Module manager: Paul Rowe
Email: p.rowe@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
FREN1020 or FREN1023
| FREN1020 | Introduction to French Studies |
| FREN1023 | Ab Initio Introduction to French Studies (Resistance and Des |
FREN2060
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This course aims to promote an understanding of the underlying structures and forces which shape the modern French-speaking world by providing a broad introduction to its political, economic and social evolution between 1789 and 1945. Semester I will survey the history of the period, paying particular heed to the processes of political change, rapid modernisation and economic development which transformed France and shaped its evolving relationship with the French-speaking world from the Absolutist institutions of the Ancien Régime and first colonial empire through the rapid transformations of the long nineteenth century and the establishment of the second colonial empire to two world wars. This survey will provide a firm foundation for a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the political and ideological debates of the present day. Semester II will look at a small number of selected themes which reflect the changing social agenda, such as gender, identities, colonialism and postcolonialism, centres and peripheries, modernities and traditions. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module aims to
1) Introduce students to the key themes in the history of the modern French speaking world.
2) Equip them with the research skills needed to undertake their own research on a topic that they have identified from the module themes.
3) Enable students to present their research findings through a range of different outputs (written and audio-visual).
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
LO1. demonstrate an understanding of key approaches, concepts and questions in the modern history of the French speaking world.
LO2. apply key approaches and concepts to particular themes in the modern history of the French speaking world.
LO3. analyse and evaluate through close reading primary materials related to the modern history of the French speaking world.
LO4. identify and critique the main arguments of a range of scholarly publications on the modern history of the French speaking world.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will be able to:
LO5. locate primary and secondary materials in libraries and online.
LO6. devise your own research questions and methodologies.
LO7. present complex ideas and rigorous research across a range of genres in English.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Lecture | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| Seminar | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| Private study hours | 169.5 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 30.5 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Formative feedback will be available on presentation ideas and plans and on the final research output through the tutorials offered to every student.
The feedback on the presentation will also act as formative feedback for the research output.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Research presentation | 20 |
| Coursework | Research output (written or audiovisual) | 80 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
For a resit, the presentation would be pre-recorded and uploaded to Minerva.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 19/02/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team