UPDATED 2025

The Evolution of Modern French Literature

2nd July – 20th August

12hrs

Recorded lectures

8hrs

Interactive discussion sessions

12-20hrs

Self study and assignments

COURSE OVERVIEW

Our 2025 online course offers a combination of recorded lectures, self study, quizzes, writing assignments, and live online discussion sessions. 

This course traces the evolution of literature in France, set against its historical and political background. Students will gain insight into a variety of influential works and authors, while learning how to analyse and discuss literary extracts like an Oxford scholar.

French Literature Course teacher

MEET THE TEACHER

Adam is a PhD student and Clarendon Scholar at the University of Oxford, specialising in the French novelist Marcel Proust.

Adam holds both a BA in Philosophy and French (First-Class Honours) and a Master’s Degree in French (Distinction) from the University of Oxford. He has many years of teaching experience, and he particularly enjoys helping students to develop a more critical approach to French literature. 

REVIEWS

REVIEWS

Curriculum

2025 SYLLABUS

CURRICULUM

Week one

Renaissance Writing:
Montaigne (1533-92) and Rabelais (1494-1553)

The sixteenth century was a tumultuous period in French history. Endless civil war raged between Protestants and Catholics, ravaging the countryside and causing widespread famine. Almost simultaneously, French armies were engaged in a variety of foreign campaigns, sometimes with such strange bedfellows as Ottoman pirates, against different elements of the encircling Hapsburg Empire. In the midst of these turbulences, two writers emerged whose avant-gardism, and sheer bawdiness, can still surprise and shock today. In this lesson, we will explore Rabelais, a comic writer of confused satire, and Montaigne, the inventor of the essay form – both of whom, in messy times, revelled in even messier literary styles.

Week two

Classicism:
Mme De La Fayette (1634-1693) and Mme de Sévigné (1626-96)

After the turbulence of the sixteenth century, the French court wished to show, both to itself, to neighbours, and the country at large, that it was orderly again. As clean classical lines became the rage in visual arts, court writers likewise tried to adapt their style to a desire for both control and elegance.

Week three

The Enlightenment:
Voltaire (1694-1778) and Rousseau (1712-1778)

In the eighteenth century, various writers began to push at the boundaries of Classicism, and, with it, the legitimacy of the monarchic system. We will examine this with Voltaire’s unruly, satirical poem Le mondain (1736) and Discours sur l’inégalité (1754), Rousseau’s heartfelt critique of society.

Week four

Romanticism
Hugo (1802-85) and Sand (1804-1876)

The turbulence created by the French Revolution (1789) created room for many new currents of writing and thought. The most important of these was Romanticism, which allowed not only for a new notion of “man”, but also, I will argue, of woman. Romantic writers, now freer to rail against tendencies in society, produce some of France’s most powerful works of literature, as you will hopefully attest to in Victor Hugo and George Sand’s work.

Week five

Realism:
Balzac (1799-1850) and Stendhal (1783-1842)

Whilst we often think of kitchen-sink Realism to be more “modern” than the sometimes unbelievable flights of Romanticism, in fact the two styles developed in parallel in 19th century France, and had similar predecessors and intentions. Balzac and Stendhal were both writers who allegedly attempted to show their world “as it really was”, warts and all. In this lesson, we will consider whether either writer opened a faithful window onto France in the first half of its nineteenth century. 

Week six

Modernism:
Gide (1869-1951) and [Anna de] Noailles (1876-1933)

After the gritty realities of Realism, Modernist writers cultivated an interest highly-controlled modes of expression in poetry and prose. In this age, interest in queer sexualities was first firmly introduced as a central subject for literature, in a manner that was typically composed, often hidden, and stylised. Gide and Noailles are, equally, two of the most famous faces of the last great epoch of French socialising. 

Week seven

Post-Colonialism:
Césaire (1913-2008) and Duras (1914-1996)

After the Second World War, many different currents crossed paths in the French and Francophone worlds, leading to an impressive array of different genres and writing. In this lesson, we will consider a polemical text by Césaire, Discours sur le colonialisme (1950), chasing down distant and surprising associations with Rabelais. Then our attention will turn to the new cadences of feminism found in Duras’ inimitable prose.

Week eight

Contemporary Writing:
Sarr (b. 1990) and Despentes (b. 1969)

In the final lesson of our jaunt through French literature, we look at two living authors, both engaged in political writing. Sarr’s La plus secrète mémoire des hommes (2021) won the Prix Goncourt for its sprawling, postmodern exploration of writers and writing. Despentes’ furious polemic, King Kong Théorie (2006) launches a brutal attack of the Real on the reader, which grabs one and keeps tightening.

Ready to dive into French literature?

Join our FREE taster session on the 12th of March 2025 to help you decide whether this course is right for you!

FAQs

This course provides an introduction to French literature, therefore you do not need to have studied French literature previously in order to take part in – and get the most out of – this course. All of the set reading is provided in both English and French, so you can take the course with minimal knowledge of the French language. 

Each week, we will ask you to watch the recorded lectures and complete the set reading prior to our discussion classes. There will also be some quizzes and (optional) writing assignments for you to put your knowledge to the test!

A basic knowledge of French would be useful for taking part in the course, as we will be looking at texts in the original French with their English translations. However, you do not necessarily need to know any French in order to take part in this course, as all classes will be conducted in English, and the teacher will translate any French words and phrases that are discussed during the lessons. 

All of our online classes are recorded and available for students to watch or rewatch at their convenience. Therefore if you miss a class then you will be able to catch up by watching the recorded lesson. However, we encourage students to try to attend the live classes as much as possible as this provides them with the opportunity to interact with the teacher and ask any questions they may have. 

Other questions about this French literature course? Email us at info@linguatute.com