French and Francophone Studies in Paris

Eligibility

Students who will have sophomore, junior, or senior status in the 2011-2012 academic year are encouraged to apply. Prerequisite: French 204 or above. The director reserves the right to require additional study in French before departure.

Course of Study: 18 Credits

Students enroll in three courses for a total of 18 credits. All courses count toward the French and Francophone Studies major and the Certificate of Advanced Study; French 246-07 and French 249-07 (or 349-07) count toward the Concentration in French and Francophone Studies. 

FRENCH 208-07: Cultural Themes (6 Credits)

Focusing on topics of current interest in French society, French 208-07 is designed to help students gain ease and proficiency in spoken and written French. While providing some focused work on language skills, emphasis will be placed on cultural issues, often drawing on current events. The course will be taught and supervised by local instructors.
Instructor: French faculty

FRENCH 246-07: City of Wonders: Paris in the Arts (6 Credits)

Home of some of the finest and best known museums in the world, Paris has long been recognized as a center for artistic activity.

Students will have the opportunity to study French art of the last two centuries on site. In-class lectures and discussions will be complemented by guided visits to the unparalleled collections of the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Centre Pompidou, local art galleries, and other appropriate destinations. Special attention will be given to the theme of the program.
Instructor: French faculty

FRENCH 249-07/349-07: The French Art of Living Well: Tradition, Myth, Reality (6 Credits)

The French have been associated, both in stereotypes and in their own proclamations, with a certain “joie de vivre.” Through literature, art, architecture, and theory, students will explore French notions of what it means to live well, from Renaissance sumptuousness to existentialist questioning to the depiction of immigrants’ lives in contemporary Paris. The program will examine the ways in which the physical environment fashions attitudes and practices that define the good life (urban and rural settings, the north and the south, housing projects and seascapes). Whenever possible, course readings and student writing will be linked with experiential learning in Paris and southern France.
Instructor: Cathy Yandell