Please click the titles below for a brief description of the content of each of these lectures.

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1 Please click the titles below for a brief description of the content of each of these lectures. For lecture times please check the main online lecture list at: Always ensure to check the latest online lecture list on WebLearn for any changes to lectures during term time. Changes are shown in red. La Chastelaine de Vergi revision (Prelims, IV) Transcription Revision (V) History of French (IV) French Paper VI Revision Session for Finalists French Paper IX Revision Session for Finalists The Other in the Middle Ages: A Literary and Cultural Approach (VI, IX, XII) La Chanson de Roland (IX, VI) Love and Lies in the Old French Tristan Legend (VI, IX) Language, Literature and Thought in Early Modern France (VII) Rabelais Commentaries (VII) Montaigne Commentaries (X) Pascal (X) Diderot: some topics and questions (X, VII, VIII) Romans de femmes (VII, VIII, XII) La Révolution des femmes (VII, VIII, XII) Key Concepts in 19 th -Century French Culture (VIII, XI) Stendhal Commentaries (XI) Zola and Naturalism (VIII) Baudelaire Commentaries (XI, VIII) Mallarmé, Un coup de Dés (VIII, XI, XII) Ubu and After. The beginnings of avant-garde theatre in France (VIII) Gide Commentaries (VIII, XI) Duras Commentaries (XI, VIII) Barthes Commentaries (XI, VIII) ******

2 La Chastelaine de Vergi revision (Prelims, IV) / Prof Marnette & others There will be animated debate amongst the medieval French tutors and we very much encourage you to bring your unresolved questions, digested thoughts, and fresh ideas to contribute to the discussion; the aim of the session is always for it to be fuelled by issues from the floor. Feel free to Tweet a question in advance if there's something in particular that you know you'd like us to cover. We'll also direct you where to find information on WebLearn about medieval French FHS papers as you consider your options for next year and beyond. Transcription Revision (V) / Dr Temple These are intended as revision sessions for finalists wishing to tackle the transcription question for Paper V (French Linguistics). After some brief recapping of basic phonetics, we ll move swiftly on to the transcription passages set for Paper V in Students may wish to prepare these in advance of the lectures. NB it will not be possible to correct individual students work, but we shall work through the transcriptions in some detail with plenty of opportunity for student comments and questions. History of French (IV) / Prof. Smith This course of lectures will examine the evolution of the French language from Late Latin to the twentieth century, concentrating on the medieval period. The course is scheduled to run in all three terms. In this initial series of eight lectures, we shall begin by discussing the theoretical and methodological issues which are essential for an understanding of language change, and then examine the principal sound changes which have taken place in the history of French, looking not only at what has happened, but at why it might have happened. In subsequent terms, we shall also deal with morphological and syntactic change. The course should be of value to anyone who has an interest in language change; however, it will be particularly relevant to students preparing French Paper IV. French Paper VI Revision Session for Finalists / Prof. Marnette & Dr Swift During the hour, we'll address issues of strategy and approach, and the session will be followed up by smaller group classes in subsequent weeks (sign-up will be by Doodle poll). Do bring any and all questions/uncertainties/anxieties -- remember that everyone is in the same boat, so your simmering question is doubtless shared by many others! French Paper IX Revision Session for Finalists / Prof Marnette & Dr Swift During the hour, we'll address issues of strategy and approach, and the session will be followed up by smaller group classes in subsequent weeks (sign-up will be by Doodle poll). Do bring any and all questions/uncertainties/anxieties -- remember that everyone is in the same boat, so your simmering question is doubtless shared by many others!

3 The Other in the Middle Ages: A Literary and Cultural Approach (VI, IX, XII) / Dr Souleau This eight-lecture course explores the notion of alterity in medieval French literature. Through a variety of texts (e.g. La Chanson de Roland, Tristan, Marie de France s lais, Froissart s Chroniques, Le Journal d un bourgeois de Paris) and genres (e.g. epic, chronicle, romance), it will examine literary representations of the medieval Other(s), from the socially marginal to the culturally different. Such representations may tell us as much (if not more) about the writers own culture as they do about other lands/peoples/communities. The concept of Otherness will be discussed through the works literary, cultural, and historical context. Finally, the relationship Self/Other will be investigated in order to outline medieval social attitudes on gender, religion, community, and culture. This lecture course is especially relevant to those preparing French Papers VI, IX, or XII. La Chanson de Roland (IX, VI) / Prof. Marnette The Oxford version of the Chanson de Roland, whose unique text is found in the Bodleian Library, is a heroic tale of military prowess and moral anguish, whose poetry and searching profundity are perennially relevant. This lecture course explores many aspects of the text including its origins, its oral style, its narrator s voice, its ideological values and its fascinating characters: Roland, Olivier, Charlemagne, Ganelon, the Saracens... Love and Lies in the Old French Tristan Legend (VI, IX) / Dr Grange 'S'en dirai je le voir du tot' (I'll tell you the whole truth...). Legendary lovers Tristan and Iseut get away with their extramarital loving for so long thanks to some pretty shrewd manipulation of language. In this series of four lectures, we'll be asking where truth lies (allegedly) in the Old French versions of the story. In what is seen, said, sung or written? With the lovers, the narrator, or perhaps even us? Today's readers tend to be more familiar with the 12th-century verse stories by Béroul and Thomas, but we'll also be cross-examining the star-crossed lovers in the 13th-century prose Tristan, which proved hugely successful in the Middle Ages. Language, Literature and Thought in Early Modern France (VII) / Dr Bontea These lectures pursue further the account of early modern literary genres as means of understanding the shifts operated in the seventeenth-century thought. Their purpose is to examine new genres emerging towards the end of the century and the critical dialogue they engaged with the past, as well as the limits of this engagement leading to the querelle des Anciens et des Modernes. I II La Bruyère, Les Caractères ou les Mœurs ce siècle ; Discours sur Théophraste Charles Perrault, Histoires ou contes du temps passé (ou Contes de ma mère l Oye) ; Devises pour les tapisseries du Roi ; Le siècle de Louis le Grand Rabelais Commentaries (VII) / Dr Salas Lectures will be given in French.

4 Montaigne Commentaries (X) / Prof. Cooper TBA Pascal (X) / Dr Patterson Commentary classes aimed at Paper X students doing Pascal. Student participation will be expected. Diderot: some topics and questions (X, VII, VIII) / Dr Perras TBA Romans de femmes (VII, VIII, XII) / Prof. Seth Texts written by women often fall outside the traditional canons as far as teaching in schools and universities is concerned. This lecture series will deal with some wonderful fiction written by women at the turn of the 18 th /19 th centuries and offer an opportunity, in particular, to look at four novels which all offer original approaches whilst being representative of some of the major literary trends of the time. The lectures will be given in French. The main texts for the four sessions will be: Wk 1. Charrière, Lettres neuchâteloises. Wk 2: Staël, Delphine. Wk 3: Staël, Corinne. Wk 4: Duras, Ourika. La Révolution des femmes (VII, VIII, XII) / Prof. Seth Whilst égalité was promoted along with liberté and fraternité in the most durable of all slogans promoted by the French Revolution, women got a raw deal in the years following the fall of the Bastille. This did not prevent them from expressing themselves on matters political and social in stimulating texts both in prose and in verse. Each lecture will centre chiefly on one text. Wk 1: Gouges, Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne. Wk 2: Staël, Réflexions sur le procès de la reine. Wk 3: Roland, Appel à l impartiale postérité. Wk 4: Pipelet [Salm], Epître aux femmes. These lectures will be given in French Key Concepts in 19 th -Century French Culture (VIII, XI) / Dr Counter These lectures offer an overview of the nineteenth century through concepts, rather than authors or literary movements. The first three take concepts familiar to nineteenthcentury people to explore key moments of literary and cultural change: the postrevolutionary period, through the idea of the mal du siècle; the July Monarchy, through the Panorama ; and the early Third Republic, through Degeneration. The final two explore two analytic categories that have become central in nineteenth-century French studies: the bourgeoisie; and gender and sexuality. The aim is to deepen your knowledge of the period and allow you to root set works within the cultural networks and movements from which they emerged.

5 Stendhal Commentaries (XI) / Dr Manzini TBA Zola and Naturalism (VIII) / Prof. Yee These four lectures will give students an overview of major issues associated with Zola s work, situating it within the context of realist and naturalist literature in the nineteenth century. 1. Realism and Naturalism: Zola among his contemporaries 2. Zola. History, Politics and Milieu 3. Zola. Science 4. Zola. Mythopoetics Baudelaire Commentaries (XI, VIII) / Dr Farrant Commentary classes primarily relevant for paper XI. Student participation will be expected. Mallarmé, Un coup de Dés (VIII, XI, XII) / Prof. Pearson In these two lectures I will situate Mallarmé's most radically innovative text, Un coup de Dés, within the contexts both of his own work and of the poem's critical reception. I will then offer some further possible interpretative approaches to the poem. Ubu and After. The beginnings of avant-garde theatre in France (VIII) / Dr Holland In 1896, the performance of Alfred Jarry s Ubu roi changed the course of modern theatre decisively. What was becoming a moribund art-form was revitalized and given a radical new direction. In these lectures I shall examine what gives Jarry his originality, then move on to two authors who, in different ways, can be seen as his successors: Guillaume Apollinaire with Les Mamelles de Tiresias, and Roger Vitrac with Victor, ou les enfants au pouvoir. Gide Commentaries (VIII, XI) / Dr Garfitt Primarily for paper XI, but useful also for VIII. Duras Commentaries (XI, VIII) / Dr Kemp These commentary lectures are principally designed for those studying or considering Marguerite Duras as a prescribed author, or considering doing do in the future, but should be of interest to anyone who would like to know more about her fiction and film. It will be helpful if you can read the extract under discussion before the lecture. Lecture One: Hiroshima mon amour : Opening scene of Partie II of the screenplay (pp ): Il passe dans la rue un essaim de bicyclettes [ ] Non. Je t ai remarqué, toi, c est tout. Lecture Two: Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein : The first meeting of Lol, Tatiana and Jacques, at the end of the seventh section of the novel, pp in the Folio edition. Elle avance dans l allée [ ] la distance est couverte, moi.

6 Barthes Commentaries (XI, VIII) / Dr Kemp These commentary lectures are principally designed for those currently studying Roland Barthes as a prescribed author, or considering doing do in the future, but should be of interest to anyone who would like to know more about Barthes s work. It will be helpful if you can read the extract under discussion before the lecture. Lecture One: L Empire des signes, opening fragment, Là-bas (iii, in the Œuvres complètes). Si je veux imaginer un peuple fictif [ ] les visages, la violence. Lecture Two : La Chambre claire, fragment 39 (v, in the Œuvres complètes), discussing photo of Lewis Payne in condemned cell. Du temps (au début de ce livre : c est loin déjà) [ ] jusqu à la racine.