History of French Literature from the Middle Ages to the 17th century

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Chronological approach of the French Literature of this period ; establishing of patterns and markers in the historiography (continuities, filiations, mutations, ruptures) ; relation made to cultural, political, social and religious contexts.

Knowledge of important works and literary movements, from the Middle Ages until the 17th Century

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Lectures with a range of different teaching material: reading extracts from works; PowerPoint.

This course is arranged chronologically to provide a clear and logical framework for the basic knowledge that students will acquire. It is divided into two equal parts, taught by both co-lecturers (Mrs Van Hemelryck for the Middle Ages and Mrs Guiderdoni for the 16^th to 17^th centuries). It should be seen in the perspective of culturally and politically contextualised literary history which deals with this period without making a radical break between the Middle Ages and the modern period (16th ' 17th centuries), but instead highlighting the shifts, transformations and breaks from one point in time to the next.  After an introductory session on each period, the subject is approached through literary genres, from the Middle Ages until the end of the 17^th century: dramatic genres, the novel and the epic, poetry, the novella and other prose genres, other short genres and mixed (illustrated) genres. Students also gain awareness of the material conditions in which so-called literary works were produced as an introduction to the history of the manuscript and the book. This involves not only giving the historical perspective but also the conceptual tools and the vocabulary necessary to analyse and explain the works and the aesthetic trends of the periods studied. A preliminary examination is also made of the critical factors in the categorising of literature into periods.

Updated annually : see the course website on iCampus

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