Introductory description

The French Revolution is perceived as the historical earthquake which gave birth to modern France. We will examine the key events, people and ideas of the French Revolution through a wide range of sources, such as the Déclaration des droits de l'homme, prints, pamphlets, speeches and plays. We will see how this turning point in French history acquired a mythical status whilst being riddled with contradictions.

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.

Week 1: The ancien régime and the origins of the Revolution

Week 2: The principles of 1789

Week 3: the 1791 constitution

Week 4: the French revolutionary wars

Week 5: the end of the monarchy

Week 7: France and its colonies

Week 8: The Terror

Week 9: Theatre of the Revolution

Week 10: the Directoire and the Consulate

Week 22: Conceptual overview

 The role of the writer in Revolution
 The impact of the French Revolution

Learning outcomes

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

• A high level of knowledge of the grammatical, discursive and pragmatic conventions that govern language use, and of the societal factors which make language use effective.
• Refined knowledge of language varieties, register, genre, nuances of meaning and language use.
• An appreciation of internal diversity and transcultural connectedness in relation to target language culture.
• A critical understanding of other cultures and practices other than one's own.
• Knowledge of the cultures, communities and societies of eighteenth-century France gained through the study of written texts and other cultural products in French.
• An ability to access, read and critically analyse primary and secondary source materials in French.
• Knowledge and understanding of different aspects of the literatures, cultures, linguistic contexts, history, politics, social and economic structures of France.
• Familiarity with the methodologies and approaches appropriate to the discipline.

Indicative reading list

Sample primary material
Chénier, Calas (1792)
Constitution of 1791
Gouges, Ecrits politiques (ed. by Olivier Blanc (1993)
Mercier, Adieux à l’année 1789 (1790)
Michelet, Histoire de la Revolution française (1847-53)
Robespierre and Saint-Just, selected speeches (1793-94)
Songs from the Revolutionary era
Secondary material
Blum, C., Rousseau and the Republic of Virtue: The Language of Politics in the French Revolution (1986)
Chartier, R. The Cultural Origins of the French Revolution, trans. by L. Cochrane (Durham, N.C., 1991)
Doyle, W., Origins of the French Revolution (1980)
Jones, C., The Great Nation (2002)
Kennedy, E., A Cultural History of the French Revolution (1989)
Melzer, S. and L. Rabine, Rebel Daughters: Women and the French Revolution (1992)
Roberts, J.M., (ed), French Revolution Documents I & II (1966 & 1973)
Schama, S., Citizens (1989)

View reading list on Talis Aspire

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 the French revolution 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.