THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : European Languages and Cultures - French

Undergraduate Course: Exploring Belgian Identities in Literature and Film (ELCF10070)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course explores a corpus of modern and contemporary Francophone Belgian sources (texts and film) in their socio-historical, literary and cultural contexts. We'll be considering the specificity of Belgium in relation to its colonial history and postcolonial contexts, its languages and communities, and its connections with neighbouring cultures and contexts.
Course description This Option will study the treatment of identity in a selection of modern and contemporary francophone Belgian writing. Through the close analysis of a selection of texts and films, the course aims to develop students' understanding of the numerous thematic, formal, generic and socio-historical issues raised by the representation of Belgian identities and experience, while at the same time familiarising them with the history and culture of Belgium generally. The course aims to develop knowledge and understanding of Belgian identity, history and culture through study of a selection of texts and films in which questions of identity are explored and often foregrounded.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: French 2 Literature and Culture (ELCF08012) AND French 2 Language (ELCF08013)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Entry to Honours in French
Additional Costs Purchase of primary texts studied.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  18
Course Start Semester 2
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 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) ***100% Coursework***

20% - Participation
20% - Presentation
60% - Coursework essay (1800 words)
Feedback The feedback given to you throughout the course is designed to help you improve your future work: you will be given both formative and summative feedback. Formative parts of the assessment: you will receive feedback on your presentation, and more generally on your participation in class and engagement with the course.
You are also encouraged to highlight specific aspects you would particularly like to have feedback on. During the course, your tutor will take time to invite feedback about the course, and to give feedback on progress thus far. From week 8 onwards (or earlier if you wish), you will be able to bring along an essay plan in time for the feedback to be useful for the end-of-course essay. You will also be given summative feedback on your end-of-course essay.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. To analyse a corpus of Francophone Belgian sources in their socio-historical, literary and cultural contexts.
  2. To apply theories, concepts and methodologies from approaches such as centre/periphery studies, multilingualism, and postcolonialism.
  3. To employ relevant technical terminology in film and literary analysis in their critical evaluation of the primary texts and film.
  4. To analyse the range and subtleties of register, vocabulary and grammatical and syntactical structures within the corpus.
  5. To construct coherent arguments in both oral and written form that engage effectively with the themes, sources and contexts.
Reading List
Set Texts
Suzanne Lilar, Une Enfance gantoise (Bruxelles: Labor, 1998), first published 1976.
Jean Muno, Histoire exécrable d'un héros brabançon (Bruxelles: Labor, 1998), first published 1982.
Bofane, Jean, Congo Inc.: Le testament de Bismarck (Arles : Actes Sud, 2014).

Amélie Nothomb, Stupeur et tremblements (1999) + Film.
Nicole Malinconi, Nous Deux/Da solo (Bruxelles: Labor, 2002), first published 1993 and 1998.

Pie Tschibanda, Un fou noir au pays des blancs (Bruxelles: Le Grand miroir, 2007).


Secondary reading
Bainbrigge, Susan, Culture and Identity in Belgian Francophone Writing: Dialogue, Diversity and Displacement (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2009).

L'identité culturelle de la Belgique et de la Suisse francophones, ed. by Paul Gorceix (Paris: Honoré Champion, 1997).

Jack, Belinda, Francophone Literatures: An Introductory Survey (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996). Chapter on Belgium
Quaghebeur, Marc, Balises pour l'histoire des Lettres belges de langue française (Bruxelles: Labor, 1998)

Further dissertation reading
Berg, Christian, and Pierre Halen, Littératures belges de langue française: Histoire et Perspectives (1830-2000) (Bruxelles: Le Cri, 2000).

Bertrand, Jean-Pierre, Michel Biron, Benoît Denis and Rainier Grutman, Histoire de la littérature belge (1830-200) (Paris: Fayard, 2003).

Joiret, Michel, and Marie-Ange Bernard, Littérature belge de langue française (Bruxelles: Didier Hatier, 1999).

Paque, Jeannine, 'Le Geste autobiographique dans la littérature féminine: une esthétique', Textyles 9 (1993), 273-86 (in EdUL).

___. 'Des Femmes écrivent', Textyles, 14 (1997), 77-94 (in ED UL).

Quaghebeur, Marc, Anthologie de la littérature française de Belgique: Entre réel et surréel (Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006).
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
KeywordsDELC Belg IDs
Contacts
Course organiserDr Susan Bainbrigge
Tel: (0131 6)50 8417
Email: Susan.Bainbrigge@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Claire Hand
Tel: (0131 6)50 8421
Email: claire.hand@ed.ac.uk
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