Contemporary France

Catalog description

In this course we will be exploring the transformations of French society since the Second World War and into the Millennium. From the legacy of decolonization to the multicultural fervor of the 1998 Soccer World Cup, from the May 1968 civil protests to the Republican marches of 2015, we'll be delving into the major historical and cultural movements that have marked the contemporary period. How did France recover from German occupation and cope with further wars in its colonial territories? How did unprecedented rates of urbanization and immigration change the face of the country over the ensuing decades? Who have been the major players on the historical stage? And what are the political, cultural, and socioeconomic challenges facing France at the outset of the 21st century? These are some of the questions that will guide our investigation into the past 70 years of French history, a period as turbulent as it is rich in cultural production, and as complex as it is fascinating. Throughout the semester we will be especially attentive to images, in every sense of the word: the images of national identity that France projects to the world and to itself, but also pictorial representations of the country, its people and its territory. These images, and the stories they tell, will help us envision the kaleidoscopic portrait of a nation. The course will be conducted entirely in French.