HISTORY OF FRANCOPHONES CULTURE

The course, with a historical, socio-anthropological, and broadly cultural approach, is intended for third-year students in the "Literary-Cultural" and "Political-International" curricula of the bachelor's degree program "Languages, Civilizations, and Language Sciences" (although it is also open to second-year students).
It is aimed particularly at students specializing in French (French literature and/or language at the undergraduate level), but it may also be taken by students from other language studies who are interested in issues related to colonization and postcolonial cultures. Furthermore, it can be taken as a free-choice course by students of postcolonial literatures (in English or Spanish) in the LLEAP master’s program.

Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will have acquired a foundational knowledge of the main historical processes that shaped the emergence and development of Francophone countries, with particular attention to the dynamics of colonialism, decolonization, and contemporary forms of identity construction in various contexts. They will be able to recognize and understand key concepts from historiographical and postcolonial thought—such as power, memory, diaspora, and Francophonie—and apply them thoughtfully to the interpretation of a predominantly literary corpus.

Applying knowledge and understanding
Through the study of the novels included in the syllabus, the course will highlight the connections between literary production and historical context, enabling students to read these works as complex testimonies of lived experience, political positioning, and cultural tension.

Making judgements
Students will be encouraged to develop a critical reading approach that connects expressive forms with historical dynamics and that recognizes the specificities of the different geographic and cultural areas of the Francophone world.

Communication skills
The course will provide students with the tools to articulate their interpretations in a clear, coherent, and informed manner. Particular emphasis will be placed on developing the ability to express and defend one’s ideas in a structured way.

Learning ability
Finally, the course aims to foster autonomy in both study and research, offering methodological guidance for critically engaging with historical sources, literary texts, and theoretical essays, and for building interdisciplinary connections between history, literature, and culture.

For students enrolled in the undergraduate program in French Studies: a good knowledge of the French language, especially written literary French (level B2).
For other students: a good ability to understand written French texts (level B1).

The course aims to critically examine the notion of Francophonie, with particular attention to its use in the literary field, but not exclusively.
Through a historical approach, the course will explore the processes of definition and conceptualization of the term, highlighting its limitations, ideological implications, and transformations over time.
Part of the course will be dedicated to presenting the so-called "traditional" Francophonie, understood in geographical and linguistic terms, including areas such as Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland, Martinique, etc., all characterized by a rich literary production in French.
At the same time, the course will seek to challenge this vision in light of postcolonial studies and world literature, questioning the implicit hierarchies within the very concept of Francophonie and opening the discussion to a broader, polycentric, and decentered perspective.

Required Texts:
1) Three novels to be chosen and read in full from the following list:
- Patrick Chamoiseau, Texaco (1992)
- Louis-Philippe Dalembert, Avant que les ombres s’effacent (2017)
- Mariama Bâ, Une si longue lettre (1979)
- Fatou Diome, Le ventre de l’Atlantique (2003)
- Albert Memmi, La statue de sel (1957)
- Anne Hébert, Kamouraska (1970)
2) The full anthology of selected excerpts (in the original language), analyzed in class and available on Moodle.
3) Critical essays and supplementary materials provided by the instructor and available on Moodle.

For further reading (optional)
Novels:
- Yasmina Khadra, Ce que le jour doit à la nuit (2008)
- Nancy Huston, Cantique des plaines (1998)
Theoretical Texts:
- Ferroudja Allouache, Archéologie du texte littéraire dit “francophone”. 1921–1970, Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2018.
- Michel Beniamino, La francophonie littéraire. Essai pour une théorie, Paris, L’Harmattan, 1999.
- Raphaël Confiant, Patrick Chamoiseau, Jean Bernabé, “La Créolité, vingt ans après,” Caliban, no. 31, 2012. URL: https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/353 .
- Jean Bernabé, Patrick Chamoiseau, Raphaël Confiant, Éloge de la créolité, Paris, Gallimard, 1989.
- Jean Bessière, Jean-Marc Moura (eds.), Littératures postcoloniales et francophonie, Paris, Honoré Champion, 2001.
- Pascale Casanova, La République mondiale des Lettres, Paris, Seuil, 1999.
- Christiane Chaulet-Achour, Les francophonies littéraires, Paris, Presses universitaires de Vincennes, 2016.
- Jean-Louis Chiss (ed.), Le FLE et la francophonie dans le monde, Malakoff, Armand Colin, 2021.
- Fatima Chnane-Davin, Fabienne Lallement, Valérie Spaëth (eds.), "Enseigner la Francophonie, enseigner les francophonies," Recherches et applications, no. 64, July 2018.
- Yves Clavaron, Francophonie, postcolonialisme et mondialisation, Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2018.
- Yves Clavaron, Petite introduction aux postcolonial studies, Paris, Éditions Kimé, 2015.
- Dominique Combe, Littératures francophones. Questions, débats et polémiques, Paris, PUF, 2010.
- Elgas, Les bons ressentiments: Essai sur le malaise postcolonial, Paris, Riveneuve, 2023.
- Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (original: Les Damnés de la Terre), Paris, Maspero, 1961.
- Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks (original: Peau noire, masques blancs), Paris, Seuil, 1952.
- Anne-Marie Laulan, Didier Oillo (eds.), Francophonie et mondialisation, Paris, CNRS Éditions, 2008. URL: https://books.openedition.org/editionscnrs/13563 .
- Michel Le Bris, Jean Rouaud, Eva Almassy, Pour une littérature-monde, Paris, Gallimard, 2007.
- Fabien Pillet, Multiculturalisme et littérature. Mises en récit de la diversité ethnoculturelle, Geneva, MétisPresses, 2021.

The evaluation will take place through an oral exam, in Italian.

Students will be evaluated on their ability to independently formulate a description/interpretation of the selected excerpts, emphasizing the most significant textual aspects of the topics studied in class. In addition, they will be assessed on their ability to freely extend this knowledge to the three novels they have chosen.

The exam lasts approximately 20–30 minutes and is generally divided into three parts, with questions:
a) of a general and factual nature, based on the material explained during lectures (knowledge and understanding of the topics);
b) on one or more of the three novels chosen for full reading (potentially covering all three), for which students must demonstrate knowledge of the content and key features, as well as the ability to situate the works within the relevant Francophone context and the historical-cultural issues discussed in class;
c) on one or more short excerpts selected from the required anthology readings; these excerpts — in the original French — must be known, read, translated (free translation or paraphrase is acceptable), and adequately explained. To do this, students should rely on their notes and the critical texts provided online.

oral

The minimum passing grade is 18, and the maximum grade is 30 cum laude.
As for the grading scale (criteria by which grades will be assigned):
Range 18–22: sufficient knowledge of the content; limited ability for independent discussion; limited knowledge of basic textual analysis tools; limited understanding of the author's poetics; limited knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues addressed in the texts.
Range 23–26: fair knowledge of the content; fair ability for independent discussion; fair knowledge of basic textual analysis tools; fair understanding of the author's poetics; fair knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues addressed in the texts.
Range 27–30: good to excellent knowledge of the content; good to excellent ability for independent discussion; good to excellent knowledge of basic textual analysis tools; good to excellent understanding of the author's poetics; good to excellent knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues addressed in the texts.
30 cum laude: awarded when the knowledge of the content, the ability for independent discussion, the knowledge of basic textual analysis tools, the understanding of the author's poetics, and the knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues addressed in the texts are all excellent.

Lectures will be delivered in Italian; however, the anthology excerpts will be read and analyzed in the original French.

Students who have French as one of their two undergraduate languages must complete part of the exam in French (preferably starting with the topic of their choice).
Students who do not have French in their study plan may take the exam in Italian.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development