LET-RTCBF217
The migrant novel in French
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleLET-RTCBF217
Credits (ECTS)5
Category-
Language of instructionFrench
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Arts; Romance Languages and Cultures;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
dr. E.M.A.F.M. Radar
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. E.M.A.F.M. Radar
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. E.M.A.F.M. Radar
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
dr. E.M.A.F.M. Radar
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2020
Period
PER 3-PER 4  (25/01/2021 to 31/08/2021)
Starting block
PER 3
Course mode
full-time
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesYes
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
At the end of the course, the student:
• is able to recall information on the history of migration in France/the francophone world
• is able to recall nuances on the concepts of the course (traveller, migrant, home, exile, etc)
• is able to explain and apply basic postcolonial concepts to analyse contemporary francophone migrant writing;  
• is able to interpret these productions within their historical/cultural/political context (in particular with the challenges of the power inequalities in the French speaking world);
• is able to explain how such novels have contributed to the debate on migration;
• is able to present a sound analysis of a chosen topic from contemporary migrant literature in French.
 
Content
‘Migrant novel in French’ examines a series of novels from the French speaking world (in English translation) dealing with migration. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have witnessed geopolitical crises and mass migration (mainly due to conflicts/wars of the (post)colonial era, economic and climate change). There is a long tradition of writing experiences of displacement and migration in French such as: travel writing to the colonies in the interwar period, ‘beur-literature’ in France in the 1980s and the 21st century ‘migrant-crisis’ in Europe and elsewhere is a also tackled by literature.
Published in the 21st century, the novels studied during the course are set in various contexts, often narrated via diverse perspectives (migration to Europe and back to sub-Saharan Africa, migration and diasporas from Asia & the Maghreb to France, Belgium or Quebec) which allow us to examine articulations of mobility, displacement, home and exile in a broad scope.
Through these writings, the course addresses distinctions between categories such as: traveller, exiled, refugee, migrant, tourist, etc. and explores the history of mobility and immigration from the colonial interwar period until the ‘postcolonial’ present day. It takes a postcolonial perspective on migrant novels and looks at possibilities and limitations of the novel as genre in creating and contesting concepts of ‘nation’, ‘home’, ‘exile’, ‘mobility’.
Central concerns of the course will be : representation of migration, legacy of ‘mission civilisatrice’ and French universalism, cultural coexistence, writing in French.
 
Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Test information

Specifics

Assumed previous knowledge
Note for exchange students: you cannot take this course if your French proficiency level is not at least B1/B2.

Required materials
Book
Diome, Fatou, The Belly of the Atlantic, trans. Ros Schwartz & Lulu Norman, 2008. ISBN-10: 9781852429034, ISBN-13: 978-1852429034, 13.10 €
Book
Guene, Faiza, Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow, trans. Sarah Adams, 2006 ISBN-10: 0156030489, ISBN-13: 978-0156030489
Book
Sebbar, Leïla, The Seine Was Red: Paris, October 1961, trans. Mildred Mortimer, 2008 ISBN-10: 0253220238, ISBN-13: 978-0253220233, 15,13 €
Book
Thuy, Kim, Ru, trans. Sheila Fischman, 2012 ISBN-10: 1608198987, ISBN-13: 978-1608198986, 10,25 €
Articles
No textbook will be required. Academic articles will be accessible via Brightspace.

Instructional modes
At home PER4 gel1
Attendance MandatoryYes

At home PER4 gel2
Attendance MandatoryYes

Lecture / Seminar
Attendance MandatoryYes

Tests
Written Exam 1 (AT HOME)
Test weight30
Test typeWritten exam
OpportunitiesBlock PER 3, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5

Portfolio 1
Test weight20
Test typeProject
OpportunitiesBlock PER 3, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5

Written Exam 2 (AT HOME)
Test weight30
Test typeWritten exam
OpportunitiesBlock PER 4, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5

Portfolio 2
Test weight20
Test typeProject
OpportunitiesBlock PER 4, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5