FR2FWW-The First World War: Then and Now

Module Provider: Languages and Cultures
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:5
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring term module
Pre-requisites: FR1L1 Beginners French Language or FR1L2 Intermediate French Language or FR1L3 Advanced French Language I
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2021/2

Module Convenor: Dr Marjorie Gehrhardt
Email: m.i.s.gehrhardt@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module aims to give students a clear understanding both of the French experience of the First World War and of the wider impact of the war on twentieth-century France.Ìý

Aims:

This cultural history module introduces students to the diverse war experiences of the French people and to the social, political and cultural responses the conflict produced. Through the study and analysis of sources ranging from songs to newspapers, novels, speeches and biographies, it familiarises students with the events of the First World War and their impact, as well as encouraging participants to critically engage with the representations and memory of the First World War in twentieth-century and twenty-first century France.Ìý

Assessable learning outcomes:

By the end of the module it is expected that students will be able to:

• recognise key events of French history in the period of the Great War


• demonstrate awareness of the long-term cultural significance of the war


• place the French case within the wider comparative and transnational context of the Great War


• engage critically with a variety of sources


• evaluate different interpretations of significant wartime events, objects and places


• show an understanding of historiographical debates


• organise and articulate a coherent written argument in a coursework

Additional outcomes:

The module also aims to encourage the development of presentation and analytical skills.Ìý

Outline content:

Topics that will be discussed in the lectures and seminars include: going into war, the soldiers’ experience, the empire at war, the Home Front, economic, social and political changes, peace and demobilisation. In addition to studying the war experience in France and its empire, this module also considers responses to, and representations of, the First World War since the conflict took place, through the study of aspects such as censorship, artistic and literary representations of the c onflict, monuments, museums and commemoration.Ìý

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

Weekly lectures/seminars.

Students may also undertake an academic placement, through which they will learn how to apply the knowledge and skills gained in studying for this module in a professional context outside the University.