History and Memory in French Literature and Culture

Module code: FR2047

How do people and nations deal with past events and catastrophes? How are these narrated and remembered? This module sets out to analyse how French literature represents key historical events and how these narratives relate to matters of identity and to broader social, cultural and literary contexts. This module will teach you how to look critically at representations or constructions of the past and at their underlying conceptions. We will also be introduced to different types of memory and their role and use in contemporary society. These concepts will be applied to a range of selected case-studies.

Topics covered

• History, memory and literature
• Narrative identities
• Historical catastrophes and traumas in French history
• Memory and representation of World War I
• Memory and representation of the Holocaust
• Post-memory in contemporary literature