French Autofictions - ENG00173I

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Module summary

Autofiction - a term coined by the French writer Serge Doubrovsky in the late 1970s to qualify a literary genre merging fiction and the memoir - has a rich history in a French-language context. Although autofiction as a genre is neither new nor contemporary, debates about the ethics, literary value and sociological insights of autofiction have gained particular traction around modern and contemporary literature in French. Some have described autofiction as an insufficiently literary, self-indulgent or narcissistic genre. Others have perceived it as allowing emancipation from painful and traumatic memories in ways that other literary genres don’t allow, and as uniquely capable of relating intimate personal experiences to wider patterns of social marginalisation, inequality and injustice. Authors renowned for writing about their lives have probed the genre too. Notably, Annie Ernaux and Marie Darrieussecq, widely seen as key figures in the growth of French-language autofiction, have refuted the label ‘autofictional’ when discussing their works.

In this module, we will explore different perspectives on the relationship between lived experience and fiction, through a diverse range of texts: texts that relate personal memories to significant historical events, specific social worlds and specific socio-political experiences; texts that problematise the process of remembering and expressing; texts in which the narrating subject is not necessarily in command, but can be at the mercy of conflicting memories, modes of expression and language itself. We will discuss these texts through their English translations, and these are theversions that you will need to read in their entirety, but we will also engage with elements of the French-language originals.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2026-27

Module aims

The aims of this module are, on the one hand, to analyse autofictional texts by French-language authors which foreground the uneasy boundaries between the memoir and the novel, and, on the other, to gain knowledge of relevant literary contexts. The module involves elements of language analysis too: while we will discuss the texts through their English translations, some of the teaching each week will focus on comparing brief selected passages from the originals to their English translations.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an informed understanding of and engagement with a range of texts that represent and partially fictionalise lived experience in the first person;
2. Demonstrate an informed understanding of and engagement with relevant literary contexts;
3. Examine key debates around, and critical approaches to, autofiction, the memoir, autobiography and testimony;
4. Develop arguments and ideas which demonstrate a proficiency in critical thinking, research, and writing skills;
5. Demonstrate an understanding of some of the key issues at stake in the act of translation and in the study of literature in translation.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	70.0
Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled)	30.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	70.0
Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled)	30.0

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on all assessed work within the University deadline, and will often receive it more quickly. The purpose of feedback is to inform your future work; it is designed to help you to improve your work, and the Department also offers you help in learning from your feedback. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further you can discuss it with your tutor or your supervisor, during theirConsultation and Feedback Hours

For more information about the feedback you will receive for your work, see the department'sGuide to Assessment

Indicative reading

The set texts will be confirmed to you in advance of the module running and will change from year to year depending on print availability and/or electronic availability wherever feasible. They might include:

Patrick Modiano, Dora Bruder, trans. Joanna Kilmartin

Georges Perec, W or the Memory of Childhood, trans. David Bellos

Marguerite Duras, The Lover, trans. Barbara Bray

Annie Ernaux, The Years, trans. Alison L. Strayer, or Annie Ernaux, A Man’s Place, trans. Tanya Leslie

Nina Bouraoui, All Men Want to Know, trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins

Simone de Beauvoir, The Inseparables, trans. Lauren Elkin

Samuel Beckett, Company (French version by the author)