La République gaullienne: 1958 to 1969
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| MLAC3094 | Modern Languages and Cultures | 3 | 20 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- MLAC3094
- School
- Modern Languages and Cultures
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
The module explores how the Fifth Republic came into being and examines the problems of bedding in a regime that did nothing short of revolutionizing French political culture without jettisoning the key features of the 'modèle républicain'. The module is driven by a chronological narrative of French politics between 1958 and 1969, but will also examine themes such as the écriture de la constitution, the clash of political visions, bipolarization and its tensions. It concludes with de Gaulle's apparent act of 'political suicide' in 1969.
The background text for the module is Serge Bersteins La France de lexpansion I La République gaullienne 1958-1969 (Paris, Seuil 1989).
Target Students
Only available to students taking MLAC3082 French 3.
Co-requisites
Modules you must take in the same academic year, or have taken in a previous year, to enrol in this module:
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
- One 1-hour lecture each week for 20 weeks
The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies operates an attendance policy. The details of this policy can be found in the student handbook on Workspace and in module handbooks.
Assessment
- 60% Coursework 1: 3000-word essay
- 40% Exam 1 (1-hour-30-minute): Seen commentary examination - 1.5 hours
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
To introduce/reinforce students’ knowledge and understanding of the French polity, building on modules taught in years one and two. The module will also introduce/reintroduce students to debates over citizenship, representation, nationhood and key issue of French politics and society in a transitional decade of the twentieth century.Learning Outcomes
A. Knowledge and understanding of:
•how and why the Fifth Republic was created and how it embedded itself in French society (A4, A6)
•conflicts within French society over the political form of the state and representation (A4, A6)
•broader issues of relationship between government, parliament, state and citizen (A4, A6)
•awareness of techniques of analysis for historical texts (A5)
B. Intellectual skills:
•an ability to think critically about political systems (A4, A6, B3)
•reading and interpretative skills appropriate to an understanding of the period (B1-4)
•the ability to read and evaluate primary and secondary texts (B2, B4, B5)
•ability to develop arguments in discussion and in writing (B6-8).
C. Professional skills:
•use and understand written French (C1)
•operate effectively between English and French (C2)
•the ability to write accurately and grammatically and present written work according to a given set of academic conventions (C6)
•to analyse primary texts and present analysis orally in an intelligent and effective fashion (C3)
D. Transferable skills:
•the ability to collect and rationalize library data in an effective manner (D2)
•the ability to construct and communicate a sustained analysis of historical data in writing (D1)
•the define a problem and find strategies to resolve them (D3)
•working productively independently (D4)
•time organisation: meeting deadlines (D7)
Conveners
- Dr Paul Eric Adrian Smith