This module will provide students with a clear and theoretically informed understanding of where France sits in the world in historical, cultural and political terms.

Over the course of the semester, students will engage with concepts, theories and approaches that are central to French Studies and to many disciplines related to the study of Modern Languages.

Teaching is divided into two themed blocks in which students will be introduced to, and encouraged to challenge, concepts of Culture and Representation and Identity. Each block will be introduced by school-wide lectures before students split into their specific languages for more in-depth study in the national context.

Some blocks may then take a more historical approach; others will emphasise critical analysis of different genres of cultural production.

Weekly learning activities will be structured around selected materials designed to allow close study and discussion of the topics explored leading students to a theoretically and methodologically informed understanding of French history, society and culture.

Lectures, seminar and workshops will guide students in their exploration of texts and other cultural artefacts in French. The materials examined in context may include historical documents, speeches, statistical data, official reports, literary texts, comics, photographs, and recordings.

1. Define a range of key concepts relevant to the study of French culture, history, and society within a transnational context;
2. Select and analyse key text-based and visual course materials;
3. Analyse how the cultural artefacts/texts studied relate to one another and to their context of production;
4. Defend, both orally and in writing, a theoretically reflected position on the topics and materials studied;
5. Build a coherent, evidence-based argument drawing on relevant secondary literature.

The module will be delivered through a range of interactive teaching sessions supplemented by online teaching and learning activities and materials – and may include, where relevant, asynchronous materials such as lecture recordings. Full details on the delivery mode of this module will be available on Learning Central at the start of the academic year – and may be, in part, determined by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales guidance.  

Students will be expected to engage in substantial independent study outside the classroom. They will be guided in this respect by the learning materials provided and related reading lists.

• Close reading;
• Critical thinking;
• Basic research skills;
• Organisational skills;
• Study skills;
• Writing skills;
• Word-processing skills;
• Presentation skills; and
• Self-awareness.

The method(s) of assessing the learning outcomes for this module are set out in the Assessment Table, which also contains the weightings of each assessment component.

Mapping of Assessements to Intended Learning Outcomes

Essay (100%): assesses Learning Outcomes 1 - 5

At the school wide, transnational level, students will explore the following topics:

• Culture
• Representation
• Identity
• Mainstream and Marginalised

In the French context students will normally explore:

• What is culture and how is it represented?
• Where is French culture?
• Exporting French culture: the mission civilisatrice, cultural diplomacy and la Francophonie
• Is there a darker side to French culture: an obsession with the French language and a rejection of foreign cultures
• Race, identity and belonging in the context of France’s history of slavery and colonialism
• The memorialisation of slavery and its legacies in contemporary France