Questions of Literary History

Language

French

Main themes

Literary history is a critical construction whose narrative, always in evolution, says as much about the moment that produced it as it does about the periods it evokes: it is a discourse that links the past and the present. The course invites the students to become aware of this phenomenon by identifying the principles and issues at stake in the construction of this discourse.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Situate the discourse on literature historically and recognise the principles involved in each of them.
2	Establish a link between literary theory (dealing with literature in general) and criticism (looking at specific works).
3	Situate literary studies in the context of the humanities.
4	Produce a critique of criticism: accept the narratives of literary history as constructs to be analysed; bring to light the choices made by all critical discourse.

Content

How has literary history been developed in France over the years, from its earliest formalisations in the 16th century to the present day? What exactly does it consist of? What values (moral, political, poetic, ideological, epistemological) and what conception of literature does it construct and convey? These are the main questions that will be addressed in this course, which will look at literary history as a discipline, as it has been renewed in recent years by university research. We will look at the history of the history of literature on the one hand, and the criticism of the history of literature on the other, which together make up literary history. 
After a few introductory sessions in which the main issues of literary history will be presented, the following sessions will be devoted to specific case studies: either historiographical categories such as the Baroque, Classicism, Libertinism, Romanticism, etc., or important figures who have helped to shape these categories and literary history in general, such as Perrault, Voltaire, Sainte-Beuve, Lanson, etc., will be examined. 

Teaching methods

Lectures. 
Students will regularly be invited to take an active part in the course through pre-course readings, Wooclap surveys and questionnaires. 

Evaluation methods

Time-limited written exam during the exam session. 

Online resources

Moodle

Bibliography

Principalement: Alain Vaillant, L'histoire littéraire, Paris, Armand Colin, 2017 (2e édition)
Une bibliographie complémentaire commentée sera donnée au fur et à mesure du cours.
A complementary commented bibliography will be given as the course progresses.

Faculty or entity

> ELAL