Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Contemporary French Society

Image showing the Eiffel Tower next to the Statue of Liberty.

The Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty juxtaposed. (Courtesy of Marionzetta on Flickr.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

21F.315

As Taught In

Fall 2011

Level

Undergraduate

Cite This Course

Course Features

Course Description

This course is an intermediate subject designed to help students gradually build an in-depth understanding of France. The course focuses on French attitudes and values regarding education, work, family and institutions, and deals with the differing notions that underlie interpersonal interactions and communication styles, such as politeness, friendship and formality. Using a Web comparative, cross-cultural approach, students explore a variety of French and American materials, then analyze and compare them using questionnaires, opinion polls, news reports (in different media), as well as a variety of historical, anthropological and literary texts. Throughout the course, attention is given to the development of relevant linguistics skills. This course is recommended for students planning to study and work in France and is taught in French.

Levet, Sabine. 21F.315 Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Contemporary French Society, Fall 2011. (MIT OpenCourseWare: Massachusetts Institute of Technology), http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-315-cross-cultural-perspectives-on-contemporary-french-society-fall-2011 (Accessed). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA


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