Lake Superior State University

FR 360 French Cultural Perspectives

Summer 2004

 

 

Course Description:

 

              This course takes place in France as students participate in a study tour with their instructor.  They discover Paris, its monuments, art galleries, museums, libraries; visit ancient Roman vestiges, the Renaissance chateaux, the Second World War sites, the wine provinces, the Côte d’Azur, and participate in French life.

              An alternate on-campus version of this course on contemporary French society and culture is offered to students who do not wish to travel to France.  Extensive literary, historical, and audio-visual documentation provide material for stimulation analysis and discussion of typical French value orientations, family structures, educational, and cultural institutions.

 

Objectives:

 

              To open up horizons through a look at a culture other than your own and to foster a sense of cultural relativity, pluralism and understanding, and to bring about a better grasp of your own culture as you look at a different one.

              Acquiring a certain familiarity with historical and geographical concepts pertaining to France.  Introducing the culture of France in its originality and varied manifestations in the context of national and international perspectives.

 

Methodology:

 

              This course will allow us to come to a better understanding of the French people and their culture.  We will explore the historical roots of French behavior and institutions, and consider how the sweeping changes in French society over the past decades have influenced the present.  Your assignment for this course will consist in: (1) filling the questionnaire corresponding to the different chapters from Laurence Wylie & Jean-François Brière’s Les Français; (2) summarizing chapter by chapter Peter Mayle’s book A Year in Provence, and Polly Platt’s French or Foe?; (3) after watching the films Un coeur en hiver, Mama, there is a man in your bed, Un air de famille  prepare after consultation with your instructor a research paper on one specific aspect of French value system that seems to you most original.  Students participating to the study tour to France will write a detailed journal of all visits and activities of the trip.

              Deadline for completion of this assignment: August 1st, 2004

              Majors and Minors in French Studies complete their assignments in French.

 

Texts:

 

              Laurence Wylie and Jean-Françoi Brière, Les Français, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall, 2001.

              Guy R. Mermier, France, Past & Present, Peter Lang, 2000.

              Peter Mayle, A year in Provence, Random House, N.Y. 1989.

              Peter Mayle, Une année en Provence, NIL Editions, 1993.

              Polly Platt, French or Foe?J.C. Krehbiel  Company, 1991      

 

Evaluation:

 

              Attendance                                                                                           20%

              Questionnaires (Les Français or La France, Past & Present) 20%

                                                                                      or

              Journal of visits & activities during study tour to France              20%

              A year in Provence and  French or Foe?                                            20%

              Research paper                                                                                    40%

 

Disability Services and Accommodation for Students:

 

              In compliance with Lake Superior State University policy and equal access laws, disability-related accommodations or services are available.  Students who desire such services are to meet with the professor in a timely manner, preferably the first week of class, to discuss their disability-related needs.  Students will not receive services until they register with the Resource Center for Students with Disabilities (RCSD).  Proper registration will enable the RCSD to verify the disability and determine reasonable academic accommodations.  RCSD is located in South Hall Office 206.  The telephone number is (906) 635-2454.

 

Academic Misconduct:

 

              Scholastic misconduct may be cause for a failing grade, and information may be placed about the incident in the student’s permanent file in the Office of Academic Affairs.  Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on assignments or examinations, plagiarizing, misrepresenting work, or interfering with someone else’s work.

 

                                                                                                Instructor:       Dr. Marcel E. Pichot

                                                                          Office:             Library 318

                                                                          Hours: Wednesdays 9-12 then 1:00-2:00

                                                                          Telephone:      (906) 635-2118

                                                                        E-mail:            mpichot@lssu.edu