This series of workshops will focus on the theme of diversity as a key point of contact between A-level French teaching, where it features both as a highlighted aspect of contemporary society and as a theme in prescribed literary works and films, and current work in French and Francophone Studies at University level, where it represents a core principle in curriculum development and broader institutional priorities.

The series aims:

1.    To share insights into the centrality of diversity, as a theme and as a disciplinary and institutional priority, to current work in French and Francophone Studies at University level.
2.    Through these insights, to (a) enrich A-level teachers’ sense of their subject; (b) inform advice for students on course choices (both GCSE to A-level, and A-level to University) by highlighting current developments in approaches to material from the French-speaking world on University courses; and (c) enrich University provision, especially in first year, by increasing understanding of current approaches at A-level.
3.    To provide extension and enrichment activities and materials to support A-level teaching. 
4.    To define a set of online resources to be developed on the basis of participant feedback and reviewed in a follow-up event.
5.    To develop networks among teachers and between teachers and academics that will sustain future outreach work in the subject.

Upcoming Workshops

These will take place on Zoom between 5:00-6:00pm on the following dates:

Wednesday 23 November - 'Writing Contemporary France' with Dr Sura Qadiri

Tuesday 24 January - 'Literature between France and Algeria: From Albert Camus' L'Étranger to Kamel Daoud's Meursault, contre-enquête' with Professor Martin Crowley

Monday 20 February - 'Film between France and Algeria: Rabah Ameur-ZaÏmeche' with Tobias Barnett

Thursday 16 March - 'Diversifying French Film' with Dr Laura McMahon

In-person event

This will be held in Cambridge on Wednesday 12 April 2023. Thanks to the support of the Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France, a limited amount of funding will be available on a first-come-first-served basis to support travel to the in-person event from outside of Cambridgeshire by state sector teachers or PGCE students. 

Workshop & event structure

Each workshop will be led by a member of the French Section at the University of Cambridge, and will be structured so as to enable discussion and exchange. Starting from aspects of the topic covered in A-level teaching, sessions will connect these to elements of University teaching of the topic and to current research in the field, providing targeted, accessible extension materials and exercises.

The in-person half-day event will:

(a) provide participants with networking opportunities to support ongoing CPD and future outreach activities; (b) develop discussions from online workshops, and (c) from these discussions, sketch online resources for subsequent development. Informal discussion over lunch and tea will frame two dedicated, structured discussion sessions: ‘Teaching contemporary France: questions of diversity’, and ‘Teaching literature and film: postcolonial France and the French-speaking world’.

The development of online resources on the basis of the series will be informed by the work that produced the existing Cambridge Collaborative A-level Resources for Languages, and will build on the materials already available.

Booking

Participation is free of charge and booking is now open via our online registration form

Please note that there is a limited number of spaces available for the in-person event on 12 April. We would therefore encourage you to register for the series as early as possible to avoid disappointment, particularly if you would like to apply for one of our small number of travel bursaries. Late registration will however be accepted during the series, including the in-person event if there are places available.

Any questions? Please email the Outreach Coordinator, Ros Boswell, at outreach@mmll.cam.ac.uk 

Our supporters

With thanks to the ASMCF for their generous support for this project.