Orientation

The program begins with a two-week intensive language session at the Alliance Française in Bordeaux. In addition to an intensive grammar review, classes at the Alliance Française emphasize spoken French and contemporary culture. Students participate in morning language classes and two afternoon workshops: an Atelier expressions orales in which students learn the art of reading various types of texts, and an Atelier conversation that develops students’ communication skills and enhances their ability to use French in daily activities and exchanges. Bordeaux offers students the opportunity to discover a lively provincial city (pop. 250,000) before going to Paris. Students will be housed with local families and will have the opportunity to participate in visits to the French Basque country, the Dordogne region, nearby Atlantic coast beaches, and vineyards.

The orientation process continues for a third week in Paris, with visits to major historical monuments and museums, and a series of meetings devoted to matters like getting around Paris, discovering the various “arrondissements” by bus and on foot with French students, French customs and intercultural interactions, the organization of the French university system, the French press, and so on. We also will challenge students to think about why they have gone to France and what they want to accomplish during their time there. During this week, students lodge in an international youth hostel.

The Academic Program

Our academic program is designed to achieve three objectives. First, because we want students from all disciplines, whether they are majors in biology, history, literature, or any other field, to be able to spend a year or a semester in Paris, we have devised a broad academic program offering courses in a variety of fields. Students should discuss their projected program with their advisor before they leave the United States, but they probably can take at least one course in Paris that will count towards their major(s).

Second, because we think students can learn a great deal about French people and the French educational system from taking courses at a French university, we encourage students to take at least one university course, and have agreements with a number of Parisian institutions to enable our students to do so. These courses are valuable not only for their academic content, but also for the opportunity they afford students to participate in a different educational system. University courses likewise offer students an opportunity to meet French people of their age.

Third, because American students of French often prefer seminar-size classes to some of the larger classes they might find in the French university system, and because French universities do not offer some of the kinds of courses on French civilization and culture that American students want to take while in Paris, we organize seminars each semester on French politics, history, art history, film, literature, and theater. Taught by outstanding French professors, these seminars are conducted entirely in French and provide students with the kind of close student-teacher contact associated with a Vassar or Wesleyan education. Many of these seminars include on-site lectures at museums and monuments, and visits to governmental institutions, concerts, films, opera, and theater performances.

Students enroll in five courses during their first semester in Paris: four regular courses (French university courses or seminars organized by the program) and the Writing Workshop, a semester-long continuation of the language program begun in Bordeaux. The workshop consists of a weekly class and a weekly tutorial.

Students staying in Paris for a second semester take four regular courses. With the resident director’s approval, they also may apply for a part-time internship related to their academic interests through an agreement with Internships in Francophone Europe. These internships typically require a commitment of two and a half days per week, and students are required to complete a research paper in connection with them. Students who complete the internship and the research paper successfully are awarded two course credits.

Students plan their academic program in consultation with the resident director, who is a member of the Vassar or Wesleyan faculty and serves as the academic advisor for all students during their time in Paris.

Grades and Credit

All program seminars and most courses at the universities of Paris and Sciences Po are the equivalent of a full-semester course at Vassar or Wesleyan. Grades from French university courses will be translated into American equivalents by the program. The program will provide transcripts of grades and evaluations to the registrar at the student’s home institution. Students who wish courses to be counted as part of the requirements for their major should consult with the relevant department before leaving for France.

Courses

French University Courses

Up until 1968, there was a single Parisian university, commonly known as the Sorbonne. After 1968, in response to student demands, the university of Paris was split up into a number of separate universities, of which there are currently twelve, each with its own set of programs. Paris II, for example, is the law school; Paris V is the medical school. In order to provide students with a comprehensive set of course choices, the VWPP has agreements with three of these twelve universities—Paris IV (La Sorbonne), Paris VII (Jussieu-Denis-Diderot), and Paris XII (Créteil-Val de Marne)—and with the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (IEP or Sciences Po), all of which permit full-year and second-semester students to take courses there.

Students who are interested in taking courses at Sciences Po must apply to do so during the semester before they plan to study in France through the Office of International Studies at Wesleyan or the Office of International Programs at Vassar.

The European Community member countries have agreed to streamline their higher educational systems’ diploma equivalencies, degree requirements, and university calendars in order to achieve a cohesive European educational environment, facilitate and encourage student mobility, and, ultimately, increase employment opportunities for citizens of European countries. This “réforme” will be implemented in the Parisian universities in 2005–2006, bringing with it some new types of courses, and more semester (rather than year-long) courses, as well as calendar and schedule changes that will take effect over the next few years.

Each French university can decide independently how to implement the “réforme” and determine its academic calendar. Information on the new French university calendar, and its repercussions for the VWPP, will be made available as soon as possible.

As of this writing, students who are in Paris for the fall semester only and need to return to the United States before early- to mid-January will not be able to complete first-semester courses at French universities in the regular way. In order to provide students who are in Paris for only the fall semester the opportunity to experience French university courses, the VWPP organizes several “cours mixtes.” Students who register for one of these courses are enrolled in it as regular students and attend all meetings of the course at the French university until they leave Paris. They also are required to attend four to six supplementary sessions for just the VWPP students enrolled in the course. These extra sessions are taught by the professor of the course.

French universities issue a new curriculum every year; an exact listing will be available to students when they arrive in Paris.

Sample Fall Cours Mixtes

History: Issues, Problems and Methods
Université Paris VII - Denis Diderot
What is History? What are the tools and the methodologies employed in studying History? What are the purposes, the ambitions and the limits of historical investigation? We explore these questions by retracing the evolution of the various ways History has been conceived and written about from Antiquity to the present. In particular, the course considers major historiographical changes (including the Annales School approach), the relationship between History and other human sciences, and the innovative trends of present historical research (history of representations, history of the present, history of women, etc.). This historiographical exploration will allow us to reflect on the role and function of the historian and on the problems inherent in historical knowledge : What is historical truth? Is History objective ? Is it scientific ? What is the relationship between History and Memory ? Why study History?

The Short Story: a Narration of Ordinary Life
Université Paris VII - Denis Diderot
Numerous short stories anchored in everyday life in fact present a paradox : how can the short story be a vehicle for bringing ordinary things, occurrences and people to the height of what matters ; how does it transform ordinary subjects into objects of poetic and ethical importance ?  The following works are studied in this perspective: Le Duel et autres nouvelles, Anton Tchekhov, « Folio » nº 1433; La Ronde et autres faits divers, J.-M.-G. Le Clézio, « Folio » nº 2148; Les Trois roses jaunes, Raymond Carver, Rivages, 1994.

History of European Migrations (19th-20th Centuries)
Université Paris VII - Denis Diderot
This course studies the main elements associated with the rapid increase in the geographic mobility of populations within and outside of Europe.  We begin by examining global patterns of immigration and migration of different populations and their destinations to, from and within Europe from the second half of the nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century.  We also analyze from an institutional point of view the historical roots of national differences with respect to citizenship, immigration and migratory policy in Europe.  France, as one of the earliest host countries, provides a model that will be compared to those of Germany and Great Britain.

Literature and History: the Physical Sciences at the Crossroads between Philosophy and History
Université Paris VII - Denis Diderot
What consequences did the 17th-century scientific debate on the nature of the universe, sparked by the works of Descartes and Newton, have for the Enlightenment ?  We examine this question in the following works : Fontenelle, Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes (Garnier-Flammarion) and Voltaire, Micromégas (any edition).

Courses Taken at the Universities of Paris in Recent Years

Histoire de l’Art: Art de l’Inde et de la Chine, L’Art du Moyen-Age, Art d’extrême orient, Archéologie du monde islamique 

Film: La nouvelle vague, Le cinéma de science fiction, Hitchcock, Jean Renoir, Analyse de films et poétique du cinéma : le “jeune cinéma français” existe-t-il?, Analyse de film : étude des figures cinématographiques, Ecritures cinématographiques: l’oeuvre de Truffaut

Littérature: Littérature et philosophie, Littérature et psychanalyse, Théâtre et illusion, Lecture du roman, Lecture de la poésie, Marivaux, Littérature médiévale:”La démesure,” Immigration et récit familial, Littérature comparée

Traduction: Thème (français-anglais)

Philosophie: Lecture de textes philosophiques

Photographie: Nouvelles images, Histoire et analyse de la photographie

Sciences Sociales et Humaines: Histoire réligieuse de Moyen Age, Analyse de monde contemporain, Histoire, société et culture de la France contemporaine: La France des Trentes Glorieuses 1945–1974—cultures, modes de vie et consommation, Introduction à l’Afrique Noire, Ethnologie et Histoire, Histoire de la Péninsule Indochinoise, Ethnologie et Histoire, Histoire du XXe siècle, Comportements et attitudes et forces politiques en France et en Europe, Ville et espaces sociaux, Villes et campagnes, Thèmes et hypothèses en psychanalyse, Théorie de la monnaie, Economie publique 

Seminars

Like most French university courses, the seminars organized by the program meet once a week for two hours. Attendance is required at all classes, and assigned work must be handed in at the time designated. Students who are absent without a valid reason from any course will not receive credit for it. Incompletes will be allowed only for medical reasons. Since it is program policy to limit class size, students may not be able to take all the seminars in which they would like to enroll. We will, however, make every effort to arrange a challenging and rewarding program for each participant.

The following are the Program's seminars offered in the 2005-06 academic year.  Seminars may vary from year to year and will be updated each semester on this website.

Sample Fall Seminars

Paris Through the Centuries
The aim of this course is to provide an in-depth geographical, historical and cultural perpective of the city of Paris. Each seminar/visit focuses on a neighborhood whose origins and  unique aspects we learn about through an analysis of historical, artistic and literary references. Students explore numerous Parisian sites from the Middle Ages through the present, including remains of medieval walls, medieval churches and cathedrals, the Louvre palace, the Palais Royal and Luxembourg gardens,  the Bibliothèque nationale, Comédie française, and monuments from the great nineteenth- and twentieth-century Worlds Fairs. Readings include texts by Balzac, Hugo, Zola and Corneille.

Love and Tragedy in French Theater
This course first studies the nature of seventeenth-century tragedy as transformed by Corneille and Racine, who grafted a love story onto the core of myth. We then move to the twentieth century's reshaping of the notion of the tragic through the influence of various philosophical currents. Questions of style (baroque and classical) and philosophy (existentialism and the absurd) are foregrounded, with emphasis both on the continuity of tragic literature and on formal variations from the seventeenth century to the present. Plays are chosen in light of the Paris theatrical season, so as to allow the analysis of a number of live performances.

Art and Scandal
Baudelaire’s Fleurs du mal, Michelangelo’s David and Manet’s Olympia all were considered scandalous in their day.  The history of art is in fact punctuated by scandals that were often associated with technical innovations, new ideas or major transgressions of social norms.  Twentieth-century art, in particular, is closely related to the notions of scandal and censure. In this course, we study a number of works of art that, at different moments and at different times, have provoked shock and scandal and given rise to public outcry.  We also look at the mutual incomprehension that can exist between the artists and mass media, and the problematic relationship between art and society. Artists studied include : Artemisia, Schiele, Manzoni, Herman Nitsch, Serrano, and the Gutaüi group.

Franco-African Relations
Beginning with a survey of precolonial kingdoms in Africa and the implantation of Islam, the course proceeds to an analysis of European intervention and of the structure of European colonial administrations.  Various phases of the African independence movement are highlighted : the formation of an African elite, the spread of African nationalisms, Panafricanism, and ‘Négritude’.  Finally, we examine French policies in the post-colonial period and the U.S.’s emerging role in African affairs.

Writing about France Today
The aim of this class is to help students improve their writing skills, using their experience in France as material upon which to reflect and write.  Through various activities in and out of class, students will also develop greater proficiency in the other language skills (speaking as well as listening and reading comprehension).  For example, students will be asked to narrate a significant event, conduct and report on an interview, keep a journal, express their opinion on current events, write a film review, and present, both orally and in writing, an aspect of their current experience. The course allows students to broaden their vocabulary in different areas and registers, using materials such as videos, recordings, and excerpts from the press and literature.  Students focus throughout the semester on developing their writing style by refining their choice of words and sentence structure.

Paris in the Movies
This course focuses on Paris as a living theater of French cinema from the 1950s to the present day. Throughout this period, a growing number of Parisian neighborhoods have served as studios, and bear witness to the transformations of the city, to vast architectural projects, urban renovations and scenes of social cohesion or exclusion.  Moving beyond clichéd background images of Pigalle, Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, and Parisian bistros and rooftops, the cinema has made Paris into a source of inspiration and an instrument of reflection on the nature of cinema.  Five films will be studied in depth :  Guitry’s « Si Paris nous était conté » (1955), Rohmer’s « Le Signe du lion » (1959), Tavernier’s Des enfants gâtés » (1977), Polanski’s « Frantic » (1988) and Kassowitz’ « La Haine » (1995).

Are the French Exceptional ? A Cultural History of Modern France
An historical study of French cultural practices, productions and models in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  The course follows the emergence of cultural « modernity » from the Revolution to the Republic and examines the gradual decline of religious and rural life, the challenges encountered by an academic and cultural elite, the cultural experiments of the avant-garde and the democratization of culture through the rapid rise of consumerism and mass production.  Major authors include Walter Benjamin, Pierre Bourdieu, Roger Chartier and Michel Foucault. 

The Idea of the Monster in French Literature
The monster is an important figure in French literature and represents what is abnormal, outside of the law, « against Nature » ; the monster goes beyond and often breaks the rules of the society in which he lives.  However, these social norms—whether physical, theological, legal, scientific, esthetic or moral—can in turn become monstrous, as can those who adhere to them.  From this paradox emerge the following questions:  Where is the monster found?  Who is he?  How does he manifest himself?  Why does he exist?  The course examines these questions in a variety of media (literary works, press clippings, scientific texts, films), exploring the enduring fascination aroused by the phenomenon of monstrosity as well as its social functions and the evolution of certain themes connected with it.  Major works include Diderot’s Le Neveu de Rameau, Mérimée’s Vénus d’Ille and Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac.

B. Half-unit Courses

Independent Research Project
Projects can range widely in focus and can be primarily academic or primarily experiential. They are carried out under the supervision of an individual tutor, with a written final report.  Art projects (a semester-long themed photography or film “reportage”, for instance, culminating in an exhibit and a film) will be considered.

Academic Internship
Students serve as language teaching assistants in Parisian primary or secondary schools, or at Paris IX-Dauphine, working with teachers, conducting small conversation groups, or participating in the university language class. Internship involves a final written report. The Academic Internship can also be pursued on a non-credit basis if the student chooses not to do the written report.

Other Internships
A few internships are available outside of the school system depending on availability; volunteering through the Centre du Bénévolat de Paris  (meeting with the aged in French hospitals, after-school tutoring in community centers), working with a dance school, a publisher, an anglophone Paris publication;  consult with Lisa Fleury for possibilities this semester.  Internship involves a final written report.

Sample Spring Seminars

20th-Century French Theater
This course studies contemporary French plays and theoretical texts on theater, combined with attendance at plays currently on the French stage. Sartre’s Huis Clos, as an example of existentialist and absurd theater, and Arthaud’s Théâtre et son double will be read and studied in depth. Three or four plays will be chosen from among those running during the current season to provide a panorama of contemporary trends in French theater. Students will read and study plays, attend productions, and discuss and critique them through written work and exposés.

Franco-African Relations
Beginning with a survey of precolonial kingdoms in Africa and the implantation of Islam, the course proceeds to an analysis of European intervention and of the structure of European colonial administration. Various phases of the African independence movement are highlighted: the formation of an African elite, the spread of African nationalisms, Panafricanism, and “Négritude.” Finally, we examine French policies in the postcolonial period and the United States’ emerging role in African affairs.

Intimate Fictions
Certain literary works, especially epistolary novels, diaries, and monologues, are centered around the intimate lives of their narrator or fictional author(s). In entering into their fictional lives, the reader is offered a kind of pleasure that borders on the illicit. The central characters in intimate fictions are often motivated by a will to dominate others and a desire for unlimited personal freedom. Other narratives portray a protagonist engaged in an existential quest for truth that ends in various forms of despair, madness, disgust, and indifference. In terms of style, intimate fictions are often fragmentary in nature, since they both focus on the moment of writing and borrow from the world of spoken language. Whereas epistolary novels and fictional diaries tend to make fun of their models in order to highlight the frontier between fiction and testimony, literary monologues, at least those written in the 20th century, create a fictional author who blurs the boundaries between truth and fiction. Works studied include: Claude Crébillon fils’ Lettres de la Marquise de M*** au Comte de R***, Maupassant’s Le Horla, Sartre’s La Nausée, and Georges Perec’s Un Homme qui dort.

From Ideal Body to Mutilated Body
This course aims to generate a theoretical reflection on the use of the body in art. The course material seeks to examine and analyze how the body has long been manipulated through its relationship with cultural, religious, and political institutions, right up to the threshold of manipulation. We will explore the body as a construction of forms of discourse, obligations, and instruments of control.

Gender in France
This course explores the various feminist movements that took place in France from 1830 to the present. Beyond the historical process, the course aims to examine the interactions between and among feminism and politics; feminism and the queer movement; and feminism, social class, and race.

Lyric Opera
The course retraces the history of opera in France through an appreciation of the lyric form in its musical and literary manifestations, and as a reflection of the cultural life of France in the 18th and 19th centuries. Emphasis is given to the relation between the dramatic and musical arts, the collaboration between librettist and composer, and approaches to staging. Three operas are chosen from those running during the current season and are examined in detail; in 2004 we studied Claudio Monteverdi’s Le Couronnement de Poppée, Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello, and Wagner’s Tristan et Isolde. Students attend performances of these works at the Garnier and Bastille opera houses, and are asked to attend a fourth opera on their own. Visits to museums of music and opera also are arranged. Students are asked for a small financial participation for the opera tickets. Prerequisites: General background in music recommended.

Art and Nature in France (1830–1900)
This course studies 19th-century French painting and sculpture from the perspective of their relationship to nature, whether as a formal or thematic inspiration. Special focus is given to landscape painting, from the school of Michallon, to the Romantic movement, Corot, Courbet, Millet, up to Impressionism. We study the evolution of animal sculptures from Barye to Pompon, as well as the relationship between man and nature that underlines the Romantic ideal and is a fundamental aspect of Rodin’s art.

“Are the French Exceptional?” A Cultural History of Modern France, 19th and 20th Centuries
A historical study of French cultural practices, productions, and models in the 19th and 20th centuries. The course follows the emergence of cultural “modernity” from the Revolution to the Republic and examines the gradual decline of religious and rural life, the challenges encountered by an academic and cultural elite, the cultural experiments of the avant-garde, and the democratization of culture through the rapid rise of consumerism and mass production. Major authors include Pierre Bourdieu, Roger Chartier, Michel Foucault, and Walter Benjamin.

Exploring the Paris Archives
Following guided visits to a number of archives and research libraries in Paris, students will devise and conduct an individual research project and present their findings in various stages over the course of the semester. Institutions included are the Musée de la Mode, the Bibliotheque de l’Arsenal, the Mediatheque of the RATP (metro), the Societé de l’Histoire du Protestantisme francais, the Bibliotheque historique de la ville de Paris, and the Bibliotheque Marguerite Durand, which houses the largest collection of feminist documents in Paris.

Enlightenment Literature: Art, Science, Politics, and Love in the 18th-Century
An introduction to the nature and spirit of the French Enlightenment through some of the major literary and philosophical works of the period. The course involves a historical presentation of the 18th century as well as a study of great individual works to which we still refer today in our thinking about art, science, politics, and love: Montesquieu’s Lettres persanes; Rousseau’s Discours; Diderot’s Rêve de d’Alembert and Paradoxe sur le Comédien; and Voltaire’s polemical writings.