The University of Sheffield
Department of French

Feminism in French Culture and Thought I and II (FRE329 and FRE330)

Title: FRE329 Feminism in Contemporary French
Culture and Thought I
Tutor: Dr Renate Günther
Level: 3 Semester: 1 Credits: 10

Prerequisites: FRE202 and the Year Abroad

Corequisites: FRE330

Brief Description (including aims of course):

This module aims to develop students' understanding of the role played by feminist thought in shaping the cultural and intellectual life of modern France.

In particular, the module examines the interaction between feminism and philosophy in France and addresses a number of questions relating to the concept of gender and female identity.

The module opens with an analysis of Simone de Beauvoir's Le Deuxième sexe as the first work to combine existentialism with feminism.

This is followed by a study of the representation of women in the French media where students examine how the media reproduce or challenge traditional assumptions about women in French society.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course the students should be able to:

Outline Syllabus:

Contents (class by class):

Module format:

Seminars 10 hours
plus directed reading and small-group tutorials

Assessment:

This module will be assessed on the basis of one assessed essay.



Title: FRE330 Feminism in Contemporary French
Culture and Thought II

Tutor: Dr Renate Günther
Level: 3; Semester: 2; Credits: 10

Prerequisites: FRE329

Brief Description (including aims of course):

In this module we study first of all the development of the new French Women's Movement created in the wake of May 68.

The aim of this module component is to help students evaluate the place of the MLF on the French political scene as well as the differrent currents of thought within the movement.

In this context, particular emphasis is given to different approaches to feminism and to the conflicts that arose from this diversity in the MLF.

The connections between post-68 feminist theory, psychoanalysis and philosophy are discussed in the final element of the module which looks at the influence of Freud, Lacan and Derrida on the writing of Luce Irigaray, Hélène Cixous and Julia Kristeva.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course the students should be able to:

Outline Syllabus:

Contents (class by class):

Module format:

Seminars 10 hours plus directed reading.

Assessment:

The module is assessed on the basis of one assessed essay.