99023 - FRENCH LITERATURE

Learning outcomes

The course provides students with historical and literary knowledge of 20th and 21st century French literature and teaches them how to critically analyze literary texts. By the end of the course, students will acquire the basic elements (content and methodology) for an analysis of French culture and literature, with particular reference to the relationship between literary texts and history, language and the arts. They will know and be able to use critical methodologies to read and analyze literary texts and will be able to independently elaborate further cultural and literary notions and apply them to a wide range of other literary texts.

Course contents

The course explores the political dimension and engagement of literature by analysing a corpus of works of the French contemporary extreme. Returning to and at the same time overcoming the age-old debate between “littérature engagée” (“engaged literature”) and “l'art pour l'art” (“art for art’s sake”), some authors now claim "la puissance d'action de la langue et le pouvoir politique des formes" (Gefen 2022). By choosing socially relevant topics – an intrinsically political choice itself -, narration can be used to depict reality, revealing mechanisms of power, inequalities, and discrimination, and contributing to changing our perception of the world and giving the reader a new perspective. Far from adopting a prescriptive or moralistic approach, literature can thus be useful to better understand the world, to give it a political meaning and in some way to make it a better place.

Different text types and genres will be analyzed: an eco-feminist dystopian novel, a partially autobiographical coming-of-age novel, and a graphic novel with its interplay between text and illustrations. The works examined will also allow us to explore, starting from the Francophone cultural and literary framework, key issues such as ecology, gender and LGBTQ+ issues, body and reproductive rights, inequalities and discrimination, identities, family relationships, and language, including gender neutrality and non-binary gender, racism and ethnic conflicts.

Finally, the connections (and adaptations) between the novel and other multimedia narrative forms, such as the graphic novel and the documentary film, will also be explored.

 

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BAES Students are reminded that:
- the course “French literature" is offered only at the Forlì campus;
- the BAES study plan awards 6 ETCS for the “French literature" course.
In order to reach 6 ECTS, BAES students should:
- attend all lectures and carry out the assessments, plus the final oral exam, as every other student enrolled in the course.
Further information will be provided in class at the beginning of the course.

Readings/Bibliography

Marie Darrieussecq [2017](2019) Notre vie dans les forêts, Paris : Gallimard, coll. Folio.

Gaël Faye [2016](2017) Petit pays, Paris: Le livre de poche.

Sylvain Savoia, Sowa, Marzena, Gaël Faye (2024) Petit pays, Paris: Dupuis.

Fabrice Melquiot, Isabelle Pralong (2021) Polly, Genève : La joie de lire.

Teaching methods

Attendance and participation are highly encouraged. During the lectures, only excerpts from the works included in course bibliography will be read, so students are required to read the assigned readings in advance. Some initial lectures will be followed by class discussions, in which active participation of and by the students is required. Individual reading work will be guided by the lecturer, who will provide reading ideas and further insights into the authors, works and themes covered, placing them in the context of existing literary criticism and cultural and gender studies (a selected bibliography will be provided during the course).

Assessment methods

The final exam will be an oral test. Students will be asked to answer questions about the authors and themes covered in the course, connecting them with each other and demonstrating that they have also mastered the theoretical and methodological tools presented and are able to add personal considerations and insights into the analysis of the texts discussed.

Evaluation grid

30-30L excellent test that demonstrates very broad, thorough and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, a solid ability to apply theoretical concepts and an excellent command of exposition, as well as an excellent capacity for analysis, synthesis and elaboration of interdisciplinary connections

27-29 above average test that demonstrates precise and thorough knowledge of the subject matter, good ability to apply theoretical concepts, and capacity for analysis and synthesis, accurate and correct exposition

24-26 good test that demonstrates appropriate knowledge of the subject matter, a fair understanding of the application of theoretical concepts, and an articulate presentation of the subject matter

21-23 adequate test that demonstrates appropriate but not in-depth knowledge of the subject, only partial capacity to apply theoretical concepts, and an acceptable presentation of the content

18-20 barely sufficient test that demonstrates adequate but general knowledge of the subject matter, simple exposition, uncertainties in the application of theoretical concepts

Insufficient test that does not demonstrate adequate acquisition of knowledge of the subject matter that is fragmentary and superficial, with errors in the application of concepts, and poor exposition

 

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Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: [https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students] . The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Teaching tools

Material available on the Virtuale page

Office hours

See the website of Roberta Pederzoli