FREN10027 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hurcombe |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of French |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The unit provides an overview of issues pertaining to the history, culture and identity of contemprorary France. The unit progresses chronologically, beginning with the French Revolution and associated politico-historical events and ideas, including the notion of the Republic; through major events which have impacted upon the nation (WW1, WW2, European integration); ending with current debates and social problems: immigration, integration and parity. The unit is thus organised around 3 thematic islands: 1) Citizenship/Nation/State, 2) France and Europe, 3) Inclusion/Exclusion.
Aims:
All students will follow the unit entitled Shaping Contemporary France in TB2. (For Law with French students it is an option.) The unit aims to provide students with an overview of issues pertaining to the history, culture and identity of contemporary France. It will give a better understanding of the nature of the French Republic, of its position in Europe and the contemporary world, and of current social issues. It involves a weekly lecture, and a weekly seminar some of which are conducted in French.
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.
There are no set texts next year, but we recommend that you buy your own copy of one or both of the following texts:
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 These works will be of use not only for this unit, but for others offered later in the Department.
