Littérature anglophone

COURS DE LITTÉRATURE ANGLOPHONE 2025-2026

SECOND SEMESTER

Première année

 L1 S2 Majeure – UE6 Lire les littératures anglophones (18h)

DL22EM04

Aims

· Introducing students to the basics of literary analysis and close reading

Contents

· In-depth continuation of the skills learnt during the first semester. The focus will be on how to comment a literary text (questions of viewpoints, plot, characterization, rhythm, imagery…). As for the first semester, a list of texts from a variety of genres and eras will be provided by each tutor

Evaluation

· Students will be asked to write or present critical reports, introductions to literary commentaries, short analytical paragraphs… 

Bibliography

Each tutor will provide their own bibliography and list of texts studied.

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Deuxième année

L2 S4 Majeure- UE13 Etude des littératures anglophones : Approfondissement - (30h)

DL24EM01

=> Group 1 : DETECTIVE FICTION AND ITS AVATARS

Tutor : Stéphane Vanderhaeghe (Mondays, 9.00-11.30)

This course, based on a selection of short stories and extracts from various novels, focuses on American detective fiction. We will question the main conventions of the genre and see what textual dynamics they may generate, while focusing our attention to the way detective fiction, through its invitation to investigate and decipher signs, both mirrors and challenges the act of reading.

Evaluation : 2 written exams, class discussion and a reading report

=> Group 2 : SHORT PIECES

Tutor : Andrée-Anne Kekeh-Dika (Wednesdays, 12.00-14.30)

This course will address a range of various short pieces (fiction, nonfiction, concrete poetry, sketches, mock-prefaces, and other “in-beween” pieces). The aim of the course is to be able to read and ponder what is at stake in the ways of short forms, and how that can improve our critical ability of reading and writing about literary pieces from a wide range of world literature (20^th-21th cent.).

Activities and tasks : Students will be expected to read the course material before coming to class, to participate in class discussions, and do critical work on the pieces discussed in class (further details will be provided in class).

N.B. A class brochure and a selected bibliography y will be circulated at the beginning of the semester.

=> Group 3 : NARRATIVES OF EMANCIPATION

Tutor : Audrey Fogels (Wednesdays, 15.00-17.30)

Focusing on different literary genres (slave narrative, short story, novel), the class proposes to look at the way 19c North American writers address the question of emancipation, both in terms of theme and voice. The aim of the class is to think about what the characters and/or narrators are trying to escape from and to explore how their narratives participates in their emancipation.

To pass the class : The class will be based on class discussion, student projects (one mandatory oral presentation) as well as two in-class exams

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, 1845.

Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1885 & James, Percival Everett, (2024)

Kate Chopin, The Awakening, 1899.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, 1892.

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L2 S3 Mineure Litté, arts et médias - UE15 Littérature et arts - (30h)

DL24EN05

Tutor : Anne Chassagnol (Fridays, 12.00-15.00)  !!!This course will begin on March 6 2026 !!!

This interdisciplinary course explores the portrayal of iconic literary heroines in paintings and literature, mixing classical and contemporary works. Students will confront text and image, analyzing how these characters have been reimagined across different artistic movements and historical periods. Each session will focus on a comparison between the original extract and its visual interpretation. Throughout the semester, we will study among other examples :

• Ophelia (1851-52) by John Everett Millais and Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Act IV, sc vii)

• Titania Sleeping (1840-1) by Richard Dadd and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act II, sc ii).

• Alice in Wonderland (2012) as seen through Yayoi Kusama’s surreal lens and Lewis Carroll’s original tale (1865)

• Cruella de Vil (1984), Keith Haring’s Pop Art reading of The Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956) by Dodie Smith.

• The portrayal of Emily Dickinson’s white dress in Omnipotence Enough (2017) by Lesley Dill.

Assessments include an in-class test, on oral presentation and regular prep work.

Participation and regular attendance are essential to succeed.

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Troisième année

L3 S6 Majeure – UE21 - Etudes des littératures anglophones : niveau avancé 30h

DL26EM01

=> Group 1 : READING THE SCARLET LETTER TODAY

Tutor : Audrey Fogels (Mondays, 15.00-17.30)

Based on a close reading of Hawthorne’s classic 1850 novel, the class will invite students to think about the poetics of Hawthorne’s text even as it proposes to explore some of the issues it raises, like the link between history and fiction, the representation of gender, the exploration of family relations, the place of mothers and fathers, the process of interpretation, etc. Overall, students will be encouraged to think about the relevance of reading Hawthorne’s romance today and invited to establish links with contemporary issues and challenges.

To pass the class : The class will be based on class discussion & regular in-class group work and presentations. Two in-class exams.

Mandatory reading : The Scarlet Letter, 1850. It is strongly recommended to buy the Penguin edition to the Scarlet Letter before the beginning of the class.

=> Group 2 : THE MAKING OF CHARACTERS

Tutor : Stéphane Vanderhaeghe (Mondays, 15.00-17.30)

Whether a narrator or not, a hero or anti-hero, a “round” or “flat” character (E.M. Forster), whether historical or invented, the author’s double or the reader’s avatar, bodily instantiation or mere voice, the fictional character takes many different forms, both to carry the plot forward and to serve as a vector of affect. This class will study the various modalities of characterization through a range of short stories, excerpts from novels or plays, but also essays and theoretical texts. Students will also be asked to choose and read a complete literary work on their own from a list provided in class.

Evaluation : 2 written exams, class discussion, and a reading report in the form of a video

Suggested Bibliography :

Barth, John, « The Self in Fiction, or, ‘That Ain’t No Matter. That Is Nothing.’ »

Forster, E.M., Aspects of the Novel

Gass, William, « The Concept of Character in Fiction »

Jouve, Vincent, L’effet-personnage dans le roman

Robbe-Grillet, Alain, « Sur quelques notions périmées »

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L3 S6 Mineure Litté, arts et médias – UE23 – Atelier et projet 2 – 30h

Tutors : Stéphane Vanderhaeghe & Anne Chassagnol (Mondays, 12.30-15.00)

This class is organized in the form of a writing and reading workshop, in the course of which students will be asked to choose a literary work from which they will produce a critical piece destined to be published on the DEPA’s blog. The first half of the workshop will be devoted to the writing of a blog article, while the second half will focus on oralizing their article, whether in the form of a powerpoint presentation, a podcast, a video (YouTube/BookTok/Bookstagram…)

This workshop is meant to be interactive and rests on class discussion and exchange. Assessment modalities will be presented at the beginning of the semester.