FRE 5900-01

Franco-American Culture Wars– (in English)
Prof. William Cloonan

Through the study of literary texts and examples selected from the visual arts this course will trace a shift in the cultural balance of power between the United States and France. The course begins with an examination of the nineteenth-century American sense of inferiority before the France's achievements in literature and painting, and then will trace how a variety of aesthetic developments and political events will precipitate the slow decline of French preeminence and the inexorable rise of twentieth-century American dominance in the cultural as well as political realms. Taught in English.

FRE 5900-02
Islam and Identity in the French-speaking world (In English)
Prof. Doris Gray

The focus of this course is on the lives of contemporary Muslims in French-speaking countries, the factors informing constructions of identity in the Muslim-majority countries, the role and legal status of women in Muslim-majority societies. We will explore the role of religion in the uprisings that happened in North Africa in 2011, leading to the overthrow of the government in Tunisia. The course focuses on contemporary Muslims, women in particular, in a number of different countries, from North and West Africa and certain European countries such as France, where Muslims constitute the largest minority. Issues highlighted are current events, feminist activism, Islamic feminisms and the relationship between religion, culture and law.

FRW 4761/ FRW 5764
Media and Minorities in France (in French)
Prof. Hargreaves

The mass media play a major role in representing and shaping relations between majority and minority ethnic groups. In France, immigrant groups from former colonies, most notably the North African states of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, have attracted huge media coverage especially with the growing visibility of Islam. Drawing on first-hand sources such as television, newspapers, cinema and the internet, this course focuses on three key aspects of the relationship between these minorities and the media in France: representation, production and reception. In examining media representations, we consider how far the dominant media may be said to construct one-sided or misleading images of minority groups. It is often said that misrepresentations can only be corrected through the participation of minorities in the production of media outputs. We test these claims by looking at TV programs and other media outputs produced by professionals of minority ethnic origin. Finally, we look at the reception of media outputs by majority and minority audiences, asking how far these audiences are fragmented or united in their patterns of media consumption. The course is taught in French, giving students the opportunity to research at first hand current media outputs in genres such as hard news, documentaries, sit-coms and reality shows.

 

FRW 4480/FRW 5598
20th Century French Literature (in French)
Prof. William Cloonan

This course intends to provide an overview of French literary and visual culture from the beginning of the century up to World War II and the immediate postwar period. The emphasis will be for the most part on texts that are innovative, either stylistically or thematically. Importance will be given to the relation between literature and the evolving social/political situation in France. Because we have separate courses in poetry and francophone literature, our concentration will be on prose works and paintings originating in the Hexagon