Introduction to French Culture
Code: 103361 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2501913 English and French | FB | 1 | 2 |
| 2502533 French Studies | FB | 1 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Maria del Mar García López
- Email:
- MariaMar.Garcia@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- (fre)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
Not applicable.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The Introduction to French Culture is a subject considered UAB Basic Training, scheduled for the first year of following undergraduate programs: French Studies and French and English Studies.
The aim of the course is to provide an introduction to historic, cultural, socio-economic, and political issues of the French-speaking world, and to the legacy of colonialism and post-colonialism, with particular attention to issues of linguistic, national, and racial identity.
This overview is illustrated with a range of written texts and audiovisual materials hailing from French-speaking countries that allow students to adquire a relativistic and critic perspective of “francophone cultures”.
Competences
- English and French
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- French Studies
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
Learning Outcomes
- Analysing a contemporary fact and relating it to its historical background.
- Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
- Establishing relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, politics, etc.
- Identifying the context of the historical processes.
- Interpreting the meaning of unknown words thanks to its context.
- Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
- Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
Content
1. TERRITOIRES, STÉRÉOTYPES, SYMBOLES
1.1. Géographie physique
1.2. Géographie politique
1.3. Géographie linguistique
1.4. La « Francophonie »
1.5. Les Français vus par…
1.6. Français, qui sommes-nous?
1.7. La “culture républicaine”
2. LES MYTHES FONDATEURS DE LA NATION
2.1. « Nos ancêtres les Gaulois »
2.2. Construction et francisation d'un royaume plurinational
2.3. L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution
2.4. Le XIXe siècle, siècle de révolutions
2.5. La Troisième République et l'apogée du légendaire national
2.6. La « Grande Guerre » (1914-1918)
2.7. La 2e Guerre mondiale (1939-1945)
2.8. Les Trente Glorieuses
2.9. La France actuelle
3. LES NON-DITS DE L'HISTOIRE RÉCENTE, LE « ROMAN NATIONAL »
3.1. La fracture coloniale: de l'empire colonial aux émeutes des banlieues
3.2. Les « indigènes » de la République
3.3. Lieux d'oubli de la Francophonie
3.4. Les nouveaux défis du modèle républicain
4. LES INDUSTRIES CULTURELLES
4.1. Un espace culturel francophone ?
4.2. Grands artistes
4.3. La musique populaire
4.4. La « République des lettres »
4.5. Les cinémas francophones
Methodology
-
All activities have a deadline that must be met, according to the proposed schedule.
-
Work by students mainly consists in assisting to the lectures, research and analysis of information, assignments and participation in guided discussions.
-
The readings are aimed to enable academic discussion, and thematic assigments.
-
The different exercises will be returned with comments and guidelines for further improvement.
-
The main tools used will be: course materials, complementary readings material, and course schedule.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 10 | 0.4 | 3, 4, 6 |
| Oral and written productions | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Supervising oral and written productions | 44 | 1.76 | 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal study | 60 | 2.4 | 1, 3, 5, 6 |
Assessment
Assessment
Observations
The above information on assessment is merely a guide. The lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.
Review
When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.
Missed/failed assessment activities
Students may retake assessment activities they have failed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.
The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities.
Classification as "not assessable"
In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.
Misconduct in assessment activities
Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the students involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject.
Students may not retake assessment activities in which they are found to have engaged in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation).
Plagiarism is considered to mean presenting all or part of an author's work, whether published in print or in digital format, as one's own, i.e. without citing it. Copying is considered to mean reproducing all or a substantial part of another student's work. In cases of copying in which it is impossible to determine which of two students has copied the work of the other, both will be penalised.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classroom participation | 10% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6 |
| Oral exercices and tests | 30% | 6 | 0.24 | 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6 |
| Written exercices and tests | 60% | 8 | 0.32 | 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6 |
Bibliography
Bibliography
Adoumié, Vincent (dir.). Géographie de la France. Hachette, 2013.
Avezou, Laurent. 100 Questions sur les mythes de l'histoire de France. Paris: Les Éditions de La Boétie, 2013.
Bancel, Nicolas. et al. Ruptures postcoloniales. Les nouveaux visages de la société française. Paris. La Découverte, 2010.
Blanchard, Pascal et al. Décolonisations françaises. La chute d'un empire. Éditions de la Martinière, 2020.
Boucheron, Patrick. (dir.). Histoire mondiale de la France. Le Seuil, 2017.
Citron, Suzanne. Le mythe national. L'histoire de France revisitée. Paris: Éditions de l'Atelier, 2008.
Être Français. Le Monde, hors-série, mars 2016.
Noiriel, Gérard. Une histoire populaire de la France. De la Guerre de Cent Ans à nos jours. Agone, 2018.
Prédal, René. Histoire du cinéma français. Des origines à nos jours. Nouveau monde éds., 2013.
Webography
Media
Le Monde: http://www.lemonde.fr/
Libération: http://www.liberation.fr/
Courrier international: http://www.courrierinternational.com
Le Figaro, http://www.lefigaro.fr
Les Inrockuptibles: http://www.lesinrocks.com/
L'Express: www.lexpress.fr/
Le Point: www.lepoint.fr/
Le Nouvel Observateur: http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/
Marianne: http://www.marianne.net/
Charlie Hebdo: http://charliehebdo.fr/
Africultures: http://www.africultures.com/
France Culture : https://www.franceculture.fr/
France Inter : https://www.franceinter.fr/
Radio France Internationale : https://www.rfi.fr/fr/
Arte: http://www.arte.tv/fr
TV5 monde : http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/enseigner-apprendre-francais/accueil_apprendre.php Arte: http://www.arte.tv/fr/70.html/
Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA): http://www.ina.fr/
Varia
Atlas sonore des langues régionales de France : https://atlas.limsi.fr/
BNF: http://classes.bnf.fr/index.php/
Encyclopédie Larousse en ligne : https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie
Hérodote. Le média de l'Histoire : https://www.herodote.net/
L'Histoire pour tous : https://www.histoire-pour-tous.fr/
La documentation française : www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/
Lumni enseignement : https://enseignants.lumni.fr/
Software
Open Office, Word.