Revolutionary poster from the May 1968 protests in France depicting President Charles de Gaulle holding a riot truncheon behind his back while patting an image of France as if a small child. The text is translated: "Just vote, I will do the rest." (Image is in the public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Bruno Perreau
MIT Course Number
21G.053
As Taught In
Spring 2014
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course examines the changes in contemporary French society through the study of political debates, reforms and institutions since 1958, and analyzes the deep influence of politics on cultural and social life, despite a decline in political participation. Public controversies and political cleavages, from the Algerian war to postcolonial issues, from the birth of the European Union to the recent financial crisis, and from the moral "revolution" of the seventies to the recognition of new families are revisited.
This course is taught in English.