University of North Carolina Wilmington

FRENCH 318 –Spring 2009

Contemporary France and the Francophone World – Current Events

Pascale Barthe             Office: Leutze 291                  Phone: 962-3595

                                    Office hours: MWF 9-10 and by appointment

                                    Email: barthep@uncw.edu

                                    http://people.uncw.edu/barthep/

Mandatory Materials:

Laurence Wylie et Jean-François Brière. Les Français. Third edition. Prentice Hall. 2001.

Additional reading materials are accessible online, from the library electronic reserves (ERs), at http://library.uncw.edu/web/customerservices/reserves.html. You must also be ready to access the evening news on France 2 (see below).

A good French/English dictionary (Harper Collins Unabridged for instance) is highly recommended.

Course objectives: The focus of this course is to familiarize students with contemporary France (its culture, its institutions, etc.) and its changing relationships with the francophone world, Europe, Africa and the US. We will examine the pressing issues that the French, under Nicolas Sarkozy’s new leadership, are currently discussing. Our analysis of France will stem from a thorough examination of the media, therefore TV and newspapers’ articles will often offer a springboard for our discussions. Please be aware of the fact that, as hot topics pop up unexpectedly, our schedule may change without notice and we may move assigned readings and discussions a bit.

Course policies:

• Active presence and participation is expected in each class. The participation grade will be calculated according to your preparedness, your oral performance in class, as well as your insightful contribution in discussions.
• Twice a week, you are expected to watch the evening news on France 2 and keep a log. Go to http://www.france2.fr/ and click on “20h” on the right. Your news log is due several times a semester. A late submission will NOT be accepted.
• You are also expected to keep a journal in which you will engage with the assigned readings. Once a week roughly, you will write one page on any aspect of the reading assigned for class. This will be done prior to our discussion of the reading. Rather than summarizing articles or book chapters, begin to formulate your own analysis and commentary. When writing in your journal, your French does not have to be perfect but it needs to be polished. As with the news log, this is an exercise that you will have to do regularly. Submit each of your journal entries at the end of the class for which you will have completed an entry. Your journal must have a total of 10 entries, 5 of which must be submitted before Spring Break.
• You will give one 5-10 minute oral presentation on a specific topic that will be assigned at the beginning of the semester.
• A midterm (partiel) and a final exam will assess your factual knowledge of contemporary France. The final exam will also include an essay in which you will demonstrate your understanding of modern French and Francophone society.

Grade Breakdown:

Participation                 15%                                         Journal                         20%

News log                      20%                                         Oral presentation         10%

Midterm                       15%                                         Final exam                   20%

Grading Scale:

A         93-100                         B-        80-82                           D+       67-69

A-                90-92                           C+        77-79                           D         63-66

B+        87-89                           C          73-76                           D-        60-62

B          83-86                           C-        70-72                           F          0-59

Honor Code: Students enrolled in this course must respect and abide by the Academic Honor Code of UNCW at all times.

janvier 7          introduction au cours

9          les médias                                Wylie, 300-308

12        la publicité                               « Advertising culture in France: no Coca-Cola please,

                                                            we’re French! » ERs

            14        les Français et la géographie    Wylie, 14-32

            16        discussion

            21        les Français et l’histoire            Wylie, 33-54

23        l’administration                        Wylie, 174-190

news log à rendre

26        le gouvernement                      Wylie, 158-173

28        le paysage politique en France : les partis politiques

exposés : le Parti Socialiste, Ségolène Royal, le Parti Communiste et les partis d’extrême gauche, le Front National

            30        les partis politiques (fin) 

exposés : les partis écologiques, José Bové et l’altermondialisme

février  2          Sarkozy et son gouvernement

exposés : Nicolas Sarkozy, François Fillon

4          Sarkozy, son gouvernement, et les grands axes de sa politique de réforme

exposés : Rachida Dati, Bernard Kouchner, Brice Hortefeux , Valérie Pécresse, Xavier Darcos

6          Sarkozy                                   « The Human Bomb »

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/27/070827fa_fact_gopnik

9          la famille                                 Wylie, 81-85, 86-96

            11        la famille (suite)                       Wylie, 97-111

13        la famille (suite)                       Wylie, 112-126

            16        la famille (fin)                         Wylie, 127-142

18        l’éducation                               Wylie, 191-200

20        l’éducation (suite)                    Wylie, 201-209

news log à rendre

23        l’éducation (fin)                       « Réformer l’ortografe pour l’enseigner » ERs

25        le système judiciaire                Wylie, 148-157

27        discussion

mars     2          l’économie                               Wylie, 210-227

4          révisions

            6          partiel

            vacances de printemps

16        histoire et mémoire, décolonisation, immigration         Wylie, 244-252

18        religion et laïcité                      Wylie, 261-273

20        l’affaire du voile                      Loi 2004 : http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=MENX0400001L

                                                            « Laïcité à l’école : les règles » ERs

news log à rendre

23        religion et laïcité (suite)             Integrating Islam, introduction (1-11)

25        religion et laïcité (suite)            Integrating Islam, chapitre 3 « From Religion to

Identity: 1,001 Ways of Being Muslim » (74-97), conclusion (264-270)

27        discussion

            30        religion et laïcité (fin)              « The Headscarf and the Republic » ERs discussion

avril     1          la France et l’Europe : l’historique

Wylie, 228-234

3          la France en Europe : le « non » à la constitution européenne

« Revolt or Revolution ? » ERs

6          la France en Europe : quel avenir ?

« Une nouvelle Europe politique : point de vue » ERs

8          discussion

            vacances de Pâques

13        la France dans le monde                      articles courts sur la France et la Chine ERs

15        La France et l’Afrique             « Géopolitique de la nostalgie » ERs

17        La France et le Moyen-Orient  « Une nouvelle marge de manœuvre s’ouvre pour la

                                                            France au Moyen-Orient » ERs

            20        l’Union de la Méditerranée

                        news log à rendre

22        la France et les Etats-Unis        « Le déclin français vu des Etats-Unis, par Antoine

                                                            Compagnon » ERs

24        la France et les Etats-Unis (suite et fin)

                                                « How We Became the United States of France » ERs

27        conclusions

examen final : lundi 4 mai de 11h30 à 14h30