French study guide 2024/25
What you can study
French is a truly global language, spoken by hundreds of millions of people in more than 30 countries around the world. The diversity of Francophone countries makes the study of French language and culture both stimulating and rewarding. Our broad expertise at Bristol enables students to engage with the range of contributions that French culture has made in Europe and the wider world.
You will find units on:
- cinema and media
- literature and intellectual history
- race, gender, and identity
Pre-requisites
Some FREN units have language requirements. For units taught in English translation, see the Cultural Studies guide.
At UK universities, students specialise from their first year and rarely take units outside their degree subject. This means that:
- Year 1 units are suitable for all students.
- Year 2 units require some university study in the discipline.
- Year 3 units require a strong background in the discipline.
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students
Teaching Block 1
- French Cultures in Context - FREN10030
Teaching Block 2
- Global French - FREN10011
- Representations of Francophone Cultures - FREN10013
Year 2
Pre-requisites: some university study in the discipline.
Teaching Block 1
- Introduction to French Cinema - FREN20056
- Race, Gender, and Intersectionality in Twenty-First Century France: Cultural Production, Politics, and Identity - FREN20072
Teaching Block 2
- Burning Books: Radicalism Before the Revolution - FREN20065
- French Fiction: from Realism to the Twenty-first Century - FREN20048
- France during the Second World War: Culture, Politics and Society - FREN20070
- French Thought - FREN20068
- Paris: 1857-1897: Text and Image - FREN20073
Year 3
Pre-requisites: strong background of study in the discipline.
Teaching Block 1
- Intellectuals and the Media in France - FREN30108
- Me, Myself, and I: The Essais of Michel de Montaigne - FREN30114
- Prestige, soft power and diplomatie d’influence: Exporting French culture in the world from the 1870s to the present - FREN30137
Teaching Block 2
- Aesthetics of Revolution and Resistance: 21st-Century Images of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean - FREN30106
- Francophone Women Directors: Documentary Filmmaking - FREN30111
- Political Cultures of Early Twentieth-Century France - FREN30044
- Surrealism: Pleasure and Provocation in 1920s Textual and Visual Culture - FREN30040
Teaching Block 4 (full year)
- French for Business and Enterprise - FREN30047
Application queries
Contact the Centre for Study Abroad inbound team if you have any queries about the application process for the study abroad programmes:
Phone: +44 117 39 40207
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk