FR620 MEMORY AND CHILDHOOD IN TWENTIETHCENTURY FRENCH FICTION Stage II 15 credits Module Convener: Dr Thomas Baldwin

(t.baldwin@kent.ac.uk) Office Hours: Tuesday 46pm, CNW 151 CONTENTS 1. About this module 1.1 Why take this module? 1.2 Personal development 1.3 How the module will be taught 1.4 Assessment, deadlines, plagiarism, feedback 1.5 Academic support and management 1.6 Learning resources 2.Order of seminars 3. Bibliography 4.Topics for oral presentations and coursework essays 4.1 Essay presentation 5.Some notes on group presentations * * *

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About this module

It is commonly accepted that identity or a sense of self is constructed by and through narrative the stories we tell ourselves and each other about our lives. This module explores the complex relationships that exist between memory, nostalgia, writing and identity in a range of twentieth-century autobiographical and first- and third-person fictional works in French. These texts foreground issues of childhood, memory, history and trauma in the construction of identity. 1.1 Why take this module? To explore in depth a range of twentieth-century literary works in French which reflect on the nature of childhood, memory, and memories of childhood To reflect on the role and significance of memory and childhood in a variety of literary genres To develop analytical skills for the study of narrative technique and structure To engage in close reading and evaluation of literary texts To engage in independent research in the library collections To participate in oral presentations, group discussion and critical assessment By taking this module, you will: Develop the habit of accuracy in spoken and written French
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 Develop your ability to write cogent, well-constructed essays supported by textual evidence Develop your oral presentational ability in French Acquire experience of working in a group and of initiating and participating in group discussion of issues raised Develop your ability to run seminars independently Enhance your independent research skills 1.2 How the module will be taught One weekly two-hour seminar, for which discussion topics are set in advance (see sections 2 & 4 below)

Student commitments to this module will be six hours per week, two contact hours in the classroom and four hours of study and preparation

Seminars will normally be taught partly in French, partly in English You will be asked to prepare a short oral presentation in French and to contribute to general discussion: your preparedness and willingness to contribute will be viewed as being at least as important as your level of spoken French Time will be made available for supervision and discussion of essays, etc. (in the form of a feedback session and your Seminar Leaders office hours) 1.3 Assessment, deadlines, plagiarism, feedback Assessment
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The final mark for the module will be composed of the following elements: Essay: 30% Oral Presentation/Participation: 20% Examination: 50%

You will be required to write one essay (in English or French) of approximately 1,5002,000 words in length. This essay will be based on your reading and analysis of both primary and secondary texts. You will also be required to give one oral presentation in French of approximately twenty minutes. The examination will take place in the Summer Term. It will be two hours long; you will be required to answer two questions. Deadlines

Essays are due in Friday of Week 20: please submit one hard copy, with a completed cover sheet, to CNW112 by 14:00

Each paper copy should be stapled or paper-clipped

You should also submit an electronic copy of your essay through Moodle from the link on the module page, by the deadline. Once you have fully submitted your essay you will be presented with a digital receipt. This is proof that you have submitted your assignment so you must print this or at least make a note of the paper ID. Essay deadlines must be strictly adhered to and no extension can be granted without concessionary
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evidence. Failure to submit coursework without evidence will result in a mark of zero. Plagiarism and Duplication of Material Any student who is found to have plagiarized in work presented for assessment will be penalized with a very low mark (which may be a mark of zero). Work produced for one assessment component (e.g. essay or presentation) should not be duplicated in another (e.g. exam).

Please refer to: http://www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/quality/credit/creditinfoanne x10.html If you have any doubts as to whether or not you are in danger of plagiarizing material, please ask your Seminar Leader or Personal Tutor. Feedback All students will receive feedback on their coursework in a feedback session in week 23. 1.4 Academic support and management Contact your Seminar Leader regarding any query about module content Contact the Module Convener if you have any feedback concerning the management of the module

If you need to talk about any problems affecting your work please contact the Student Support Secretary, Mrs Elaine
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Gilman, who will be able to assess your needs and give you advice accordingly. She can be contacted at M.E.Gilman@kent.ac.uk, by telephone on 01227 827144, or alternatively you may see her in her office: CNW111.

See http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/local/index.html for school policies on:

Concessions and extensions (which are not given without very good reason) NB: marks are taken off for poor

Marking criteria. word limits

spelling, punctuation and grammar and for exceeding Referencing and Bibliography style In addition to link above: plagiarism (which is not tolerated under any circumstances) 1.5 Learning resources

Seminar notes will be posted on Moodle

See below for Bibliography 1.6 Personal development

By the end of the module you will have achieved a high level of literacy and familiarized yourself with the following Key Skills: Information searches)

Technology

(e.g.

word

processing,

data

Communication and Team Building (through presentations, given either individually or in groups)

Problem Solving (by undertaking private research in the University library or through the WWW)
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2.

Order of seminars Annie Ernaux, La Place Sylvie Germain, LEnfant mduse Germain II Georges Perec, W ou le souvenir denfance Reading Week Marie NDiaye, En famille NDiaye II Marcel Proust, Combray (Essay due

Week 13: Week 14: Week 15: Week 16: Week 17: Week 18: Week 19: Week 20: Friday 2pm) Week 21: Week 22: Week 23: Week 24: 3. Bibliography Primary Texts

Reading Week Proust II Coursework Feedback Seminar Conclusion/Revision

Annie Ernaux, La Place (Paris: Gallimard, 2007) Sylvie Germain, LEnfant mduse (Paris: Gallimard, 1991) Georges Perec, W ou le souvenir denfance (Paris: Denol/Gallimard, 1975)

Marie NDiaye, En famille (Paris: Minuit, 1990) Marcel Proust, Combray (first part of Du ct de chez Swann [Paris: Gallimard, 1976])

Secondary Texts (all available in Templeman Library) Ernaux Ernaux, Annie, La Place (London: Routledge, 1987)
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Day, Loraine and Tony Jones, La Place/Une femme (Glasgow: University of Glasgow Press, 1995) Mcllvaney, Siobhan, Annie Ernaux: The Return to Origins (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2001) Thomas, Lyn, Annie Ernaux: An Introduction to the Writer and her Audience (Oxford: Berg, 1999) Germain Germain, Sylvie, Tobie des marais (Paris: Gallimard, 1998) Boblet, Marie-Hlne, Alain Goulet, Anne Roche, and Grard Pouloin, eds, LUnivers de Sylvie Germain (Caen: Presses Universitaires de Caen, 2008) Dotan, Isabel, and Jacqueline Michel, eds, Sylvie Germain et son uvre (Paris: EST, 2006)

Perec Bellos, David Georges Perec: A Life in Words (London: Harvill, 1993) Motte, W.F., The Poetics of Experiment: a Study of the Work of Georges Perec (French Forum, 1984) Lejeune, Philippe, La Mmoire et loblique: Georges Perec autobiographe (Paris: POL, 1991) Schwartz, Paul Georges Perec: A Trace of His Passage (Birmingham: Summa, 1988) Sheringham, Michael French Autobiography: Devices and Desires: Rousseau to Perec (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993) NDiaye Hertich, Alexander, The Search for Place and Identity in Marie NDiayes En famille, The French Review, 78/4 (March 2005), 71827 Roussos, Katherine, Dcoloniser limaginaire: du ralisme magique chez Maryse Cond, Sylvie Germain et Marie NDiaye (Paris: LHarmattan, 2007) Sarrey-Strack, Colette, Fictions contemporaines au fminin: Marie Darrieussecq, Marie NDiaye, Marie Nimier, Marie Redonnet (Paris: Harmattan, 2002) Proust Proust, Marcel, Du ct de chez Swann (Paris: Gallimard, 1976) Bowie, Malcolm, Proust Among the Stars (London: Harper Collins, 1998) Hughes, E.J., Marcel Proust: A Study in the Quality of Awareness (Cambridge: CUP, 1983)
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Shattuck, Roger, Proust (London: Fontana, 1974) 4. Topics for presentations and coursework essays

The following are suggestions only. Students may, if they wish, choose other topics in consultation with the seminar leader. For the purposes of oral presentations, each topic will be allocated to a team of no more than 3 students. Oral presentations should last approximately twenty minutes and should be in French. Ernaux

How far would you agree that La Place is a book which constructs the past of a specific individual through collective memory traces? Discuss the role of social, cultural and family memory in La Place.

Germain

Discuss the role of supernatural and mythical elements in the representation of childhood in Sylvie Germains LEnfant mduse. Les livres de Sylvie Germain constituent des fictionsmondes: ils reproduisent lunivers rel en y projetant une histoire imaginaire. Discuss with reference to LEnfant mduse.

Perec

Je peux, aujourdhui, racontant W, raconter mon enfance. Discuss W ou le souvenir denfance in the light of this statement.
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How far would you agree that, in W ou le souvenir denfance, Perec seeks to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality?

NDiaye

Discuss the use of documents in the quest for identity in En famille. Discuss the use of fantastic elements in En famille.

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Proust Discuss the function and significance of la mmoire involontaire in Combray. Examine the relationship between memory and creativity in Combray. 4.1 Some notes on essay writing Essays should be word-processed, with 1.5 (or double) spacing throughout. Ample margins should be left all around, and typing should be justified. Use a standardsized font such as Times New Roman 12-point. Number pages consecutively. Make sure you spell foreign words correctly and with the correct accents where appropriate.

See http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/local/index.html for referencing and bibliography guidelines.

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Some notes on group presentations

The oral presentation requires you to research your topic. One of the main aims of group work is to help you to develop the required skills to work with others therefore do not simply divide the work into specific areas on which each of you is going to work on his/her own, but try to coordinate the project as a team. The presentation should be as didactic as possible with the use of MS PowerPoint, OHPs or hand-outs so that the whole class can benefit and participate.

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Your mark for this presentation will be a conflation of:

a group mark (identical for each member of the team), based on content, structure of the presentation, overall presentation techniques, etc, and

a personal mark, based on your own language and syntax skills, and an appreciation of your own personal contribution to the team effort This system rewards both the team efforts and your own work on the presentation. Group projects can be challenging, but they can also be fun. Mainly, they are a learning experience in a relatively safe environment. You can learn a lot about yourself, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and also about fellow students you can learn how to work together to achieve a common goal. In other words, you can become a team for the duration of your project (and perhaps for other projects, or even to help each other revising, etc). UELT (the Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, located near the banking complex) have a selection of publications on working as a team. Learning in Teams: a Student Guide (G. Gibbs) is an appropriate booklet for the purposes of our team work in this module. UELT also organize workshops for students.

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Here are some ideas which hopefully will help you to get started: You may or may not know the people in your group well. Take time to get to know a little about each other, and decide what the ground rules for your group will be. This could include: a. During meetings, each person will respect others ideas and points of view b. Aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated c. Everyone should come to meetings at the appointed time, having made progress with their allotted task(s) You may want to allocate roles during your meetings: one person chairs the meeting, one person takes brief notes, one person is in charge of chasing progress, etc. This will avoid problems such as confusion over who needs to do what in between meetings. It will also help you to stay focused. Plan your meetings and the work that needs to be achieved in between meetings. If you do run into difficulties, arrange a meeting to discuss what is going wrong and how you can try to resolve it. Gentle feedback is often helpful. Resolving problems within a group is also a key part of the process, so you should always try to do this together first. If this isnt possible, ask for help or advice from your teacher, your tutor or a Learning Advisor in UELT. The presentation itself Think of presentations you have found interesting: how were they organized? What made them interesting? Use audiovisual
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aids for the main points only; prepare a short handout: your audience will thank you for it. Remember, the seminar. your group presentation is a learning experience for you and for the rest of

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