28606 - French Literature I (First Language) L

Learning outcomes

The student knows and understands the basic elements which characterize literature in the French language, she/he is able to identify them in specific literary texts, and she/he is able to develop independently, at a more advanced level, certain cultural and literary themes which can then be applied to other literary texts.

Course contents

Voices that speak to each other in writing

The course aims to deepen the genre of the letter, a literary typology characterized by a deep assonance between voices and writing. Whether in the literary text there are two or more voices characterized by an exchange, or whether it is a single voice that addresses hypothetical or multiple recipients, the epistolary text is characterized by a deep assonance and a closeness between the written code and the oral code. During the course, literary texts in French of the extreme contemporary will be analyzed, which allow a reading of themes of great topicality: from the theme of the chosen exile to that of religious radicalism, from the evolution of the situation of women in Africa in the twentieth century to that of the historical story in the background of the Second World War. During the course these themes will also be analyzed through the language of cinema and the viewing of films or plays that stage questions similar to those of literary texts.

Readings/Bibliography

Excerpts from the following novels will be read in class (students are required to read the whole novels for the exam):

- Miriama Ba, Une si longue lettre (1979), Paris, Le serpent à plumes, 2001.

- Nancy Huston-Leila Sebbar, Lettres parisiennes: Histoires d'exil, Paris J'ai lu, 1999.

- Hélène Grémillon, Le confident, Paris, Folio, 2012.

- Rachid Benzine, Lettres à Nour,Paris, Points, 2019.

Teaching methods

During the course, only some passages of the novels will be read; the other parts will be individually read by students. Students will participate actively during text analysis.

Assessment methods

Only some excerpts from the required readings will be read in class; the remaining parts will be assigned as individual homework reading. Individual reading will be guided by suggestions and questions made available on the e-learning site Moodle. Textual analysis requires the active participation of students.

Teaching tools

During the course, some power point presentations of the authors and of their historical context will be offered. They will also be available on our e-learning platform, Moodle. The analysis of texts will be always enriched with existing literary criticism.

Office hours

See the website of Chiara Elefante