This course will introduce students to the history, culture politics and economics of post-war France. It will assume no prior knowledge of France, of literary and cultural studies or politics and economics. Key concepts from these disciplines will be introduced as necessary. Although delivered in self-contained lectures, the course is structured in a way so as to enable students to see how as to enable students to see how changes in one area impact upon others.

The first semester focusses on conflict and culture in post-war France, beginning with an exploration of the impact of the Second World War on French society. It will then proceed to analyse the impact of France’s empire and the bloody process of decolonisation on its sense of national identity. The module will then move onto explore the Algerian War (1958-62) before discussing the issues of post-war immigration and integration in contemporary France in a prescribed film. Throughout the semester, the emphasis will be on how war and conflict, both home and abroad, have shaped French society and its development.

The second semester returns to questions of colonialism/decolonisation by examining the political role of France in the world from the late nineteenth century to the contemporary period. The module will show how France became involved in colonial conquest and how her African empire came to be considered as vital to France's identity as a great power.  It will examine the process of decolonisation and how the loss of empire affected France’s role in the world.  It will show how France has, in the post-colonial period, sought to maintain her great power status through active military interventions overseas, an ambivalent stance towards globalisation and an enduring attachment to Europe.

The focus then turns to how France has been transformed from a rural economy and society, largely trading with her colonial empire to a modern post-industrial one firmly integrated into the European Union, as well as the impact of such developments on the social structures of modern France.

The course will then examine the presidential constitutional framework of modern France, how this was established and evolved, and how it is translated into practice. The role of the major political parties within this political system will also be examined.

On completion of this module, students should have:

• Furthered knowledge and understanding of the major wars and conflicts that have shaped France from the Second World War to the contemporary era
• Analysed and understood a range of cultural responses to such events
• Demonstrated an understanding of the role of literary and cultural media in mediating and debating the impact of war and conflict on French national identity, above all in the form of the short story, essay, photography and film
• demonstrated a broad understanding of aspects of, and developments in the economy and politics of modern France since World War Two, including:
•  the changing political role of France in the world from the late nineteenth century to the contemporary period
• aspects of  the transformation of France from a closed rural, agricultural economy and society to an open, post-industrial economy and society;
• the main institutions and actors of government in modern France and the evolution towards a system of semi-presidential government in France;
• developed transferable learning, research and organisational, communication and IT skills.

There will be 20 lectures and 8 seminars throughout the year. Lectures will highlight important background and contextual material and main trends and frameworks of analysis. Students will be expected to study outside the lectures and workshops, and will be encouraged to engage in research using the basic texts and wider bibliography as a starting point. They will be expected to read outside the basic syllabus, and to use the web critically to define up-to-date information. The total study time devoted to this module should be notionally 6-7 hours per week.

• Lectures will develop the student’s capacity to absorb information, including through note-taking.
• Workshops will develop the capacity to deploy this information and to integrate it with new information to produce well-constructed arguments
• Through the coursework essay students will practice and develop research skills and the capacity to deploy information in well-constructed arguments
• Coursework essays will enable students to practise and develop written presentation and work processing skills
• Coursework essays will enable students to develop and demonstrate their knowledge of aspects of post-war French history, culture, politics and economics
• Examination will test students’ knowledge and ability to produce coherent arguments under time pressure.

Essay - 1,500 words - 50% - Autumn semester

Exam - 2 hours - 50% - Spring exam period

Autumn semester

Week 1: Lecture – Introduction                                                                      

Week 2: Lecture – War and Occupation: The Second World War           

Week 3: Lecture – Cultural Responses to the Second World War :

Week 3: Workshop: exploring set text in detail                                

Week 4: Lecture: French Colonialism                                                                       

Week 5: Lecture: Cultural Responses to colonialism                                

Week 5: Workshop: exploring set text in detail                                                                    

Week 6: – Research Skills Workshop                                               

Week 6: Workshop: Essay writing advice and guidance                                                                           

Week 7: Lecture – The Algerian War (1954-62)                                         

Week 8: Lecture – Cultural Responses  to the Algerian War                   

Week 8: Workshop: exploring set text in detail        

Week 9: Lecture – Immigration and migration in post-war France                      

Week 10: Lecture – Cultural Responses to immigration in France                     

Week 10: Workshop: exploring set text in detail                                                      

Week 11: Lecture: course overview and assignment guidance   

Spring semester (all Lectures)

Week 1     France and her Empire

Week 2     France and Decolonisation

Week 3     France and World Politics: the End of the French Exception?

Week 4     France, Germany and the construction of Europe

Week 5     France and the Consequences of Europeanisation

Week 6    Study skills week

Week 7     The ‘trente glorieuses’: from an agricultural to an industrial economy

Week 8     The ‘trente piteuses’: deindustrialisation, crisis and unemployment

Week 9     Europeanisation and globalisation

Week 10    The Presidentialisation of French politics

Week 11     Party politics: from multiparty to bipolar politics?           

Note: Semesters may be switched due to staff availability

There is no main text book for this course and the following list is extensive but not exhaustive. Detailed guidance on recommended and secondary reading will be given week by week in the module kit.

Autumn semster

Claire Gorrara and Rachael Langford (eds.), France Since the Revolution: Texts and Contexts (Edward Arnold, 2003). There are 13 copies of this in the library; relevant chapters on the Second World War and French colonialism

James Macmillan (ed.), Modern France 1880-2002 (Oxford University Press, 2003)

David Howarth and Georgio Varouxakis, Contemporary France: An Introduction to French Politics and Society (Edward Arnold, 2003)

Martin Evans and Emmanuel Godin, France 1815-2003 (Edward Arnold, 2004). There is an excellent website also linked to this with additional texts, accessed via the University of Portsmouth’s School of European Studies website

Robert Gildea, France since 1945 (Oxford University Press, 2002)

Jill Forbes and Mike Kelly, French Cultural Studies (Clarendon Press, 1995)

Alex Hughes and Keith Reader, Encyclopaedia of Contemporary French Culture (Routledge, 1998)

Mike Kelly (ed.), French Culture: The Essentials (Edward Arnold, 2001)

Sian Reynolds and William Kidd, Contemporary French Cultural Studies (Edward Arnold, 2000)

Sarah Kay, Terence Cave and Malcolm Bowie, A Short Introduction to French Literature (Oxford University Press, 2003)

Peter France, New Oxford Companion to Literature in French (Oxford Univeristy Press, 1995)

Helen Drake, Contemporary France (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2011)

Spring semester

Ambler, J. (1985), The French Socialist Experiment

Ardagh, J. (2000), France in the new century: portrait of a changing society

Cole, A., le Galès, P and Levy, J. (2008) Developments in French politics 4

Daley, A. (1996), The Mitterrand Era

Drake, H. (2011) Contemporary France

Evans, M  and  Godin, E. (2004) France 1815-2003

Flockton, C. & Kofman, E. (1989), France

Flynn, G. ed. (1995), Remaking the Hexagon: The New France in the New Europe

Gildea, R. (2002), France since 1945

Guyomarch, A., Machin, H. and Hall, P. (2001), Developments in French Politics 2

Hanley, D.L., Kerr, A.P. and Waites, N. (1979), Contemporary France: politics and society

since 1945                                 

Hollifield, F. & Ross, G. (1991), Searching for the New France

Howarth, D. and Varouxakis, G. (2003), Contemporary France: An Introduction to French   

Politics and Society

Larkin, M. (1988), France since the Popular Front. Government and people 1936-1986

Maclean, M. and Szarka, J. eds (2008), France on the World Stage: Nation State Strategies in

the Global era

Ménière, L. (1993), Bilan de la France 1981-1993

Milner, S and Parsons, N. (2003), Reinventing France: State and Society in the 21^st Century

M. Parodi, et al. (2000), La question sociale en France depuis 1945

Perry, S. (1997), Aspects of Contemporary France

Raymond, G. ed. (1999), Structures of Power in Modern France

Ross, G ed. (1987), The Mitterrand Experiment. Continuity and change in modern France

A more detailed bibliography will be provided at the start of each semester.

None given