Poetry and Prose Research Seminar

Subject FREN40007 (2014)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2014.

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 4 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2014.

Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 1 x 2 hours of seminars per week
Total Time Commitment:

2 contact hours/week, 8 additional hours/week. Total of 10 hours per week.

Prerequisites:

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honors in French.

Corequisites:

None

Recommended Background Knowledge:

None

Non Allowed Subjects:

None

Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Subject Overview:

The second half of the nineteenth century saw the development of a new literary genre whose paradoxical name itself, "poème en prose", defeats the classical distinction of prose and poetry as well as contributing to a new definition of what "poetry" and "poetic" mean.

This course will endeavour to grasp such a new definition by exploring the key features and the socio-cultural implication of this paradoxical genre. Once some theoretical and historical background for the problemtic genre of "poème en prose" has been established, the focus will be put on various close readings of actual nineteenth-century "poème en prose". Students will therefore be provided with methodological tools to analyse literary texts.

Learning Outcomes:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the historical rise and development of the marginal genre of "poème en prose" in the second half of the nineteenth-century French literature and culture.
  • Gain a greater understanding of the notion of "genre" and its limits when confronted with empirical examples of "poème en prose".
  • To elaborate an oral/written "explication de texte".
Assessment:
  • A carnet de notes prepared weekly during the semester (to be typed and handed in at the end of the semester in the last class): 10% (hurdle assessment) (1000 words)
  • A compte-rendu critique of one critical text covered in the course: 20% (to be handed in Week 6) (1000 words)
  • A 15-20 minute oral explication of one "poème en prose" followed by questions and discussion, subsequently rewritten (equivalent to 1000 words): 30% (20% oral version + 10% written version to be submitted two weeks after the oral presentation).
  • A 2000 word essay: 40% (at the end of semester)

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

  • Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
  • All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day and in-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

Prescribed Texts:

Materials supplied by the school and accessible through the LMS of the subject

Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:

  • Communicating knowledge intelligibly and economically: through essay and assignment writing, tutorial discussion and class presentations.
  • Written communication: through essay and assignment preparation and writing.
  • Public speaking and confidence in self-expression: through tutorial participation and class presentations.
  • Attention to details: through close reading and textual analysis, essay preparation and writing.
  • Time management and planning: through managing and organizing workloads for required and recommended reading, essay and assignment completion and revision for examinations.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: French
French

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