The Second World War is an event which
continues to have repercussions in contemporary French society, as witnessed by
the Klaus Barbie trial in the mid 1980s, the trials of Paul Touvier in
1993-1994 and Maurice Papon in 1997-1998, the murder of René Bousquet in 1993,
and the fiftieth anniversary of the Liberation. To these events must be added
the numerous books and films which serve to underline the continuing obsession
of the French with this highly ambiguous period in their history. Through the
study of a range of historical, literary and cinematic materials, this module
examines various French interpretations of both Resistance and Collaboration
from 1945 to the present day, and assesses the effect of the war years on
contemporary French society.
Materials
for study
Novels: Marcel Aymé, Uranus (1948); Jean Dutourd, Au
Bon Beurre (1952); Patrick Modiano, La Place de l'Etoile (1968);
Marguerite Duras, La Douleur (1985).
Films: Alain Resnais, Nuit et brouillard (1955);
Marcel Ophüls, Le Chagrin et la pitié (1971) and Hôtel Terminus
(1988); Louis Malle, Lacombe Lucien (1974) and Au revoir les enfants
(1987); Jacques Audiart, Un héros très discret (1996).
History: in-house dossiers on Touvier, Papon, Bousquet and
related issues.
Video: a series of videos on related themes are
available for viewing.
Students
are also provided with a detailed bibliography of printed and electronic
resources.
CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS TO SOURCE
MATERIALS ON THE WEB
Teaching
and Assessment
Teaching takes place throughout the year
on Mondays at 11am and Wednesdays at noon, in Room 209. The films and videos
are screened most weeks on Wednesdays, from 1.45pm/2.00pm, in Room 209. Most of
the films may also be borrowed for personal viewing from the Sydney Jones
Library.
The module is assessed by means of one
essay (2,000-2,500 words), written in English, worth a third of the total mark,
and one two-hour examination (two answers required) worth two thirds of the
total mark. Click here
for the coursework topics.
Editor: Kay Chadwick
Last updated: October 2004
http://www.liv.ac.uk/~ckc/war.html