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Monographic Seminar on French-Language Literature

Code: 106620
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English and French Studies OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Xavier Blanco Escoda
Email :
xavier.blanco@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

This course has no specific prerequisites, beyond the level of French required to follow the classes and complete the readings and course activities.

Objectives

  1. To situate the work studied in the seminar within the framework of nineteenth-century French literature, with particular attention to the development of the realist and naturalist novel.
  2. To understand the relationship between the work studied, the author’s literary trajectory, and the broader literary project in which it is inscribed.
  3. To develop the ability to analyse and comment on literary texts in French, paying attention to narrative, descriptive, thematic, and symbolic procedures.
  4. To relate the reading of a literary work to broader issues such as the representation of society, work, the body, social conflict, gender, and the construction of reality.
  5. To foster a critical, well-argued, and contextualised reading of French literature, as well as the ability to express an individual interpretation of the texts studied both orally and in writing.


Learning outcomes

  1. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  2. Maintain an attitude of respect for the opinions, values, behaviors and practices of others.
  3. In a responsible and reasoned way, apply the appropriate computer techniques for the consultation and management of specific documentary sources.
  4. Identify and explain the basic features of literary texts
  5. Distinctiate and assemble the basic critical bibliography that makes up the field of study of a work or author of French-language literature.
  6. Present arguments and evaluate the relevance of the analysis of a linguistic, literary or cultural phenomenon.
  7. Produce works in which the fundamental digital and bibliographic tools for the field of study are applied.
  8. Identify the context in which historical and cultural processes are inscribed.
  9. Demonstrating a personal stance over a problem or controversy of philosophical nature.
  10. Acquire an awareness of the diachronic dimension of French and of the conditions of creation, dissemination and preservation of major French literary texts belonging to the initial stages of the language.
  11. Use the techniques of literary commentary.
  12. Identifying and explaining the basic characteristics of literary texts and the interpretation process.

Contents

  1. Émile Zola and the nineteenth-century French novel: realism, naturalism, the author’s literary trajectory, and the narrative project of the Rougon-Macquart.
  2. Reading and discussion of Germinal: the structure of the novel, narrative organisation, main characters, settings, and key thematic areas.
  3. The mining world and working-class society: work, the body, family, everyday life, hunger, wages, debt, housing, and material conditions of existence.
  4. Social conflict and the representation of the working-class community: collective consciousness, strike action, class struggle, violence, failure, and the symbolic dimension of the ending.
  5. Naturalist writing and the literary construction of reality: preparatory documentation, descriptive and narrative procedures, gender perspective, and the relationship between literature, society, and history.


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Classes with ICT support and collective discussion 48 1.92 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Personal study and readings 86.5 3.46 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Exercises and reading questionnaires 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

The methodology of the course is based on a combination of autonomous reading and personal study with directed and supervised activities involving commentary, discussion, and literary analysis.

Autonomous work will mainly consist of the continuous reading of the work studied in the seminar, the preparation of passages indicated by the lecturer, and the study of complementary materials provided throughout the course.

Directed activities will focus on the contextualisation of the work, the guided commentary of selected passages, and interpretative debates on the main literary, historical, and social issues raised by the text.

Supervised activities will include exercises and reading questionnaires, as well as individual or group oral presentations of the results of literary analysis. These activities will aim to foster a progressive, well-argued, and textually grounded reading of the work.

In at least one of the seminar sessions, the representation of women’s work, the body, and the domestic economy in Germinal will be analysed, with particular attention to Catherine, la Maheude, and the women of the mining settlement. This activity will make it possible to observe how the novel articulates social class, gender, productive labour, and reproductive labour.

When appropriate, guidance may be provided on the use of digital tools and text analysis software applied to the study of literary texts in French. These tools will be presented as complementary support for observing lexical, thematic, or discursive phenomena, without replacing the direct reading of the work, philological commentary, or critical interpretation of the texts.

Note: 15 minutes of one class session will be reserved, within the period established by the Faculty/degree programme, for students to complete the surveys evaluating the lecturer’s teaching performance and the course.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Oral presentations in class 20% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12
First exam 30% 1.5 0.06 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Active participation in class 20% 1 0.04 2, 6, 9
Second exam 30% 1.5 0.06 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

Students must demonstrate their progress through various assessment activities. These activities are detailed in the table of this section of the Course Guide.

Review. When each assessment activity is carried out, the lecturer will inform students, through the Virtual Campus, of the procedure and date for reviewing grades. The grades for each test will be communicated within a maximum period of three weeks.

Reassessment. Students may access reassessment if they have been assessed in activities whose weight is equivalent to 66.6% (two thirds) or more of the final grade and if they have obtained a weighted average grade of 3.5 or higher.

The final grade, including the average of the reassessable activities, will be published at least 72 hours before the reassessment test. When the final grade prior to the official record of the subject is released, the lecturer will communicate the reassessment procedure in writing. A reassessment activity will be proposed for each failed or non-submitted activity that is reassessable. Under no circumstances may reassessment consist of a single final assessment activity equivalent to 100% of the grade.

Consideration as “not assessed”. Students will receive a “not assessed” grade if they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.

Irregularities in assessment activities. In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded for an assessment activity, this assessment activity will be graded 0, regardless of any disciplinary process that may be initiated. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities in the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0. Assessment activities in which irregularities, fraud or misuse of AI have been detected cannot be reassessed.

Exchange students who request to advance an exam must present the lecturer with a written document from their home university justifying their request.

Use of artificial intelligence. This subject allows the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, work organisation, language correction or other specific uses authorised by the lecturer. The use of automatic or assisted translation must be authorised by the lecturer.

Students must: (i) identify the parts that have been generated or revised with AI; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include, when requested, a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity.

Lack of transparency in the use of AI in an assessable activity will be considered academic dishonesty and will result in the activity being graded 0 and not being eligible for reassessment, or in more serious sanctions in cases of greater severity.


SINGLE ASSESSMENT

The same reassessment system as for continuous assessment will apply. Opting for single assessment does not exempt students from attending class. Continuous assessment activities linked to the oral presentation and active participation in class will be replaced, in the single assessment system, by an oral exam.

Description:

First and second parts of a written test, equivalent to the two midterm exams completed during the course: 30% + 30% (total 60%)

Written commentary exercise or reading questionnaire: 20%

Oral exam on the contents covered in class: 20%

Date of the single assessment: the date set by the administration.

Bibliography

MITTERAND, Henri (2002). Zola et le naturalisme. Paris : Presses Universitaires de France, « Que sais-je ? ».

PARDO BAZÁN, Emilia (2021). La cuestión palpitante. Alicante: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Edición digital a partir de la edición de Madrid, Imprenta Central, a cargo de V. Saiz, 1883. Disponible en línea: https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra/la-cuestion-palpitante-1051289/

POTELET, Hélène (2002). Profil - Zola (Émile) : Germinal. Paris : Hatier, « Profil d’une œuvre ».

ZOLA, Émile (1999). Germinal. Édition d’Henri Mitterand, préface d’André Wurmser. Paris : Gallimard, « Folio classique ».

ZOLA, Émile (2020). Les Romanciers naturalistes. Paris : Flammarion, « GF ».


N.B.: the bibliography listed includes only a selection of titles particularly suitable for effective use by students within the framework of the seminar. Throughout the course, additional critical and bibliographical references will be provided, where appropriate, in order to explore specific aspects of the work, naturalism, and the Rougon-Macquart cycle in greater depth.

Software

Throughout the course, guidance may be provided on the use of digital tools and text analysis software applied to the study of literary texts in French. These tools will be presented as complementary support for observing lexical, thematic, or discursive phenomena, without replacing the direct reading of the work, philological commentary, or critical interpretation of the texts.

Likewise, the possibilities and limitations of generative artificial intelligence tools in the field of literary studies may be discussed, especially with regard to idea generation, work organisation, and language revision. The use of these tools may not, under any circumstances, replace the student’s own work of reading, analysis, and writing, and must comply with the university’s established criteria for academic integrity.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 French second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 1 French second semester morning-mixed