SLL4060F CONTEMPORARY FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE LITERATURES I

Convener: Associate Professor M Arnold

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline:

The course focuses on processes of intertextuality and intermediality by looking at forms of narrative, stylistic, aesthetic & generic cross-pollination in selected works of contemporary French and Francophone authors, including prose fiction and visual narratives (bande-dessinée). Indeed, in the vibrant and expanding field of graphic literatures since the 1990s, the relationship with 'traditional' literature is increasingly diversifying, evolving from conventional modes of illustration and adaptation to more complex processes of inspiration and transposition. Based on theories of literary and visual representation, as well as concepts of cultural and adaptation studies, this course will discuss the modalities and significations at work in the creative relation - and/or 'transfer' - between literature and graphic literature. What happens when a canonical short story is 'updated' into a modern graphic novel? When an author 'translates' his graphic narrative into a novel? How are regimes of representation and "language" affected in these processes? Does the discursive "between the lines" correspond to the visual "off-panel"? Or what potentials/limits can be observed in graphic figuration of a literary metaphor? The critical in-depth study of several primary works (e.g. Flaubert, Claudel, Alagbé, Larcenet, Deprez, Sfar) will not only reveal the various discursive and representational processes at stake in these inter-textual/medial relations between word and image. It will also interrogate the political and ethical implications emerging in the space of transition between readability and visibility. Eventually, it will discuss to what extent these 'adaptations', 'transfers' or 'translations' contribute to a productive reassessment of traditional hierarchies between artistic forms of expression.

Assessment: Two essays (50% each).

SLL4061S CONTEMPORARY FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE LITERATURES II

Convener: Associate Professor M Arnold

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline:

The course resonates with - and extends - the critical discussion initiated in the first semester by furthering the analysis of processes of intertextuality and intermediality in contemporary French and Francophone (graphic) literatures. Informed by additional theoretical and conceptual framework and focused on other authors/works than those previously analysed (e.g. Le Clézio, Saint-Exupéry, Baudoin, Sfar, Pratt), the discussion will deepen the understanding of the material and symbolic processes, the creative tensions and the interpretational scope that can be observed in the complex intersectionality between textual and visual narratives. The in-depth analysis of various representational modes and regimes (narrativity, figuration, discursivity, iconicity) at work in these intersectional/translational processes will also integrate the notion of hybridity and address the intertextual use of other modes of visual representation (e.g. photography, painting, and moving images). Contemporary French and Francophones literatures will eventually appear as part of a multifaceted “continuum” of creative expression.

Assessment: Two essays (50% each).

SLL4063F THEORY & PRACTICE OF TRANSLATION I

Convener: Dr R de Oliveira

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline:

Students are introduced through readings to some of the main theories of translation (e.g. Benjamin, Derrida, Lefevere, Eco, Berman, Venuti) by means of a thematic rather than a chronological approach. Particular emphasis will be put on the question of translation in postcolonial, 'Global South' and 'World Literature' contexts (e.g. Spivak, Appiah, Rushdie, Bassnett & Trivedi). Attention will be given to translation techniques and to their applicability by practising the translation of short texts and by reflecting on both the translation mechanisms at work and access to meaning. At the end of this course, students are familiar with translation theory and translation techniques and can reflect critically on theory as it is linked to practice

Assessment: Two essays (50% each).

SLL4072S THEORY & PRACTICE OF TRANSLATION II

Convener: Dr R de Oliveira

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline:

This course is the logical progression of SLL4063F and constitutes the practical implementation of the theoretical components studied during the first semester., notably with regards to thinking about translation in postcolonial, 'Global South' and 'World Literature' contexts. During this course students engage with the translation of a substantial text from French into English. That text is chosen in consultation with the course convener. At the end of this course, students are capable of: completing the research required for quality translation, of producing a translation of professional standing; and reflecting critically on that process.

Assessment: Two essays (50% each).

SLL5065Q/R TRAINING, CONCEPTION AND MANAGEMENT

Convener: K Schmid

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master's programme.

Course outline:

This course is designed to equip students not only to teach Français langue étrangère at an advanced level but importantly to train others how to do so. In South Africa there is a dearth of trained teachers of French yet an increasing demand from the business world and other role players for training courses in French. The ability not only to teach Français langue étrangère but also to train others in that discipline is vital if this need is to be met and interaction with the French- speaking world is to be facilitated.