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Module Catalogue

FR363-15 Reframing history: French popular revolt in the graphic novel

Department
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Level
Undergraduate Level 3
Module leader
Margaux Whiskin
Credit value
15
Module duration
10 weeks
Assessment
100% coursework
Study location
University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

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Introductory description

This module will introduce you to contemporary French graphic novels through a historical lens. We will examine how this popular genre par excellence retells the story of popular revolts. In the course of the module, you will be working on the following texts:

  • The award-winning Liberté (2019) by Florent Grouazel and Younn Locard on the first days of the French Revolution
  • Ceux qui n’étaient rien (2019) by Raphaël Meyssan on the 1871 Paris Commune
  • Mai 68 : La veille du grand soir (2018) by Patrick Rotman and Sébastien Vassant on the insurrection of May 68
  • Mon rond-point dans ta gueule (2021) by Sandrine Kerion on the gilets jaunes movement
    Through the carefully crafted interplay between text and image, we will look at how these four graphic novels give voice and visibility to those whom society left in the margins.

Module aims

(i) to introduce students to contemporary French graphic novels through the angle of key historical events and to give them the methodological tools to approach the genre critically; (ii) to explore the tension between reality and fiction in historical retellings, and the manifestation of this tension in the intertextual relations the graphic novels entertain with primary sources, both textual and visual; (iii) to examine the depiction of the people/the state as a collective and abstract entity and of the individuals who belong to it, and how encounters between the two are represented, in particular through violence.

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: Introduction to the French graphic novel
Week 2 and 3: analysis of the graphic novel Liberté (2019) by Florent Grouazel and Younn Locard
Week 4 and 5: analysis of the graphic novel Ceux qui n’étaient rien (2019) by Raphaël Meyssan
Week 6: reading week
Week 7 and 8: analysis of the graphic novel Mai 68 : La veille du grand soir (2018) by Patrick Rotman and Sébastien Vassant
Week 9 and 10: analysis of the graphic novel Mon rond-point dans ta gueule (2021) by Sandrine Kerion

Learning outcomes

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

  • Demonstrate a refined understanding of the graphic novel as a genre, and of the impact of its advantages and constraints in shaping a narrative
  • Demonstrate familiarity with the historical events depicted in the graphic novels set for study, and a keen ability to analyse these depictions critically.
  • Demonstrate the capacity to think comparatively by identifying similarities and differences between the graphic novels and the sources they themselves use.
  • Demonstrate accomplishment in accessing, reading and critically analysing primary and secondary source materials in the target language.
  • Demonstrate requisite academic and organisational skills in managing and delivering an essay .
  • Cultural competency will be acquired alongside enhanced linguistic competency in French

Indicative reading list

The Cambridge companion to the graphic novel, 2017, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
The Oxford handbook of comic book studies, 2019, Oxford University Press, New York.
Baetens, J. & Frey, H. 2015, The graphic novel: an introduction, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Baur, A., Dilues, P., Nel, N. & Pégeot, P. 1977, "A propos de l'Histoire de France en Bandes Dessinées", Pratiques, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 131-133.
Bramlett, F., Cook, R.T. & Meskin, A. 2017, The Routledge companion to comics, Routledge, London;New York;.
CHOPELIN, P. 2019, "LA RÉVOLUTION FRANÇAISE EN BANDE DESSINÉE. ACTUALITÉ DE L’ÉDITION", Annales historiques de la Révolution française, , no. 398, pp. 147-172.
Chute, H.L. 2016, Disaster drawn: visual witness, comics, and documentary form, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
García, S. & Campbell, B. 2015, On the graphic novel, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, [Mississippi].
Grove, L. 2010, Comics in French: The European Bande Dessinée in Context, Berghahn Books, New York;Oxford;
Grove, L. 2013, "The Idea of France in "Comics" Old and New", Contemporary French and francophone studies, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 182-194.
Lesage, S. 2022, "La bande dessinée au prisme de l’histoire", Sociétés & représentations, vol. N° 53, no. 1, pp. 9-13.
Lesage, S. 2022, "Bande dessinée et histoire: De l’histoire des représentations à l’histoire culturelle", Sociétés & représentations, vol. N° 53, no. 1, pp. 15-38.
Lesage, S. 2019, "Écrire l"histoire en images: Les historiens et la tentation de la bande dessinée", Mouvement social, vol. 269, no. 1, pp. 47-65.
McKinney, M. 2008, History and politics in French-language comics and graphic novels, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, Miss.
Miller, A. 2007, Reading Bande Dessinée: critical approaches to French-language comic strip, 1st edn, Intellect Ltd, Bristol, UK;Chicago, IL;.
Miodrag, H. 2013, Comics and language: reimagining critical discourse on the form, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson.
Nabizadeh, G. 2019, Representation and memory in graphic novels, Routledge, New York, NY.
Peeters, B. 1998, Case, planche, récit: lire la bande dessinée, Casterman, Tournai, Belgium.
Renard, M., Venayre, S., Ricard, S. & Davodeau, É. 2022, "La fabrique d’une collection de bande dessinée historique : entretien sur l’Histoire dessinée de la France", Sociétés & représentations, vol. N° 53, no. 1, pp. 323-336.
Thomas, M. 2022, "Robert, P. (2021). La ville en planches. Bande-dessinée et mondes urbains", Etudes de communication, , no. 58, pp. 213-220.
Vessels, J.E. 2010, Drawing France: French comics and the republic, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson.

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 engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world. The focus on language, intercultural and research skills will equip students to better understand, communicate, and build effective relationships with those from different cultural backgrounds.

Subject specific skills

Taught in French and using French sources, this module will develop students' linguistic skills. It will build students' capacity to engage with aspects of French culture through analysis of the primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking.

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.

Study time

Type Required
Lectures 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%)
Seminars 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%)
Private study 132 hours (88%)
Total 150 hours

Private study description

Reading primary sources and engaging with research and critical scholarship.

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A
Weighting Study time Eligible for self-certification
Assessment component
Comparative essay 90% Yes (extension)

Students will write an essay of 3000-3250 words in length (excluding footnotes and bibliography) on one of the proposed topics and comparing at least two of the set primary sources. They may also choose their own topic in consultation with the module tutors. Depending on language level, the essay can either be written in English or French.
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
Class participation 10% No

Students will be encouraged and are expected to actively participate in class discussions by asking questions, volunteering an answer and responding to other students' contributions or questions. The aim of assessing class participation is to encourage students to share their ideas and knowledge with the group, and to motivate students to engage with background reading, homework and preparation for each learning session. In addition to assessing students’ disciplinary knowledge and understanding, assessing class participation will also be used to encourage and reward development of communication skills and group skills such as interacting and cooperating.
Reassessment component
Forum posts No

Students who have missed three or more learning sessions will be asked to submit two written forum posts (each 200-300 words long) which should take the form of responses to the classwork and set texts
Feedback on assessment

Feedback will be provided in the course of the module in a number of ways. Feedback should be understood to be both formal and informal and is not restricted to feedback on formal written work.
Oral feedback will be provided by the module tutor in the course of seminar discussion. This may include feedback on points raised in small group work or in the course of individual presentations or larger group discussion.
Written feedback will be provided on formal assessment using the standard SMLC Assessed Work feedback form appropriate to the assessment. Feedback is intended to enable continuous improvement throughout the module and written feedback is generally the final stage of this feedback process. Feedback will always demonstrate areas of success and areas for future development, which can be applied to future assessment. Feedback will be both discipline-specific and focused on key transferrable skills, enabling students to apply this feedback to their future professional lives. Feedback will be fair and reasonable and will be linked to the SMLC marking scheme appropriate to the module.

Pre-requisites

French proficiency of at least B1 level.

Courses

Course availability information is based on the current academic year, so it may change.

This module is Option list B for:

  • Year 4 of UPOA-M163 Undergraduate Politics, International Studies and French