MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY FRENCH LITERATURE

The class of "Littérature française moderne et contemporaine" is one of the main classes of French of the Master Degree Course in European, American and post-colonial languages and literatures. It allows students to acquire an advanced knowledge of the history of French literature as well as mastery of theoretical-critical methodologies.

Teaching objectives:
Through a course structured in graduated training stages, students will be able to deal with complex literary and critical texts in French (to read, analyze, interpret and place them in their respective historical-cultural contexts) and to master the techniques related to literary studies and textual analysis (philology, history of genres, poetry, rhetoric, hermeneutics, stylistics, reception, theoretical-literary terminology

1. Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge of the historical and cultural context covered by the program ; knowledge of the history of classical and modern French poetics; knowledge of applied criticism.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
Ability to read, understand, analyze, interpret and situate in their respective historical-cultural contexts ancient and modern critical texts.
3. Ability to make judgments
Ability to evaluate different approaches, methods and interpretations of the texts under consideration; ability to exercise critical spirit and analytical skills; ability to navigate among different critical perspectives.
4. Communication skills
Ability to expound problems and analyses concerning the subject program with logical and chronological rigor, and to express concepts with clarity and terminological precision.
5. Learning skills
Ability to synthesize, connect, order, convey ideas, forms and data.

Knowledge of the general frameworks of the history of modern French literature acquired through the basic literary teachings of the three-year degree course in Languages, civilizations and language sciences.
Since the course is given in French, a mastery of the French language (written and oral) is required at level C1 of the CEFR, also in view of the examination.

Appropriation is one of literature's most fundamental gestures: every text builds upon other texts, every act of writing is born from an act of reading. This seminar traces its many forms across a broad historical span, from humanist theories of imitatio to contemporary debates surrounding algorithmic writing — devoting the greater part of its attention to the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, the period during which the question of appropriation becomes truly charged. It is from Romanticism onward that the modern figure of the author crystallizes, bringing with it all the attendant claims over the ownership of the literary work: from that point forward, copying, pastiching, rewriting, or diverting becomes a gesture dense with aesthetic, legal, and political implications. The twentieth century radicalizes this tension — from the avant-gardes to the Nouveau Roman, from the Oulipo to postcolonial literatures —, while the twenty-first extends it to new practices: fanfiction, remix, digital appropriation, and AI-assisted writing. Throughout the course, we will interrogate the power relations that run through these gestures: who has the right to write in another's place? Whose voice can one claim, and at what cost? How does a minoritized literature turn the language of power against itself? This seminar ultimately invites us to understand that appropriation is not merely a formal device, but the very site where the fundamental questions of authorship, the literary work, and its transmission are at stake.

A selection of excerpts will be offered alongside full readings. A bibliography will be made available on the Moodle platform.

- Du Bellay, "La Défense et illustration de la langue française"
- Montaigne, "Des Cannibales"
- Racine, "Phèdre"
- Montesquieu, "Les Lettres persanes"
- Diderot, choix de textes
- Rousseau, choix de textes
- Balzac, "Le cousin Pons"
- Sand, "Légendes rustiques"
- Flaubert, "Un cœur simple"
- Goncourt, choix de textes
- Proust, choix de textes
- Colette, choix de textes
- Césaire, "Cahier d'un retour au pays natal"
- Ponge, "La Rage de l’expression"
- Perec, "Je me souviens"
- Ernaux, "Les Années"
- Daoud, "Meursault, contre-enquête"
- Chamoiseau, "Texaco"

The test includes two complementary phases:
1. A paper (written in French) is to be handed in at least seven days before the oral test (50% of the assessment).
It should be around 15 pages, and will carry on a topic of your choice related to the course subject, to be agreed mainly with the lecturer. Setting, bibliographical tools, writing methods and typographical standards will be communicated during class.
2. An oral test in French on the subjects discussed during the course (50% of the grade).

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

The minimum grade is 18, the maximum grade is 30 with honors.

Regarding the grading scale (criteria for assigning grades):

* 18–22: sufficient knowledge of the content; limited ability to discuss independently; limited knowledge of basic textual analysis tools; limited knowledge of the author's poetics; limited knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues present in the texts.

* 23–26: fair knowledge of the content; fair ability to discuss independently; fair knowledge of basic textual analysis tools; fair knowledge of the author's poetics; fair knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues present in the texts.

* 27–30: good or excellent knowledge of the content; good or excellent ability to discuss independently; good or excellent knowledge of basic textual analysis tools; good or excellent knowledge of the author's poetics; good or excellent knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues present in the texts.

* 30 with honors: honors are awarded when the knowledge of the content, the ability to discuss independently, the knowledge of basic textual analysis tools, the knowledge of the author's poetics, and the knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the issues present in the texts are all outstanding

Frontal lectures in French will be enriched by moments of exchange and shared reflection with students, on the topics covered. All teaching materials (texts and in-depth studies) uploaded during the course on the Moodle platform will be subject of study and their knowledge will be verified at the exam.

More details and additional critical bibliography will be provided in class. The literary corpus analyzed will consist of the main texts mentioned above and a selection of passages indicated in the syllabus or provided by the lecturer.
Lectures will be given in French.