Spring 2015 Paris Courses

175. Differing Diversities: The Politics of Belonging in France

Prof. Stéphane DUFOIX & Prof. Will BISHOP

France's history with social and ethnic diversity is very different from that of the United States, even though the revolutions that founded the two republics are separated by no more than thirteen years and were nourished by the same Enlightenment philosophical tradition. If the United States thinks of itself as a multicultural "melting pot," France has a tendency to think of itself as a revolutionary nation. Both of these images of how one belongs to either nation have a grain of truth, but both are also far from encompassing the fully problematic sense of belonging to either country. This interdisciplinary course will explore how diversity has (and has not) been articulated in France's political traditions and how these traditions inform contemporary social situations. Articles in political theory and sociology will help students gain an idea of the ways social scientists studying France have articulated the relations between nation, citizenship, and cosmopolitanism. Literary accounts will serve as an experiential lens to help us understand the concrete implications of these notions. This course seeks to give students a fuller idea of the complexity of belonging in France. 4.0 credits. Suggested subject areas for this course: Sociology/Comparative Literature/Political Science

177. Documenting the Periphery: Identity and Citizenship in the “Other” Part of Paris

Prof. Carole VIERS-ANDRONICO

This interdisciplinary course will examine the socioeconomic and political disenfranchisement experienced by residents of the "other France" – a France comprised of working-class citizens often of immigrant origin and from France’s former colonies. It will introduce students to urban sociology by requiring that they focus on the particular problems experienced by social actors who live in economically and socially disfavored parts of Paris. Topics covered include urban sociological theories, de-facto segregation, poverty, crime, schooling, public policy, national identity, the negotiation of bi-culturality, and the French secularizing mission. Students will investigate these topics from a variety of sources, ranging from documentary film and photojournalism to literary and cinematic expressions. Via these sources, they will become familiar with a vibrant urban "vernacular" culture that contests issues pertaining to citizenship, racialization and representation. 4.0 credits. Suggested subject areas for this course: Urban Studies/Sociology/Comparative Literature

179. Food in a Global City:  An Anthropological Approach

Prof. Chelsie Yount-André

In this course, we will seek to comprehend the general principles of social anthropology through the exploration of food as a reflection of culture. We will investigate the link between the biological, economic, and cultural aspects of human food systems, as well as how they determine the way we eat today. We will analyze the concept of “foodways”, which is a social-cultural process leading to the construction of the self, collective identities, gender, and ethnicity. And we will consider how evolution of Parisian foodways both reflects changing social environments and challenges residents’ capacity for social adaptation.  To this end, we will visit traditional, open-air French markets and compare them to “ethnic” markets in the Asian and African quarters of Paris. We will evaluate French culinary history through on-site study excursions, tasting experiences, readings and discussions with food professionals.  We will learn how so-called “authentic” foodways are always dynamic processes that integrate elements from different cultural encounters, ways of life and social trends. Indeed, through a study of the history of food in France and its empire - as compared to that of the United States - eating will be studied, in the words of anthropologist Marcel Mauss, as a “total social fact”.  4.0 credits.  Suggested subject areas for this course: Anthropology, History, Sociology

178. Nation and Identity in Modern France: Historical Sources and Contemporary Challenges

Prof. Justin E.H. SMITH

What is France? And who is French? These questions might seem too obvious to even need to be asked, yet in fact their answers have long been the source of much debate and controversy among historians, sociologists, political theorists, and many specialists in the humanities. This is the case in any modern country, but perhaps most of all in France, since it is France that has served since 1789 as the very model of what it is to be a nation-state, that is, a political unit purportedly built around a single, unified national culture. How such a culture comes to be unified is a complicated matter, and one rendered even more complicated by the history of colonialism in which France, like many other European powers, has been deeply implicated for centuries.

In this course we will consider some attempts by authors in a variety of fields, including political science, philosophy, and literature, ranging from the 18th century to the present day, to make sense out of the question of what it means to be French. To broach this topic, students will read from a variety of influential texts, and during class we will discuss the ideas developed in these texts, attempting to relate them to the broader questions that are guiding us, and also to relate them to our own experience in contemporary Paris. 4.0 credits. Suggested subject areas for this course: Philosophy/Political Science/History

174. (Un)veiling the Republic: France in the Muslim World and the Muslim World in France

Prof. Mariam HABIBI

While Charles Martel is said to have heroically “saved” France from invading Muslims in 732, today, France has the highest percentage of Muslims in Europe. This interdisciplinary course draws from the fields of history, political science, sociology, and international studies to examine the fraught relations between France and the Muslim world over the centuries. The class will be broken up into two sections. In the first section, it will look at France’s historical presence in the Arab world and the consequent Muslim presence in France. In the second section, it will focus on French society today and evaluate the socio-political integration process of French Muslims. Topics covered include colonization and decolonization, Islamic heritage and its clash with the French secularizing mission, and political policies on Muslims in France such as the heated issue over the veil. Students will investigate these topics from a variety of sources, ranging from historical documents and cultural criticism to journalistic and cinematic expressions. 4.0 credits. Suggested subject areas for this course: History/Political Science/Sociology

77. Survival French

Students who do not have significant university-level French language study prior to arrival are required to take a Survival French course in Paris.  1.5 UC lower-division quarter units (1.0 lower-division semester units).  Graded on a P/NP basis only.

87. Business French

(Semester Internship Program Students)

Workforce Course

(Semester Internship Program Students)