Interdisciplinary thematic seminar in literature

Teacher(s)

Bragard Véronique; Fabry Geneviève; Roland Hubert;

Language

French
> English-friendly

Prerequisites

Successful completion of the bachelor's degree in modern languages and literature, or equivalent training in literary studies;
Have a good command of English and/or French, as well as of the modern languages included in the student's program (upper advanced level, B2 + in terms of the Common European Framework of Reference).

Main themes

This cross-disciplinary thematic research seminar offers students the opportunity to embark on a specific research project in literary studies. The seminar brings together various teachers and/or research team(s), who work together alternately on a common theme, bringing together different modern literatures, methods and critical perspectives. Content varies from year to year.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	get involved in a collective research dynamic ;
2	master the (inter)disciplinary knowledge and skills (conceptual and epistemological foundations, types of methodology) underlying the chosen research theme;
3	design and implement a personal research project linked to the seminar theme: analyse literary texts in depth on the basis of a clearly argued research question, integrating current debates on the chosen issue, considering and correctly using key references and concepts (from lectures, readings and debates presented during the seminar);
4	know how to present research results within a defined methodological and conceptual framework (know how to listen and engage in discussion with the audience, integrate new ideas);
5	Demonstrate a quality of expression and mastery of the written and oral language of specialty; handle academic conventions and argue critically and thoughtfully.

Content

A Comparative and Ecocritical Approach to a Multilingual Literary Corpus: Spatio-Temporal Scales and Their Perception
A river that remembers the valley’s distant past, a storm that looks down on humans and villages… Contemporary literature, more than any other in the past, brings to the fore and creates tension around the heterogeneity of space-time in an attempt to understand the interactions between humans and non-human entities. This should come as no surprise: doesn’t the hypothesis of a major turning point in Earth’s history brought about by human activity—that is, the Anthropocene—highlight the overlap between historical time (measured in years and centuries) and geological time (measured in millions of years)? From a spatial perspective as well, micro- and macroscopic phenomena confront us with the infinitely small and the infinitely large.
How does literature engage with this “scalar complexity” (Dürbeck and Hüpkes)—a concept that pertains to “deep time” yet is also influenced by current technologies (satellites, microscopes)? To produce what kind of meanings? How does literature go about conveying scales that completely transcend the human measure of time and space? What literary strategies are employed to evoke the lives of non-human entities over the long term (for example, a mountain or a river), and what impacts does this have on our anthropocentric perceptions? What kind of subjectivity is constructed in texts that, without abandoning their literary nature, engage in a dialogue with underlying scientific discourses? How does the decentering of the subject take place in these literary or iconotextual works? Finally, how is the perception of the subjects present in these texts problematized?
This is what will be analyzed in a multilingual corpus (French, English, Spanish, German), which will be examined in relation to one another and analyzed through the lens of these various theoretical questions, supplemented by fieldwork.

Teaching methods

The seminar will alternate sessions presenting and introducing the literary and theoretical corpus, with analyses of significant extracts carried out jointly with the students. A workshop at the end of each of the two modules will provide an opportunity to deepen and share the reading work already undertaken. At the end of the two modules, students will determine a personal work project, giving a provisional oral version before submitting an in-depth written work.
The seminar, which will take place in the second four-month term, can be advantageously prepared for in the first four-month term. A visit to the Afrika Museum in Tervueren will be offered to students in October or November, while the readings will be announced at the beginning of October and can be anticipated by the students.
It is therefore a mixed approach, with lectures providing an introduction to the theme and workshops enabling students to learn about it through interactive reading of literary texts in their specialist language. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

Evaluation methods

Students are assessed in three ways:
- continuous assessment, including active participation in text analysis and workshops (25% of the final mark) ;
- an individual final paper presented orally and in writing. This will be written in one of the student's two major languages (50% of the final mark).
- final oral exam (25%)
The use of artificial intelligence is tolerated to improve writing, but is not recommended for generating new textual content. The paper (in oral or written form) must mention its sources and therefore the type of use reserved for the AI (cf. norms defined by ELAL).

Other information

Reading portfolio (reference articles and primary texts) according to the theme(s) addressed; detailed schedule and plan.
 

Bibliography

Une bibliographie détaillée sur la thématique choisie est mise à la disposition des étudiants.

Faculty or entity

> ELAL