Undergraduate Course: Autobiographie Litteraire Contemporaine (ELCF10028)

Course Outline
School	School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	In recent decades, self-writing has enjoyed great popularity in France. Yet modern French authors find the writing of the self to be an enterprise always on the threshold of failure: 'Qui-est "je"?'/'Je est un autre' (Rimbaud). This option examines the theory and practice of modern and contemporary autobiography in French. Explorations of personal identity by some of France's foremost writers will constitute the starting point for considering the problems inherent in trying to seize the self in writing. Insights from key French philosophical and literary movements (e.g. psychoanalysis, existentialism, the new novel), as well as from modern French thought, will inform our study. The importance of memory and the past to the establishment of a sense of identity will be analysed, as well as to difficulties in negotiating identity which may result from the subject's ethnicity, gender or sexuality. Amongst other potential themes to be covered are: estrangement and belonging, testimony and confession, truth and fiction. The option is seminar-led, with regular student presentations.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites	Students MUST have passed: French 2 (ELCF08001)	Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	Entry to Honours in French

Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course students will be expected to show the ability: - to demonstrate sound knowledge and understanding of the chosen specialism(s) - to recognise and acknowledge the complexity of the subject - to show an understanding of and apply competently relevant concepts and theories - to construct coherent arguments which demonstrate an awareness of the problems posed by the texts/ issues studied - to demonstrate a high level of expression in both written and oral presentations - to offer alternative perspectives and show an awareness of contrasting viewpoints