Specialized seminar - Belgium today and yesterday 3304-2DXW-ST-8-058
The course aims to introduce students to the Belgian reality through knowledge about the history, geography, current political system, but also the lexical particularisms and eating habits in Belgium, not forgetting the various forms of art, especially painting and literature. In addition to the opportunity for a sense of "taste of Belgium", the seminar will provide students with issues for further reflection and a solid base of source materials.
The course includes:
• Belgium in questions – determination of the student’s state of knowledge on Belgium based on key words typically associated with Belgium (the political crisis, chocolate, beer, Magritte, Simenon, comics, numerals, some cities, fries and mayonnaise, the film "Welcome to the Sticks" , Jacques Sternberg, Dominique Rolin, King Albert II and Princess Mathilde etc.)
• Review the Belgium history - from the Celtic civilization to the independence in 1830; portraits of the seven kings of Belgium.
• Geography: general information on the location, area, terrain, population density in Belgium; papers of students presenting Belgium cities.
• The political system - in an historical perspective and the current system (Constitution, federal system, the regions, Brussels).
• Lexical particularisms in the Francophone area and Belgicisms.
• Belgian culinary specialities (as cont. lexical particularities).
• Meeting with the painting of Belgium - selection of portraits of great artists from the fifteenth to twelfth century (Flemish painting, Bosch and Breugel in the sixteenth century. Rubens and van Dyck in the seventeenth century.) And selected painters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (Félicien Rops, Fernand Khnopff James Ensor, Paul Delvaux, René Magritte, Christian Dotremont et Pierre Alechinsky).
• Belgian literature review - a must-read a single work of Belgian literature; the mainstreams in literature (naturalism, symbolism, surrealism, fantasy, science fiction and crime); reading of numerous fragments.
• The world of comics - from Tintin comic books today; frescoes and characters from comics to the streets of Brussels, the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student:
• has a thorough knowledge of French culture and French speaking countries (K_W16)
• has a detailed knowledge of cultural institutions and phenomena in French and francophone culture (K_W17)
• has the ability to formulate criticisms about the creations of culture, based on scientific knowledge and personal experience, and the ability to present these opinions in different forms and media (K_U07)
• has the ability to use a variety of sources and methods (including modern technologies) in finding, analyzing, selecting and evaluating information on Belgium
• can adopt an attitude of openness to cultural differences and has the ability to communicate in a multicultural environment (K_K04)
• gets interested in contemporary phenomena and processes taking place in the cultural life of Europe (K_K09)
• has the ability to work in team
Assessment criteria
Validation: active participation on the issues discussed, written final test with a mark.
Bibliography
- « La Belgique pour débutants », A. Gerlache, J. Vande Lanotte, M. Uyttendaele, S. Bracke, G. Goedertier, La Charte.
- « La Belgique. Des tribus gauloises à l’État fédéral », D. Galloy, Fr. Hayt, De Boeck.
- « La Belgique depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale », X. Mabille, CRISP.
- « L’espace Wallonie-Bruxelles : voyage au bout de la Belgique – regards francophones sur le fédéralisme belge », B. Bayenet, H. Capron, Ph. Liégeois, De Boeck.
- « La Belgique, présentation géographique », Société royale belge de Géographie, www.srbg.be
- « Découverte de la Belgique francophone », Cahier pédagogique élaboré dans le cadre des classes francophones de Silésie, Bibliothèque francophone.
- « La Dynamique du français à travers l’espace francophone », Cl. Poirier, in Revue de Linguistique romane, tome 69, Société de Linguistique romane.
- « Francophonie et variété des français », A. Thibault, disponible sur http://andre.thibault.pagesperso-orange.fr/FrancophLicenceSemaine3.pdf.
- « Visages du français. Variétés lexicales de l’espace francophone », A. Clas, B. Ouoba, AUPELF.
- « Dictionnaire de belgicismes », G. Lebouc, éditions Racine.
- « Dictionnaire des belgicismes », M. Francard, G. Géron, R. Wilmet, A. Wirth, Duculot.
- « Entendons-nous. Recueil de documents authentiques », FLE, Didier Hatier.
- « Le Dictionnaire des peintres belges du XIVe siècle à nos jours depuis les premiers maîtres des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux et de la principauté de Liège jusqu’aux artistes contemporains », La Renaissance du Livre, De Boeck-Wesmael.
- « Eloge de l’individu, Essai sur la peinture flamande de la Renaissance », T. Todorov, Essai (poche).
- « Littérature belge de Langue française » M. Joiret et M.-A. Bernard, Didier Hatier.
- « Belgijskie historie tożsamości » (Histoires belges de l’identité), J. Zbierska-Mościcka, article publié dans le double numéro de « Literatura na świecie » paru en décembre et consacré entièrement à la Belgique.
- « Manuel et anthologie de littérature belge à l’usage des classes terminales de l’enseignement secondaire », P. Aron et Fr. Chatelain, Le Cri.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: