Undergraduate - UnitATS2075 - Representing Paris: Literature and visual culture

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	French Studies
Offered	Not offered in 2014
Coordinator(s)	Dr Benjamin Andreo

Notes

Previously coded FRN2706

Synopsis

This unit, ranging across literature, painting, photography, fashion and social history, will study symbolic representations of Paris in 19th Century writing (Baudelaire, Zola), painting (Manet, Degas), and early 20th Century photography (Atget) and relate these to their historical contexts (the growth and metamorphosis of the city, Haussmann's redevelopment of Paris, the birth of leisure and consumerism); it will examine the emergence of urban figures such as the flaneur, dandy and prostitute; and it will explore the analytical perspectives offered by Walter Benjamin's cultural theories. (No knowledge of French language or history is required for this unit.)

Outcomes

Having completed this unit students will:

have developed a knowledge of some of the major symbolic representations of modern Paris across a range of literary and visual texts
understood broader, underlying structural changes in society that inform literary and visual representations of modern cities such as Paris
have explored the relationship between various literary and visual representations of the city and developed skills in analyzing and articulating the nature of this relationship
be able to conceptualise images of the city in relation to theoretical and methodological issues promulgated by writers and theorists such as Walter Benjamin.

Assessment

Essay (3000 words) : 60%
Test (1.5 hours - 1500 words equivalent) : 40%

Workload requirements

One x 1 hr lecture/week
One x 1 hr seminar/week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

French studies

Prerequisites

A first year level unit in French Studies, Film and Screen Studies or Literary Studies

Prohibitions

ATS3075