Poetry and Prose Research Seminar

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours

Admission to the Graduate Diploma in Arts (Advanced) or fourth-year honours in French.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

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.

On successful completion of this subject, students should:

• have demonstrated 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;
• have gained a greater understanding of the notion of "genre" and its limits when confronted with empirical examples of "poème en prose";
• be able to elaborate an oral/written "explication de texte".

• 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.

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

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject should:

• be able to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically: through essay and assignment writing, tutorial discussion and class presentations.
• have developed written communication skills: through essay and assignment preparation and writing.
• have developed public speaking skills and confidence in self-expression: through tutorial participation and class presentations.
• be able to pay attention to details: through close reading and textual analysis, essay preparation and writing.
• be able to time manage and plan: through managing and organizing workloads for required and recommended reading, essay and assignment completion and revision for examinations.