COURSE OF STUDY, 18 CREDITS

All courses will be taught in French. The following courses will be required of all the participants:

FRENCH STUDIES 290-17: Directed Reading

(2 credits) s/cr/nc ND

Directed reading during the month of December 2007 (winter break) on Malian history and culture.

Instructor: Professor Chérif Keïta

FRENCH STUDIES 250-07: Film and Society in Mali

(6 credits)

This course will concentrate on the dynamics of traditional orality within the art of cinema in Mali. Feature films and documentaries by award-winning filmmakers such as Souleymane Cissé, Cheick Oumar Sissoko, Adama Drabo, Dany Kouyaté, and Abderrahmane Sissako will be screened and analyzed. Discussions with some of these
filmmakers will introduce the student to the challenges and successes of filmmaking in economically-challenged countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso.

Instructor: Staff

FRENCH STUDIES 249-07: Negotiating the Past--The Challenges of Nation-Building in Mali

(4 credits)

This course will look at various issues in Malian history, (ancient and modern), and the process of political and economic change. A component of this course will be an introduction to conversational Bambara, the lingua franca of Mali.

Instructors: Faculty from local universities

FRENCH STUDIES 252-07: LITERATURE AND SOCIETY IN MALI

(6 CREDITS)

This course will focus on the theme of social change in different genres of Malian literature, from the colonial period to the present. By studying oral and written works by traditional and modern poets, novelists, and playwrights such as Seydou Badian and Massa Makan Diabaté, Moussa Konaté, and Amadou Hampaté Bâ, the student will get an understanding of issues such as education, marriage, and traditional vs. modern political power in contemporary Malian society. Meeting will be arranged with many writers and oral performers.

Instructor: Professor Chérif Keïta with Malian teaching assistants.

EXCURSIONS

Upon arrival in Bamako, the capital city, the participants will travel by road to a small village for an orientation on life in a Malian family, including some training in Bambara and in various aspects of Malian social etiquette. The group will then return to the capital city to be placed in host families. Numerous excursions will be organized in Bamako and its surrounding areas, and to other historical sites around Mali: Segou, the capital of the old Bambara Kingdom; Mopti, called the “Venice of Mali”; the Dogon country, known as the land of the cliff-dwellers; the neighboring country of Burkina Faso, and the medieval city of Timbuktou if possible. A number of non-credit orientation meetings in fall term 2007 at Carleton are considered part of the seminar.

HOUSING

Students will live with Malian families, with a great likelihood of sharing a room with a host brother or sister. They will have breakfast and dinner with their families unless other program commitments intervene.

PREREQUISITES

Completion or exemption of the Carleton French language requirement. Please contact the Director if there are questions.