29063 - French Literature (1) (2nd cycle)

Academic Year 2020/2021

  • Docente: Anna Soncini
  • Credits: 6
  • SSD: L-LIN/03
  • Language: French

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to analyse a French literary text, by making reference to the theory of the text and by developing his awareness concerning the workings of the textual production within one of the main tradition of the European culture. He will improve, as far as possible, his knowledge of the relationship between general literature and particular literature, as well as his own stylistic skills.

Course contents

Europe through the wars.

The aim of the course is to have a look at the cultural complexity of Europe that wars have brought to light, to analyse that through the thinking of writers and their works.

A "journey" that begins with the First World War and reaches the complexity of today's institutional "wars".

Readings/Bibliography

First part :  (6, 9 et 12 ECTS) : L’incompréhension

Maurice Maeterlinck, Le sel de la vie (1919), http://ae-lib.org.ua/texts/maeterlinck__le_sel_de_la_vie__fr.htm

Georges Simenon, Les gens d’en face, Fayard, 1933

Vercors, Le silence de la mer, (Les éditions de minuit, 1942), Livre de Poche, 2018

Second part (9 et 12 ECTS): La tentative de (se) comprendre

Marguerite Duras, Hiroshima, mon amour, Folio, 2011 (1959)

Christine Arnothy, J’ai quinze ans et je ne veux pas mourir, suivi de Il n’est pas facile de vivre, Fayard, 1981

Bernard-Henri Lévi, Hotel Europa, Marsilio, 2014 (con testo a fronte)

M. Calligaro, E. Cardère, Le compromis, Editions Rivages 2019

Third part (12 ECTS):Computer analysis of the texts. It is, thanks to the experience of Eleonora Marzi, a textometry laboratory, which, based on the texts in the program, aims to develop linguistic and literary analytical skills. The basic theories are those of Distant Reading [Franco Moretti]

Theoretical bases :

Paul Valéry, La crise de l’esprit, Edition Manucius, 2016 (1919)

Albert Camus, Lettres à un ami allemand (1943 – 1944), in https://montaiguvendee.fr/cms/uploads/pdf/Bibliotheque/Camus/Camus_Lettres_ami_allemand.pdf

Pascal Dethurens, De l'Europe en littérature. Création littéraire et culture européenne au temps de la crise de l'esprit (1918-1939)

Studente « frequentante ». The student must know the issues, the texts and the analyzes carried out during the course and bring his/her personal analysis of two texts to the program for the 6 credits, three works for the 9 and 12 credits. The latter must also provide an analysis made on the basis of the Textometry Laboratory.

Not attending student :

6 ECTS:

a text of your choice among the theoretical texts; the personal analysis of two works of the program

9 ECTS :

a text of your choice among Paul Valéry, La crise de l’esprit et Albert Camus, Lettres à un ami allemand (1943 – 1944)

et

Pascal Dethurens, De l'Europe en littérature. Création littéraire et culture européenne au temps de la crise de l'esprit (1918-1939)

The personal analysis of three texts among :

Maurice Maeterlinck, Le sel de la vie (1919)

Georges Simenon, Les gens d’en face

Vercors, Le silence de la mer,

Marguerite Duras, Hiroshima, mon amour

Christine Arnothy, J’ai quinze ans et je ne veux pas mourir, suivi de Il n’est pas facile de vivre

Bernard-Henri Lévi, Hotel Europa,

M. Calligaro, E. Cardère, Le compromis

12 ECTS :

une œuvre au chois entre Paul Valéry, La crise de l’esprit et Albert Camus, Lettres à un ami allemand (1943 – 1944)

et

Pascal Dethurens, De l'Europe en littérature. Création littéraire et culture européenne au temps de la crise de l'esprit (1918-1939)

L’analyse de quatre œuvres parmi :

Maurice Maeterlinck, Le sel de la vie (1919)

Georges Simenon, Les gens d’en face

Vercors, Le silence de la mer,

Marguerite Duras, Hiroshima, mon amour

Christine Arnothy, J’ai quinze ans et je ne veux pas mourir, suivi de Il n’est pas facile de vivre

Bernard-Henri Lévi, Hotel Europa,

M. Calligaro, E. Cardère, Le compromis

Teaching methods

The teaching methods will concern the literary history and the textual analysis.

 

Several professors coming from other universities will participate in the course.

Assessment methods

Oral exam.

The assessment consist in an oral examination of everything that has been proposed in class. Will be evaluated the critical and methodological capacities of the student, who must offer his own analytical reading of one novels of his choice among the novels proposed during the course. The student must demonstrate his own ability to read and analyze a text by interacting with the issues and theoretical texts proposed in class. A broad view of the problem, linked to a specific ability to analyze texts, the demonstration of a good knowledge of the French language are appreciated. The flat and repetitive knowledge of the work, an incorrect language leads to an average evaluation. With large gaps or insufficient knowledge of the language the oral exam is assessed negatively.

Teaching tools

A textometry program will be used with students who have chosen to have 12 ECTS

Office hours

See the website of Anna Soncini

SDGs

Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.