| Unit name | Legacy and Memory: Representing the Great War in French Culture |
|---|---|
| Unit code | FRENM2007 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hurcombe |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
s Students need to have a command of the French language which enables them to study materials in the original |
| Co-requisites |
s None |
| School/department | Department of French |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit is divided between the study of the legacy of the Great War in French inter-war year culture and the memory of the conflict in late twentieth-century. The examination of the war's legacy will focus on expressions of France's dualistic sense of triumph and defeat as well as implicit and explicit manifestations of pacifism in the French novel and film. It will consider whether the pacifism of such works is a deliberate ploy established through the aesthetics of the novel and film or whether this is the reflection of a broader culture of pacifism in the inter-war years. The study of memory will explore recent films and novels concerning the Great War, focusing on the war's passage from lived cultural event to distant historical phenomenon through the motif of detective fiction and the metaphor of quest. The unit will also investigate recent reluctance to attribute an ideological meta-narrative to the events of the war and a preference for personal testimony which refuses global comprehension.
