FRN3702 - French Noir: Dark Visions of Self and Society in post-war France

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Not offered in 2007

Upon completion of this course students will have:

Familiarized themselves with the history of the genre known as noir in France, with its emergence at the interface of two cultures (American and French), with the tracing of its antecedents in French high and popular culture, and with the development of the genre at the interface of high and popular culture up the present day.
Questioned, analyzed and argued conclusions about connections between the genre and socio-political history and contemporary thinking on modernity.
Questioned, analyzed and argued conclusions about connections between the genre and contemporary thinking on the human subject.
Studied a number of filmic and literary works, making a critical analysis of the genre as it is posited, comparing existing hypotheses with filmic and literary texts and developing and testing their own hypotheses.
Developed a critical understanding of the notion of genre itself, paying special attention to the problem of its crossing cultures and filmic and literary discourses.
Developed their language skills in French, especially in the area of exposition and argument, practising those skills in oral presentations and essay-writing.
Developed more sophisticated theoretical understanding of genre and the particular genre as demonstrated in oral and written performance in French.

1 lecture and 1 x 2-hour seminar and 1 x 2-hour screening per week

At least French Studies 4 at any year level (FRN1040, FRN2040)