Module overview
Where does the idea of a stateless person come from? Why did France become one of the foremost nations for refugee reception? How were refugees fleeing from persecution in other parts of Europe treated in France? Why did France establish a system of ‘concentration camps’ for refugees? This module offers you the opportunity to gain an in-depth awareness of how asylum was offered, compromised and refused during an era of mass forced displacement.
You will be able to follow the experiences of various groups of refugees from the First World war through to the end of the Second World War. You will then explore the dynamics underlying the inclusion and exclusion of refugees from the commemorative practices of WWII in contemporary France. This module will appeal to students with an interest in France and European history more generally as well as those who wish to gain an understanding of how basic refugees’ rights developed during a key phase of mass forced displacement.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The key issues, events and people that shaped the history, politics and societal structures concerning refugee issues in France during the first half of the twentieth century.
- Different approaches to the study of refugee history in France.
- Other cultures and societies in France and Europe more generally along with the similarities and dissimilarities between these and your own.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Adhere to guidelines and deadlines.
- Produce writing in appropriate genres and to required conventions, including referencing and identification.
- Take notes and keeping records
- Plan and organise your learning through self-management.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Apply knowledge, understanding and analysis critically to different topics on French history.
- Formulate and defend arguments clearly and persuasively on the basis of evidence.
- Analyse and discuss questions about refugee history in France.
- Select, synthesise and focus information from a range of sources in both English and your target language(s) (French, German and Spanish).
- Define, present and exemplify concepts relating to refugees in France.
Syllabus
This module introduces you to the circumstances surrounding the reception of refugees in France together with the opportunities, restrictions and dangers that shaped their experiences during the first half of the twentieth century. In the first instance you will be introduced to some key definitions and concepts. The arrival of refugees from different national contexts will then be compared, contrasted and contextualised in relation to the major historical events of the period: the First World War; the Popular Front; the concentration camps and para-military work companies of the Second World War; the Resistance; and the post-Liberation culture of commemoration. One of the overarching themes linking the different historical periods is the process of integration/incorporation and you will be invited to reflect on how inclusion and exclusion occurred. A second thread considers how French opinions and responses were influenced by previous conflicts and events.
In addition to exploring the broad context of this period of refugee history, you will be strongly encouraged to analyse how events were experienced and remembered by the refugees themselves by reading extracts from memoirs or oral histories. This emphasis on how the social interconnects with the personal will allow you to practise reading skills acquired from other units. The module concludes by tracing the creation and development of monuments dedicated to the memory of refugees in contemporary France.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
- Weekly lectures and seminars.
- A set of weekly questions to guide you in your reading.
- Discussions arising from student-led seminars with the module convenor acting as a guide and learning facilitator.
- Informal feedback from the module convenor and students on oral presentations.
Learning activities include
- Directed and undirected reading in both English and French.
- Preparation of cogent and well-founded arguments for oral presentations and group discussions.
- Reviewing other students’ presentations.
- The research and completion of written assignments.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 12 |
| Completion of assessment task | 40 |
| Follow-up work | 4 |
| Lecture | 12 |
| Wider reading or practice | 40 |
| Revision | 40 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 2 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Mary Dewhurst Lewis (2007). The Boundaries of the Republic: Migrants' rights and the Limits of Universalism in France. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Scott Soo (2017). The routes to exile: France and the Spanish Civil War refugees, 1939-2009. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
Assessments designed to provide informal, on-module feedback
- Peer and tutor feedback on seminar presentations and the essays.
- All students have the opportunity of a one-to-one essay plan tutorial for each written assignment.
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 45% |
| Seminar presentation | 10% |
| Essay | 45% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 50% |
| Essay | 50% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 50% |
| Essay | 50% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External