| Unit name | Vichy France in History and Memory (Level H Special Subject) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30011 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Cervantes |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The attitudes of the French during the Nazi Occupation of 1940-44 have often been reduced either to heroic resistance (by the French) or to ‘cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys’ (by the non-French). However, the history of France in 1940-44 – when the country, following a tragic defeat in June 1940, was severed into different sections – was far more complex. Beyond resistance and collaboration, there was also record cinema attendance, a thriving black market, a popular anti-semitism which overlapped with the rescue of Jewish children. Ultimately, the summer of ‘Liberation’ in 1944 became a theatre of human tragedy. Using speeches, government policies, press articles, memoirs, diaries, photographs, literature and films, this course unveils the very complicated history of Vichy France. It then explores how this highly sensitive period, which has been (mis)remembered in the post-war, continues to animate legal, political, cultural and social debates in contemporary France. No knowledge of French is necessary.
By the end of the unit students should have:
developed their skills in contributing to and learning from discussion in a small-group environment
Weekly 2-hour seminar
Access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours
3000 word essay (summative, 50%) and 2-hour unseen written examination (summative, 50%)
The essay and examination will assess the student’s understanding of the unit’s key themes, the related historiography as developed during their reading and participation in / learning from small group seminars, and ability to understand and deploy relevant primary sources.
Jean Dutourd, The Best Butter (1955) (novel)
Irène Némirovsky, Suite Française (2007) (novel)
Robert Paxton, Vichy France: Old Guard, New Order Vercors, The Silence of the Sea (1942) (novel)
Fabrice Virgili, Shorn Women (2002)
Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) Dir. Louis Malle
