Luke Arnason, arnason@yorku.ca

This course explores key aspects of French culture through representative readings of major figures in literature, art, philosophy, and social and political thought, from the Renaissance to post-war France. It aims to familiarise students with the principal historical events and artistic/intellectual movements that have shaped French society over the past 500 years. It also aims to highlight some of the recurring themes, tensions and unresolved issues that have marked French history and culture. Finally, it aims to train students in the methodologies and techniques proper to the academic discussion of history, art and culture, including getting practice and feedback in relation to appropriate analytic approaches, critical thinking and reasoning, research techniques and proper writing style.

Course credit exclusions: AP/FR 1005 9.00 (prior to Fall 2015), AP/FR 2005 9.00 (prior to Fall 2014), AP/HUMA 2005 9.00 (prior to Fall 2014). PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AS/FR 2005 9.00.

Note: This course will not count for major or minor credit in French studies. This is an approved LA&PS General Education course: Humanities

Jones, Colin. The Cambridge Illustrated History of France. Cambridge University Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780521669924

Additional readings will be provided as electronic resources accessible via the eClass site.

Weekly tasks: 30%

Fall essay: 15%

Winter essay: 20%

Fall term test: 15%

Winter term test: 20%

This course is organised as a lecture with two components. Typically, the first two hours will be devoted to the historical and cultural content (overview of a given period or work, presentation of relevant artistic works or cultural productions such as music, artistic or architectural works, plays, operas or other literary texts), while the last hour will be devoted to study skills, academic writing and research methodology.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Recognise the chronology and significance of the main historical periods of early modern and modern French history (c. 1500-1970).
• Be able to recognise the different artistic and philosophical movements associated with this period, order them chronologically, and summarize their essential characteristics and relevance.
• Reflect on the principal cultural differences between French and Canadian/Anglo-Saxon culture, especially as it relates to politics, religion, and the tensions between the individual and society.
• Understand the principles of academic honesty and the conventions of bibliographical referencing.
• Understand the specific function of academic writing and research (relative to other forms of writing) and the stylistic conventions stemming from it.
• Recognise the different categories of research documentation (reference works, articles, etc.) and be able to evaluate the relevance and quality of a research source, thus constituting a relevant and high-quality bibliographic base for research assignments.
• Gain practice with critical thinking and argumentation skills as they relate to discussions of culture and history.

TBA