FR2CHF: Children's books in France

Module code: FR2CHF

Module provider: Languages and Cultures; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Sophie Heywood, email: S.L.Heywood@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Before taking this module, you must take FR1L1 Beginners French Language or FR1L2 Intermediate French Language or FR1L3 Advanced French Language, or equivalent. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 9 July 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Some of our best-known children’s books are in fact French: Perrault’s fairy tales, Jules Verne’s 20,000 leagues under the sea or the adventures of Babar the Elephant to name but a few. However, many other texts that have shaped the lives and ideas of generations of French children remain virtually unknown to the English-speaking world. Who has heard of the comtesse de Ségur for example? Yet in France, she is a national icon. 
 
Without pretending to be exhaustive, this module introduces students to some of the important texts, authors and themes in the study of children’s literature in modern France. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Identify and outline the major texts, authors and themes in modern French children’s literature, and analyse them in their social, cultural and literary context. 
2. Understand and take notes from lectures in French, and appraise the ideas presented in lectures, seminars or secondary materials in both French and English.  
3. Organise and articulate a coherent written argument in coursework. 

Module content

Topics for study may include: 

• Charles Perrault’s fairy tales. 
• La comtesse de Ségur and the expansion of books for girls. 
• The golden age of publishing for children. 
• Jules Verne: stories of empire, exploration and science. 
• The development of picture books for young children: Babar, Le Père Castor and Tomi Ungerer 
• French comics 

Key themes may include: 

• The role of the Church. 
• The role of the publisher. 
• The role of translations, adaptations and readership. 
• Changing ideas of the ‘child’. 
• The impact of the new science of child psychology. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The course will be taught using a mixture of lectures (in French) and seminars. 

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs