Masterpieces of French Literature and Culture from the Eighteenth Century to Postmodernity (Level 5)

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: Professor Akane Kawakami
• Tutors: Professor Akane Kawakami, Dr Ann Lewis
• Assessment: two essays of 1500 words (25% each) and a three-hour examination (50%)

What is a masterpiece? Must it be influential, in and beyond its own century? Should it be the apotheosis of its genre, or seek to go further, bending or even breaking the rules? We will be asking ourselves these and other such questions during the course of this module, which aims for both an 'overview' and a 'sampling' approach to four centuries of French literature through studying a number of key works from each century.

The texts represent all the major genres: poetry, drama and fiction. Each work will be studied within its historical context, and related to earlier and later texts where appropriate.

The module is taught and assessed in English but the following titles will be studied in French:

• Madame de Lafayette, La Princesse de Clèves
• Racine, Phèdre
• Laclos, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
• Beaumarchais, Le Mariage de Figaro
• Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal
• Flaubert, L'Education Sentimentale
• Proust, 'Un Amour de Swann' in Du Côté de chez Swann
• Genet, Les Bonnes