Literary Seminar

Postgraduate course

Course description

Objectives and Content

The objective of the seminar is to investigate a specific literary problem, for instance connected to a genre, period, authorship, literary theory or something of the like.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcome:

Knowledge

The student

  • has a good grip of problems connected to the literature and literary theory covered in the course
  • is acquainted with new research in the field in question

Skills

The student

  • is able to teach on the subject covered in the course
  • is able to conduct research and other academic developmental work

General competence

The student

  • has an overview of relevant themes, making him or her capable of giving a fair representation of the field of study with an interdisciplinary and international context
  • is able to work independently with a research question, find relevant background material and present the results of this work in an academic manner
  • is able to plan and conduct supervised work over within a specified time limit

ECTS Credits

15

Level of Study

Master

Semester of Instruction

Spring

Place of Instruction

Bergen
Required Previous Knowledge
No formal requirement, but see Recommended Previous Knowledge.
Recommended Previous Knowledge
French studies on the 100 and 200 levels, or the equivalent.
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Due to certain overlaps in content, credits for completing FRAN308 will be reduced by 10 ECTS if combined with FRAN308L and 15 ECTS if combined with FRAN303/304.
Access to the Course
The course is open to students enrolled in the Master's program in French at the University of Bergen.
Teaching and learning methods

The teaching is conducted in the form of lectures/seminars, about 12 double sessions per semester.

Teaching methods that facilitate student activity are used, for example, problem-based learning where students must find solutions together with one or more fellow students. If resources allow, seminars will be held in smaller groups - combined with teacher and / or fellow student feedback.

If less than five students sign up for the course, teaching may be adjusted, e.g. by replacing some lectures with seminars or by tailoring the course to each student´s needs and interests. When this is the case, students will be informed about the revised course structure at the beginning of the semester, prior to the semester registration deadline:

1 February / 1 September

There may also be some shared classes with students at the ENS in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

In order to be eligible to take the exam, each student must in the course of the seven first weeks of teaching attain approval on their oral presentation (approx. 15 min.) pertaining to the curriculum. The students plan their presentation in conjunction with the instructor. The written manuscript is to be handed when giving the presentation.

Approval on mandatory assignments is valid only for the semester in which the course was held, as well as the following semester.

Forms of Assessment

The assessment is a term paper of around 4000 words (four weeks).

Students will be offered supervision during the exam.

Grading Scale
The exam is marked on a scale from A to F, where F means that the candidate fails.
Assessment Semester
Spring. Students with approvals on their mandatory assignments may also be assessed early in the fall semester.
Reading List

The curriculum consists of one literary component (3-5 literary works), and one theoretical component (approx. 100 pages).

Any subsequent changes to the reading list will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

The reading list will be ready by 1 Jul for the fall semester, and 1 Dec for the spring semester.

Course Evaluation
The evaluation is conducted in accordance with the quality control system of the University of Bergen.
Examination Support Material
Does not apply.
Programme Committee
The program committee is responsible for the academic content and structure of the program and for the quality of the program and all the courses that comprise it.
Course Coordinator
The program committee for French.
Course Administrator
The Faculty of the Humanities through the Department of Foreign Languages is responsible for the administration of the course and the program as such.