Course Catalogue

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This course takes the theme of consumption as a window onto French culture and society from the late 19th century to the 1960s. French debates about consumption have reflected concerns about social and economic change, about class, gender, race and national identities. A selection of these issues will be explored in a historical and interdisciplinary perspective.

20 x 1hr sessions over both semesters as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the honours options in French and may not run every year. The options that are

running this session are available on MyCampus

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into French, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Essay proposal (500 words) - 10%

■ Essay (2500 words) - 60%

■ Group Presentation within which each student will talk for c. 5 minutes (15% group mark and 15% individual mark) - 30%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the essay proposal and essay, but an extension to the deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for extensions).

■ A recorded presentation (video or audio) OR a one-to-one presentation with staff as alternative to the group presentation.

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ foster an understanding of some key debates about social and economic change in France, by exploring both historical and contemporary examples;

■ encourage students to read across disciplines in the exploration of French culture and to support them in doing this;

■ challenge students to reflect critically on what 'French culture' is by analysing discourses of cultural identity as they manifest themselves in historical and contemporary debates about consumption;

■ develop students' understanding of cross-cultural issues by problematising received ideas about French versus Anglo-American social models and by drawing on critical approaches developed in both French and Anglophone scholarship.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ explain how and why the changing nature of consumption has been a recurring object of cultural anxiety in France across the period studied;

■ engage critically with both popular and scholarly discourses about consumer society, in the French context;

■ analyse the place of class, gender and national identity in the debates and representations studied;

■ synthesise and make connections between ideas encountered in different parts of the course and in independent study;

■ work effectively on a group project to ensure that areas of individual responsibility enhance the work of the project team as a whole;

■ present ideas clearly and analytically both orally and in writing with appropriate citation of sources, uses of evidence and attribution of contribution.