Undergraduate Course: The Monster in French Literature (Ordinary) (ELCF09011)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course focuses on four texts published between 1870 and 1886, which are haunted by strange creatures composed in varying proportions of man and god, beast, machine, vegetable and mineral. The central question they raise is: what can we learn from these monsters about what it means to be human? |
| Course description |
Our primary texts are: _Les Chants de Maldoror_, by Lautréamont; _La Tentation de saint Antoine_, by Flaubert; and _L'Eve future_, by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. All are famous, influential, complex, fascinating, and disturbing, because of the way in which they question the boundaries between the human, the divine, the animal, and the machine. In our everyday lives, we simply assume that humans have certain rights, properties and abilities (such as free will and criminal responsibility) which animals and machines do not have; and that certain other rights and abilities, such as creation ex nihilo, can only be exercised by divinities. But what if people are also machines? What if gods turn out to be human? What if modern society and the triumph of science point to a collapse of our unique human status? How can we resist and retain our humanity - and do we want to? We will investigate these themes through close reading and comparison between the set texts. Seminars will be student-led. All discussion and assessment will be in French.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
French 2 (ELCF08001)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Ordinary Students and Visiting Students only |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | In order to be eligible to take 4th Year Options, Visiting Students should have the equivalent of at least two years of study at University level of the appropriate language(s) and culture(s).
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 1 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% Coursework:
1 x 600 word essay (20%)
1 x 1500 word essay (80%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- To demonstrate an advanced understanding of the literary texts studied in their socio-historical and ideological contexts, as well as a good understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks needed to analyse them.
- To select and apply relevant theoretical and methodological approaches in their critical evaluation of these texts, and to demonstrate mastery of relevant technical terminology and research methods.
- To assess and synthesise primary and secondary sources and to engage critically with these sources, showing awareness of nuance and an ability to work positively with persistent conceptual difficulties.
- To construct coherent arguments which engage effectively with the sources and the relevant contexts, including the linguistic detail of the texts in French, and to present them with a high level of clarity in both oral and written form.
- To demonstrate autonomy and initiative in their activities, carry out independent research under the guidance of the tutor, and to show awareness of their own and others¿ roles and responsibilities as part of a team
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
By the end of the course, students will have further developed their skills in the areas of research and enquiry, personal and intellectual autonomy, communication, and personal effectiveness. For further specification of these skills see the university¿s graduate and employability skills framework at http://www.employability.ed.ac.uk/documents/GAFramework+Interpretation.pdf |
| Keywords | DELC O Monster |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Peter Dayan
Tel: (0131 6)50 8424
Email: Peter.Dayan@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Elsie Gach
Tel: (0131 6)50 8421
Email: Elsie.Gach@ed.ac.uk |
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