Introductory description

Politics, violence, and religion are burning issues today, to the extent that the media speak of the ‘new’ Wars of Religion, whilst others defend the principles of secularity. But what were the first Wars of Religion (1562-1598/1629)? To what extent were violence, religion and state-making interwoven at the dawn of French modernity? Do the sixteenth-century texts that describe massacres and brutality, but also formulate principles of just war, peace-keeping and good governance have a particular resonance for the present? This module investigates issues of political thought (good vs. bad governance; kingship vs. tyranny; rebellion and resistance); the relation between religion and state; and the place of violence, tolerance, persecution and freedom of conscience in society. At the same time, it pays attention to the relation between physical conflict and polemics (conflicts fought out in writing), specifically to the role of satires and pamphlets in Early Modern disputes –– all hot topics of current research! Our primary sources will be very varied, and will include poetry, philosophical Essais, clandestine pamphlets and diplomatic dispatches – as well as more recent representations of the era in French fiction and film, with Robert Merle's novel Fortune de France (1977, translated in 2014 as The Brethren) and Patrice Chéreau's film La Reine Margot (1994 / version restaurée 2014).

Module web page

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.

Term 1

1. Film La Reine Margot: the Saint-Bartholomew's massacres: how did it ever get this far? Introduction to
   the French Renaissance; the Wars of Religion
2. Renaissance and Reformation: the spread of the ‘new religion’ / print culture, (just) war and peace; the
   tools of the trade (skills session - handling sixteenth-century French texts)
3. Rabelais / Erasmus (extracts)
4. Research skills session: Working with political pamphlets
5. Catholics: Ronsard, Discours des Misères de ce temps
6. [Reading Week]
7. Catholics: Ronsard, Discours des Misères de ce temps
8. Catholics : Remy Belleau's De belllo Huguenotico (in translation)
9. France, religion, violence and the New World
10. Protestant resistance theory? The monarchomachs

Term 2

1. Huguenots: Agrippa d’Aubigné, Les Tragiques (Princes)
2. Huguenots: Agrippa d’Aubigné, Les Tragiques (Misères)
3. the Politiques: La Satyre Ménippée
4. the Politiques: La Satyre Ménippée
5. Word and image: Richard Verstegan, Le Théâtre des cruautés
6. [Reading Week]
7. Montaigne, Des cannibales; De la cruauté
8. Montaigne (cont'd)
9. Robert Merle's Fortune de France (1977)
10. La Reine Margot (again) - gender issues; layered views of the past

Learning outcomes

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

• Demonstrate an ability to research and discuss visual and/or textual sources from the past with due attention to their distinct form and characteristics

Indicative reading list

Reading lists can be found in Talis

Research element

Students will be expected to research, and drawn on, primary materials in their original form (such as political pamphlets, engravings...) for their seminar presentations and assessments, using freely available as well as specialist electronic resources.

Interdisciplinary

Whilst the module is weighted towards French Studies, students will be encouraged to bring their own knowledge and understanding of other linguistic fields of study to bear (e.g. Italian, Spanish, English, German, Dutch or Latin, as relevant). However, knowledge of other languages is not a prerequisite. The module will include elements of book history and intellectual history, and whilst the emphasis will be on textual materials, it allows for expansion into visual areas as well.

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 French culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of violence, religion and revolt in Renaissance France 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.