France

3 weeks / 3 credits
Country Director: 

Accompanying Faculty Member: 
Program Date: Not Offered in 2008
Cost:

Overview

The course will be based in and around Aix en Provence, proud home of the painter Cezanne, in southeastern France.  Students observe and participate in the daily life of a small French city, and interact with people who are in many ways very different from what they know, yet at the same time also familiar due to connections through history, art, democracy, economics, fashion, food, and so forth.  The Auberge de Jeunesse in Aix will be our home for about two weeks.  We will also spend time in a nearby small town, as well as in Marseille and the Cote d’Azure – think Cannes, Nice, and Monte Carlo.  The final four days of the program will be in Paris.  We will spend part of the time in a classroom, part of the time doing field research, and part of the time on field trips to cultural and geographic attractions.

The course is designed to increase students’ knowledge of the culture, current issues, and language of France, and in the process, to deepen our understanding of our own culture and ourselves.  The primary methods will be those of social science research and cultural anthropology.  One or two issues within the wider phenomenon of a globalized economy, currently “hot topics” in French culture, will form the context of our critical inquiry.  We will examine issues of interest to young adults in France, the cross-cultural peers of Landmark students.

Experientially based modules form the structure of the course.  For each module students will learn and employ a method of inquiry to answer a research question they construct about a particular issue in French culture.

Prerequisites:

CP101 or FY1011 or *BU 101 or *BU1011 and EN101 or EN1011

*Applicable to Business Program students only.

Itinerary

Arriving early Saturday morning we will travel straight from the airport to Aix en Provence and the Auberge de Jeunesse (Youth Hostel). The hostel is a full-service establishment (with rooms for 140 people) where we will be able to socialize, make friends, and share with other students from around the world. The center of town is a 20-minute walk from the hostel.

Aix, as it is generally called, is the gateway to southeastern France, and the home of Cezanne. This will be our base for the first two and a half weeks. We will spend part of the time in a classroom, part of the time carrying out projects related to the course in the town and surrounding area, and part of the time on field trips to nearby cultural and geographic attractions, including the Cote d'Azure - think Cannes, Nice, and Monaco.

The last three days will be in Paris. This will give us a chance to experience a different part of French culture, as well as visit some of those wonderful attractions Paris is so famous for. The group will leave to return home from the Paris airport on Saturday, June 9th.