Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH Ethics, Politics, Race and Sexuality in Contemporary French and Francophone Cinema
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Modern Languages
Module Code	09 37026
Module Lead	Kate Ince
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module will offer in-depth study of between 6 and 8 important feature-length French-language films released since 2000, all of which dramatise the relationships between French citizens and their racial/sexual others out of which the fabric of twenty-first century French society has been woven. Its first half, ‘Ethics, Politics and Race’ will concentrate on films directed by the Franco-Tunisian Abdellatif Kechiche, the Belgian Dardennes brothers, and the Austrian Michael Haneke, while its second half, ‘Ethics, Politics and Sexuality’ will focus on a later of Kechiche’s films, short and feature-length films directed by France’s François Ozon, and one or two films directed by (queer) French feminist directors Catherine Corsini and Céline Sciamma. Appropriate theoretical/philosophical material on the ethics of self-other interactions, on race relations in postcolonial contemporary France, and on same-sex and queer relationships in the era of the PaCS and ‘le mariage pour tous’ will be supplied alongside each element of the module. As formative assessment, students will research and co-present in French (with up to 3 other students) an illustrated presentation on a set topic relating to one of the films studied
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: demonstrate a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the issues raised by the prescribed films; Demonstrate an ability to deploy the terminology of camerawork/cinematography, cinematic mise en scene, and film criticism; Demonstrate an ability to describe and critically analyse film and summarise the chosen assessment topic in French.
Assessment	37026-01 : 3500 word essay with 500 word abstract in French : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1 x 3500 word essay that must include close analysis of at least one 3-5 minute sequence of one of the set films accompanied by a 500 word abstract in French. (100%). Reassessment: No resits are permitted in final year. If students miss the assessed task owing to extenuating circumstances, the failed task would be rescheduled at a later date.
Other
Reading List