AP/FR 1005 9.00
From Versailles to Vuitton: Discovering French Culture
This course taught in English gives students the opportunity to discover the greatest figures in French culture from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, through their works. Areas studied include cinema, theatre, music, visual arts, political thought, literature, wine and gastronomy. The course also offers comprehensive training and practice in academic research and writing skills. Note: The course is taught entirely in English and does not require any knowledge of the French language. This General Education course aims to familiarise students with the principal people, works and artistic/intellectual movements that have shaped French society over the past 500 years. It also highlights some of the recurring themes, tensions and unresolved issues that have marked French history and culture in the aim of illustrating how Francophone culture has shaped the wider world, and also in what respects it differs from English and North-American culture. Finally, the course trains students in the fundamentals of academic writing, including getting practice and feedback in relation to appropriate analytic approaches, critical thinking and reasoning, research techniques and proper writing style.
Prerequisites: none
Course credit exclusions: none
Notes: Language of instruction is English; no placement test required. This course fulfils the General Education requirement in humanities. It does not count towards a program in French Studies, but is open (and highly recommended) to French majors as their humanities Gen Ed.