FRN2500

French Noir

(ART)

P Anderson

8 points + 1 one-hour lecture and 1 two-hour seminar per week + First semester + Clayton + Prerequisites: FRN1080 or FRN2020

Synopsis: The interest aroused in post-Occupation France by American cinema and the French identification, within that filmic production of which France had been deprived, of a genre: film noir. The emergence of this notion provokes a rethinking of French cultural production - both filmic and literary - in its terms, tracing the idea of noir back through French cinema and French literature. It also provokes a wave of production in France, in film and literature, of works influenced by the notion of noir which continues to the present day, at the interface of popular and high culture. Students will study the history of noir in France, paying attention to representative filmic and literary works.

Assessment: Test (in French): 15% + Solo seminar presentation (in French): 20% + Group seminar presentation (in French): 15% + Essay (1000 words in French): 20% + Essay (1500 word in French): 30%