The specific availability for this course is not currently known. If you would like to know if this course will be offered during your session, please contact us.
Objectives
● Discover how the French political and economic systems function
● Understand the peculiarities of the French system
● Discover different aspects of life in European countries
Content
The French Republic and Republican values (institutions – the President, the Senate, the National Assembly, citizenship, the republic and democracy)
Political parties (the right, the traditional left, the center, the National Front, the extreme left, the ecologists)
Elections (electoral procedures for the municipal, cantonal, regional and legislative elections, the accumulation of political offices, the particularities of the presidential elections)
The French economic system (the private sector and the large French corporations, the state sector and its significance, the key sectors of transportation and nuclear energy, the role of the small and medium sized companies)
France and globalization (French protectionism, French difficulties in adapting to world markets, the export sector, the issue of research funding, emigration to Anglo-Saxon countries)
Working practices (the 35-hour week, the French concern with job security, social works committees, vacations)
Trade unions (the unions and politics, strikes and street protest, the role of the unions in companies)
Rural France (agricultural policy, the ideal of the “farmer” in French society, disagreements over GMOs)
The French social protection system (Social Security, health, unemployment benefits, professional training policy)
The media (the written press, television and radio, public and privately-owned media, relations between the media and the authorities, possible future reforms)
The university system and the “grandes écoles” (organization of the university system, reforms, student protest, the selective training of the Republican elite)
The situation of women (equality in politics, the situation of women at work, protection of women's rights)
Regional nationalism (Corsica and its nationalist movement, Brittany and its cultural difference, the Basque country and Basque nationalism in Spain)
France and “Old” Europe (French-German relations, rivalry and détente between the United Kingdom and France, the strong ties between France and Spain, relations between France and Italy)
France and “New Europe (differences in diplomatic standpoints, economic relations with the emerging economies)
France in the world (the Francophonie, the ups-and-downs of French-American relations, France's place in the United Nations, France and NATO)
Organization
The classes will be organized around the study of various types of documents as well as oral presentations and in-class debates. The different themes will be studied in relation to current events. The other European countries will be studied each week based on issues in the news.
Course materials
Newspaper and magazine articles; Audiovisual documents; Research on the Internet
Evaluation
Class attendance; In-class participation; Final exam.
Download course description here in Acrobat PDF Format Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to download this file
