Syllabus

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Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Prerequisites

One intermediate subject in French.

Overview

This course traces historically the ambivalent relationship between France and the North American nations, exploring various themes including liberalism, entertainment and the media, trade and cultural goods, transatlantic intellectual encounters, and translation. The course uses materials drawn from literature (e.g., Tocqueville, Céline, Beauvoir, Dubois), cinema (e.g., Tati, Chomet) and also comics, TV shows and series as well as political debates (from anti-globalization movements in France to the election of Barack Obama).

Grading Policy

Sessions will be divided between

• Students' presentations of the weekly theme
• Class discussion to engage with the main readings and movies screened
• A weekly analysis of topical issues on France and the United-States

Final grade will be determined from three types of required exercises

• One grade will be based on one group oral presentation
• One grade will be based on weekly short-answer papers
• One grade will be based on an individual research paper
• One grade will be based on class participation. The evaluation will be based on
  • attendance
  • the demonstration that the students have done the weekly readings
  • the quality of their oral output

Course Organization

L'objectif du cours n'est pas seulement de montrer les interactions entre la France et les États-Unis, et, au-delà, entre la France et l'Amérique du Nord dans son ensemble. Il s'agit plutôt de considérer que la France fait partie intégrante de l'histoire américaine, comme le serait, en quelque sorte, un cinquante‐et-unième État. Le regard que pose la France sur son espace d'influence outre-atlantlique a dès lors toujours une forte dimension identitaire. Quand la France pense les États-Unis, elle se définit, se transforme, s'invente. C'est ce chemin sinueux que nous emprunterons en privilégiant les aspects culturels et politiques qui enlacent ces deux Nations. D'autres questions (économiques, spatiales, religieuses, etc.) seront également, quoique dans une moindre mesure, évoquées.

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