Les Misérables from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day (MLF3080)
| Staff | Professor Fiona Cox - Convenor |
|---|---|
| Credit Value | 15 |
| ECTS Value | 7.5 |
| NQF Level | 6 |
| Pre-requisites | MLF2001 or equivalent or native speaker competence |
| Co-requisites | None |
| Duration of Module | Term 2: 11 weeks; |
Module aims
The module aims to enable you to:
- Gain a detailed appreciation of one of France’s most notable and understudied authors.
- Gain an understanding of French literary and political nineteenth-century history.
- Acquire an understanding of approaches to adaptation and reception.
- Acquire skills to appreciate and analyse intertextual presences.
ILO: Module-specific skills
- 1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the text and afterlife of Les Misérables.
- 2. Demonstrate an appreciation of the historical context of the novel and how this may affect our reading.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
- 3. After initial input from course leader independently apply and evaluate critical approaches to the material under analysis.
- 4. Argue at length and in detail, engaging with both primary and secondary texts, about an aspect of the selected topic.
ILO: Personal and key skills
- 5. Undertake independent research tasks on the basis of a taught course.
- 6. Adopt an independent, critical approach to a topic in order to produce, by a deadline, a written argument of some complexity.
Syllabus plan
The course will focus on key sections of Hugo’s Les Misérables, considering them within the context of nineteenth-century France, Hugo’s own life and the literary and film receptions of the work.
Key themes that we shall explore may include:
- The literary presentation of figures such as the prostitute, the street urchin, the convict and the bishop.
- Hugo’s presentation of Les Misérables as a Bible for nineteenth-century France.
- The reworking of classical epic and the implications for our understanding of the book.
- The presentation of nineteenth-century Paris.
- Les Misérables and the Second World War.
- Turning fiction into film – adaptations.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 126 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Teaching and Learning | 5 | 5 x 1 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Teaching and Learning | 10 | 10 x 1 hour seminars |
| Scheduled Teaching and Learning | 1 | Conclusion |
| Scheduled Teaching and Learning | 8 | Film screenings |
| Guided Independent Study | 126 | Private study |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini-essay | 750 words | 1-6 | Written and oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 3000 words | 1-6 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 1-6 | Written |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension might be granted. The mark given for re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.Â
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
- Set text: Les Misérables. Victor Hugo (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1985). Required reading: 49-86, 93-125, 159-219, 223-279, 297-337, 353-371, 483-507, 577-645, 793-824, 993-1049, 1125-1153.
- Film adaptations: Les Mis̩rables РClaude Lelouch. Les Mis̩rables РLadj Ly and Les Mis̩rables РTom Hooper.
Selected Secondary Reading:
- Bellos, David РThe Novel of the Century РThe Extraordinary Adventure of Les Mis̩rables (London: Particular, 2017)
- Brombert, Victor – Victor Hugo and the Visionary Novel (Cambridge Mass and London: Harvard University Press, 1984)
- Griffiths, Kate and Watts, Andrew – Adapting Nineteenth-Century France: Literature in Film, Theatre, Television, Radio and Print. (Oxford: Legenda, 2013)
- Grossman, Kathryn – Figuring Transcendence in Les Misérables – Hugo’s Romantic Sublime (Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press, 2017)
- Grossman, Kathryn and Stephens Bradley (eds) РLes Mis̩rables and its Afterlives: From Page to Stage to Screen (Farnham: Ashgate, 2015)
- Hiddleston, James (ed) – Victor Hugo Romancier de l’abîme (Oxford: Legenda, 2002)
- Robb, Graham Victor Hugo (London: Picador, 1997)
Module has an active ELE page?
Yes
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
- ELE:
Available as distance learning?
No
Origin date
24/02/2020
Last revision date
17/03/2022
Key words search
Hugo, Paris, Nineteenth-Century France, adaptations, reception theory