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UC Center Program
French & European Studies
The Program in French and European Studies is the creation of faculty and administrators at the University of California. It is designed to immerse students in several dimensions of French culture and life.
The program begins with a three week practicum focusing on language learning, with special attention paid to the acquisition practical skills for living in Paris. Every week two excursions will allow students to discover the city.
After the practicum students take one language and three upper-division courses in the Social Sciences and the Humanities intended to provide windows into French history, identity, visual culture, literature, politics and economics in relation to a broader European civilization, and to the United States.
The program is intended as as rewarding experience abroad, and it is also a gateway for some students who may choose to extend their stay in France for a second semester at the University of Bordeaux.
In addition to the required French language course, students take two or three of the following. Note that the listed [areas of study] represent EAP's recommendation; final decisions about credit for departmental majors remain with individual departments. All courses, unless otherwise noted, meet twice a week and count for 6UC quarter credits. Students thus take a minimum of 18 quarter units.
Introductory Language Practicum
(Alison Rice)
The program begins with a three-week introductory French language and culture component (the Language Practicum) to introduce students to Paris, the academic resources of the city, and the practical use of French. The course meets Monday-Thursday, 9-12, with two scheduled excursions per week in the afternoon. This course earns 4.5 UC quarter units of credit.
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PCC 012. French Conversation & Grammar
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PCC 013. French Grammar & Composition
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PCC 016. French Grammar & Literature
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PCC 111. Paris as History: From One Revolution to Another, 1789-1968
(Edward Costello)
This course investigates the ways in which the spaces of Paris-its
streets, public squares, private buildings and public monuments-acquire
meaning over time. More specifically, the course will focus
on Paris as a site of revolution and political violence and
on Paris as a site of modernity. The course will also explore
the ways in which space inscribes class, gender, "race" and
sexual orientation. A central goal of the course will be to
help students acquire the "urban literacy" necessary to decode
the meanings of the "historical cryptogram" of Paris and the
skills to read and write about the cityscape through which
they move. Meets once a week with additional, required section
and onsite visits. 6 quarter credits
[History, Urban Studies,
Architecture, Sociology, French Studies, European Studies]
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PCC 115. France and European Integration
(Mariam Habibi)
This course will focus on the main characteristics of French
Policy within the EU today. Does France still count in the
union? Is there a "French exception" ? Through an exploration
of the French case, this course is designed to provide students
with new insights on political regional integration and the
making of common policies. Special attention will be paid
to to the making of a common foreign policy making and the
rethinking of foreign policy within the European Union. The
lectures will introduce students to the elements of French
policy within the European union by examining:
1) The background and recent changes in the EU (Treaties,
institutions, common policies and projects);
2) French attitudes towards the union and how it copes with
other members states' national interests (single currency,
enlargement, agriculture and other common policies);
3) The meaning of Common Foreign and Security Policy for a
"middle-rank" power such as France. There will be one le cture
and two discussions per week.
A Course Reader of collected articles and primary sources
will be made available to students, and additional resources
(books, articles, web-sites) will be recommended. Meets once
a week with excursion to Brussels. 5 UC quarter credits
[Political Science, International Relations, History, Sociology,
European Studies]
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PCC 116. French Society and Politics: Facts, Myths, and Debates
(Laure Blévis)
This course offers a critical introduction to French society
by focusing on French myths and contemporary debates about
national identity. The first part of the course introduces
the principal institutions and models of French society (the
theory and political system of French republicanism, France's
educational system, citizenship) and considers how they are
being transformed by challenges of the late twentieth century
(democratization, immigration, European integration, and globalization).
The myth of France as a homogeneous and integrated society
belies the systematic discrimination against non-European
immigrants and a large dispossessed population living in suburban
ghettos (les banlieus). France's parliamentary system of governance
has been challenged, as in the 2002 presidential election,
by the rise of fringe parties (of the extreme left, but especially
the right-wing National Front). Even traditional political
movements (trade unions and working class parties) are challenged
by the rise of new social movements that put new gender and
sexual identities at the heart of political action, and indeed
of French society. This course considers these peculiar expressions
of French identity politics.through the complex events and
debates that have animated French society in recent decades.
Meets once a week with required section.
6 UC quarter credits
[History, Sociology, Political
Science, Anthropology, French Studies, European Studies]
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PCC 120. Paris Through Film: City of Light Since 1895
(Christian-Marc Bosséno)
"Cinema is an art, but it is also a business."
André Malraux, Minister of Culture under General de
Gaulle, thus highlighted the ambivalent attitude of the French
towards the moving image: film is a commercial product for
mass consumption and it is the "seventh art" catering
to an eliste of "cinéphiles" (film lovers).
From the beginning, Paris was the center of French film-making,
and a central image and representation of French cinema. This
course considers the complex networks of links between Paris
and French cinema from as many angles as possible - aesthetic,
historical, economical, philosophical, social and political
- focusing in particular on the question of audience reception.
It is at once a panorama of French cinema history since its
beginnings, with the Lumière brothers 1895, but also
an exploration of how cinema - as one of the principal channels
of modern mass culture, and one of the mainstays of today's
cultural industry - and the city of Paris are enmeshed in
webs of relationships that constitute territorial, political,
social, and mythological entities. Meets once a week plus
screening and on-site excursions in Paris (film archives,
cinematheques, relevant movie theatres, studios, and famous
film locations). 6 UC quarter credits
[Film, Film Studies, Communication, Media, History, Visual Culture, French Studies,
European Studies]
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PCC 123. Paris as Literature: French Writing in the 19th and 20th centuries
(Alison Rice)
This course will examine French novels, poetry, and essays
from the 19th and 20th centuries that feature the city of
Paris. We will focus on the various ways in which the French
capital is represented in writing, beginning with the work
of Balzac, Zola, and Baudelaire, including writings of Apollinaire,
Aragon, and Perec, and concluding with the fiction of Calixthe
Beyala. These diverse texts denote the city at different periods
and shed light on accompanying historical, social, architectural,
artistic, and cultural developments. Our close readings of
these works will include analysis of the literary movements
to which these publications belong; we will examine other
creative works in art and music that characterize these movements
as well, from realism to surrealism. The course is intended
to work in both directions, to reveal that texts influence
our relationship to the city, and that the city influences
our relationship to texts. The course will illuminate the
manner in which the rich and diverse urban center of Paris
has provided inspiration for and drawn inspiration from literature
over the past two centuries. Includes site visits and guest
speakers. Meets twice a week. 6 UC quarter credits
[Comparative
Literature, French, Urban Studies, History].
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