Introductory description

The module is proposed in the context of a new MA for Research in French and francophone Studies. This new degree programme targets graduates with a substantial knowledge of the disciplines of French, francophone and cognate area studies. By contrast with the MA in French Culture and Thought, the MA for Research in French and francophone Studies offers a smaller taught element (taking into account students' prior knowledge of the discipline) and an enhanced individual research element, concretized in particular in the individually tutored programme of reading (or viewing / auditing for those working on relevant media) (Advanced Study Options), and the proposed Research Skills module.
Above all, the exact content of the degree will be tailored to individual student need in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and/or a designated tutor. The aim is to construct a programme that provides the individual student with both coverage in the disciplines (in particular, filling in gaps) and experience of research techniques of information retrieval and organisation.
The Research Skills module will thus help provide a specific route towards PhD study within the department, alongside one taught module (30 CATS), two Advanced Study Options (24 CATS each), and a 20,000 word dissertation (90 CATS).
It will be assessed by two short bibliographical exercises, on a pass or fail basis.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The syllabus of the module may vary from year to year, to take into account, first and foremost, the research interests and skills development needs of the students taking the MA for Research in French and francophone studies, and secondly, staff interests and leave arrangements. A Skills Development programme of about six sessions/topics will be agreed with each student at the start of the academic year. Topics would typically include:

• Library induction / Electronic Resources in French Studies
• Giving Oral Presentations and Using PowerPoint;
• Writing a Literature Review;
• Choosing and Writing a Dissertation;
• Writing a PhD proposal; and
• Applying for Funding

According to individual needs, students may require other specific skills training (e.g. a session on Image Capture Technologies for those with filmic interests), or learning a further language.
The Skills development programme (assessed by two short bibliographical exercises, one based on electronic searches) will be a combination of in-house provision with sessions that are on offer elsewhere (such as the Faculty, the Library, the Language Centre, the Transnational Resources Centre, the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance…).
Student on the MA for Research in French and Francophone Studies will be given a copy of the department’s Research Skills Development Handbook, currently provided for our PGR students.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• - draw up a comprehensive, meaningful and correctly referenced bibliography of primary and secondary materials towards an advanced research topic in French and francophone studies
• - to locate and consult key electronic resources for advanced research in French and francophone studies
• - to identify and evaluate the relative merits of key publications on a particular topic or in particular field in French and francophone studies
• - draw up a research proposal for further advanced research in French and francophone studies

Indicative reading list

Students will be expected to familiarize themselves with resources such as:

• The Department’s Skills Development Handbook
• The MHRA Style Guide (most recent version), downloadable from http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide/index.html
• EndNote Web software: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/main/research/endnote/
• Current research databases such as The Year’s Work in Modern Languages and general resource pages such as those maintained by the Society for French Studies, and the French Department’s PG Intranet pages
• General electronic resources such as JSTOR, ProjectMuse, IngentaConnect, Gallica…
• Specialist resources such as Persée (Portail de revues scientifiques en sciences humaines et sociales), Bibliographie d’Humanisme et Renaissance, LiMag (Littératures du Maghreb: http://www.limag.com/ )

Students may also usefully consult:

• PORT: Postgraduate On-line Research Tutorials (Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of London) http://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk/

International

All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.

Subject specific skills

This module will develop students’ linguistic skills through engaging with primary materials in the target language. It will build students’ capacity to engage with aspects of modern language culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of research skills in modern languages will be enhanced through lectures and seminars which engage in scholarship in the field.

Transferable skills

All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.