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FRAN-B516

Littératures des XXe et XXIe siècles

academic year
2024-2025
2025-2026

Course teacher(s)

Sabrina PARENT (Coordinator)

ECTS credits

5

Language(s) of instruction

french

Course content

In 2023, astrophysicist Aurélien Barrau invited the scientific community (and even beyond it) to “inhabit the world poetically” (Hypothèse K). In doing so (and perhaps unwittingly), he echoed the poet and essayist Jean-Claude Pinson who, in 1995, in 
Habiter en poète. Essai sur la poésie contemporaine (Champ Vallon), advocated a poetic habitat of the world, where literature and the arts in general grant us the possibility of “making sense”. Based on a collection of texts (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essay), 
the course aims to think about the “damaged world” (Donna Harraway) of today as much as the world of tomorrow, as still habitable, 
not only for the human species, but also for “other-than-humans”. 
In this, the course is an invitation to decentering and an exploration of linguistic, stylistic, textual devices, etc. that allow it.
The first sessions of the course are devoted to theoretical and critical discussions 
(for example: modernity vs. postmodernity, postcolonial, decolonial, links between History and Literature, ecopoetics, etc.) 
in the light of which the chosen works will then be examined (which will vary from one year to the next).

Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)

Upon completion of this course, graduates will be able to:

(1) Develop specialized theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of French literature, 
by learning to consider literatures as a whole as mechanisms of meaning that respond 
to specific, historically and culturally determined codes;
(2) Acquire and consolidate a broad general and interdisciplinary culture 
by opening up to other humanities and understanding the connections between them.

Prerequisites and Corequisites

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

As this course is mandatory for students of the Master's degree in French and Romance Languages ​​and Literature, 
it requires a certain mastery of the analysis and interpretation of literary texts. However, 
because contemporary literature addresses societal subjects/problems that invite interdisciplinary reflection, 
the course welcomes students from other backgrounds.

Teaching methods and learning activities

lectures alternating with discussions (based on readings of articles or works from the corpus). During discussion sessions, student participation is, of course, strongly encouraged.
Furthermore, students who would like to take this course as an elective but are unable to attend regularly are advised not to register. Indeed, the teaching method employed requires personal involvement from the student, upon which their success depends.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

The reading list is made available during the first class. 
Reading articles available on the course unit may be required to prepare for one or the other session.

Course notes

  • Université virtuelle

Contribution to the teaching profile

(1) Deepen specialized knowledge: understand and master the concepts specific to French-language literature; 
(2) take into account the complexity of cultural phenomena and open up to multiculturalism; 
(3) produce original scientific work by choosing the subject and the method(s) of investigation, constructing a coherent problem, formulating hypotheses, analyzing, interpreting; 
(4) communicate and transmit by developing a clear and structured discourse, by arguing and using the language specific to the discipline; (5) learn to act as professionals: implement the capacities for analysis, synthesis, contextualization, rigor, coherence, demonstrate critical thinking, autonomy and a sense of responsibility; 
(6) build values ​​by promoting the understanding of individuals and groups of different opinions and cultures.

Other information

Additional information

Schedule and location available here: https://www.ulb.be/fr/horaires

Contacts

sabrina.parent@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Evaluation

Method(s) of evaluation

  • written examination

written examination

Written exam

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Written exam: 100% of the grade

Language(s) of evaluation

  • french

Programmes