HISTORY OF FRENCH CULTURE

"Histoire de la culture française" is part of the course in European, American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures and also of Master in Etudes françaises et francophones.

1. Knowledge and comprehension capabilities:
knowledge of the meaning of popular culture, of culture of the elites, in reference to the modern French context;
knowledge of the main forms of performing arts and the main steps of the relationship between the theatrical art and French institutions;
being able to understand written and iconographic French documents, since 16th century;
being able to understand audiovisual texts in French;
being able to understand critical texts.

2. Applied knowledge and capabilities:
ability to place a work in its historical-social context of production and reception;
ability to consult bibliographic and historiographical repertoires;

3. Making judgments:
ability to analyze documentary and critical sources, to exercise a critical spirit, ability to formulate hypotheses and autonomous judgments, clearly and efficiently.

4.Communication Skills:
ability to communicate topics related to the course in French, clearly, coherently, with correct terminology.

5. Ability to learn:
ability to consult primary and critical sources and to relate them to each other, to compare data, to synthetise and organize the autonomous analysis of a cultural fact.

Good knowlegde of written and oral French.

Popular culture and ‘élite’ culture. Forms of performing arts in the face of institutions in modern and contemporary France
Performance is a cultural expression deeply connected to historical and social context. We will see how mass culture is born in France, separated from cultured knowledge, during 17th Century. A transformation that erased the previous link between popular and élites cultures. We will explore also some ways French artists choose to recover a popular dimension in modern and contemporary theatre.

Bibliography:
Mikhaïl Bakhtine, L’Œuvre de François Rabelais et la culture populaire du Moyen Age et sous la Renaissance, tr. fr., Paris, Gallimard, 1970 (le chapitre III : « Formes et images de la fête populaire»).
Robert Muchembled, Culture populaire et culture des élites dans la France moderne: XVe-XVIIIe siècles, Paris, Flammarion, 1978 (chapitre 6, p. 341-391).
Alain Viala (dir.), Le Théâtre en France, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 2016 (chapitres 1, 7, 12, 19, 23, 24, 25, 30, 35).
Déborah Blocker, Instituer un « art ». Politiques du théâtre dans la France du premier XVIIe siècle, Paris, Champion, 2009 (chapitre 3, p. 185-247).

Further readings. An essay between:

Olivier Bara (dir.), Théâtre et peuple : de Louis-Sébastien Mercier à Firmin Gémier, Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2017. (Deux articles au choix).
Pascale Goetschel et Emmanuelle Loyer, Histoire culturelle de la France de la Belle Époque à nos jours, Paris, Armand Colin, 2014 (chapitres 3 « Années Trente, années troubles » et chapitre 5 « La Quatrième République : vers une démocratisation culturelle »).
Robert Mandrou, De la culture populaire aux 17e et 18e siècles. La Bibliothèque bleue de Troyes, Paris, Imago, 1985 (chapitres 1 à 5, p. 35-134).
Robert Mandrou, Introduction à la France moderne. Essai de psychologie historique, 1500-1640, Paris, Albin Michel, 1998 (II partie, chapitres de 3 à 5, p. 141-189 ; III partie, chapitres 4 et 5, p. 229-248).
Daniel Roche, Le Peuple de Paris : essai sur la culture populaire au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, Aubier Montaigne, 1981 (chap. 2, p. 38-65 ; chap. 7, p. 204-241).
Diane Scott, S’adresser à tous : Théâtre et industrie culturelle, Paris, Les Prairies ordinaires, 2021.
David Trott, Théâtre du XVIIIe siècle. Jeux, écritures, regards, Montpellier, Editions Espaces34, 2000 (chapitre II : « Du théâtre officiel au théâtre non officiel », p. 99-182).
Jean-Claude Yon, Histoire culturelle de la France au XIXe siècle, Paris, Armand Colin, 2021 (chapitre 3, « La diffusion de la culture », p. 81-112 ; chapitre 9 « L’émergence de la culture de masse », p. 303-336).
"Théâtre populaire. Actualité d’une utopie", numéro 40 de la revue "Études théâtrales", 2007. (Quatre articles au choix, dans la version numérique : https://www.cairn.info/revue-etudes-theatrales-2007-3.htm )

Plays and documents that the teacher will insert in moodle throughout the course.

Oral exam consists in two parts : the first concerns the documents, essays, themes analysed during lessons, and the bibliography listed above ; the second concerns the personal analysis of primary and critical sources which are to be agreed with the teacher.

The lectures, based on the analysis of primary and critical sources, including iconographic documents and video recordings of significant theatrical performances, will be enriched by moments of exchange and shared reflection with the students on the topics covered. All teaching materials (texts, schemes and essays) uploaded during the course on the Moodle platform will be subject of study and their knowledge will be verified in the exam.

Students non attending the course have to contact the teacher.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development