Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
EU30020 French national option F6: French autobiography |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: CW 33%, ES 67% |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must take EU20009 |
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Aims: To promote an awareness of the motives of autobiography; to trace the evolution of autobiographical writing in France throughout the modern period and to examine ways in which writers have explored the themes of personal identity, memory, reality and imagination and the polarity between private and public history.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to: * Describe the historical development of autobiographical writing in France; * Explain the significance of evolving concepts of selfhood and the influence of such concepts on the role of the autobiographer; * Demonstrate an awareness of the complex relationship between fictional and factual reality in autobiographical writing; * Analyse the significance of memory in the creation of autobiographical truth; * Analyse and differentiate the variety of strategies employed by autobiographical writers for the purposes of persuasion, justification, self-analysis. Skills: Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, teamwork and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are developed and assessed in this unit. Language skills are developed in this unit. Content: History of autobiography and theories of autobiography; theories of selfhood and identity; the power of memory, nature and culture in the development of personality, with reference to a range of texts reflecting the development of autobiographical writing in French, including, but not limited to: J-P. Sartre, Les Mots, S. de Beauvoir, Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée, N. Sarraute, Enfance, G. Perec, W ou le souvenir d'enfance. |