«French Culture» Elective Course. Syllabus

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1 «French Culture» Elective Course Syllabus Dear Students, This course proposes an overview on cultural trends and major works of arts of France. Following a chronological approach (from the Roman Empire until the contemporary period), the course gives a large panorama of the main cultural references you could share with French people.

Syllabus Why is Asterix so popular in France?

from? Seminar 1 - From The End of the Roman Empire to

Roman Empire, Crusades, Architecture, Joan of Arc,

975 to 1223 Basilica of Vézelay 2nd Part The Gothic

Is this really Notre Dame!? What castle is this?

wars 1480 1610 : Relations between France and Italy,

Leonardo Da Vinci, Montaigne What was Paris like in the

Part 1 Francis the 1st (François 1er) and the boom of

2 Syllabus Why is Asterix so popular in France? How come French people are still so fond of a 19 years old heroin? Where do Lancelot and the «Round Table Knights» come from? Seminar 1 - From The End of the Roman Empire to the end of the Middle Ages : Legacy of the Roman Empire, Crusades, Architecture, Joan of Arc, Religious arts, Poetry, What do we see when watching a cathedral? Part 1 The pre Romanesque and Romanesque period, from 975 to 1223 Basilica of Vézelay 2nd Part The Gothic period and the Apogee of France - from 1200 to 1453 Les Très riches heures du Duc de Berry (Ca. 1410) How did Mona Lisa come to France? And did the French stole it? Why is this castle so famous and mysterious? Is this really Notre Dame!? What castle is this? Seminar 2- The Renaissance period and the religious wars : Relations between France and Italy, Religions, Francis the 1st, Henry the 4th, Rabelais, Leonardo Da Vinci, Montaigne What was Paris like in the Renaissance? How France was split into two? Part 1 Francis the 1st (François 1er) and the boom of Italian Renaissance arts Château de Chambord / La Joconde, Leonardo Da Vinci Part 2 Times of crisis and religious wars Massacre de la St Barthélémy François Dubois (Lausanne) Why is a conformist person called a «Panurge s sheep» in French language? 2

Syllabus Who were the 3 Musketeers (and did

Seminar 3 - The Classic period and absolute

Musketeers, Louis the 14th, Versailles, La

philosophers (Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau),

philosophers and the writers influence the

Who entertained Versailles (and who refused

her time (and why is she so popular today)?

Who was Lafayette and what part did he play

What were the different steps of the French

French Revolution, Napoleon the 1st, the

3 Syllabus Who were the 3 Musketeers (and did they really exist)? Seminar 3 - The Classic period and absolute monarchy Louis the 13th, The 3 Musketeers, Louis the 14th, Versailles, La Fontaine, Molière, Racine, Lulli, The philosophers (Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau), Part 1 Louis the 14th (r ) The building of Versailles (video) La Fontaine Part 2 The End of the Kings ( ) Beaumarchais and the «Marriage of Figaro» How did the philosophers and the writers influence the French Revolution? Who entertained Versailles (and who refused to)? Who wrote «Cinderella» and who did «The Beauty and the Beast»? Why was Marie Antoinette so unpopular at her time (and why is she so popular today)? Why is there a balloon flying over Versailles? Why did Louis 14th, the «Sun King», decided to build Versailles? Why did the French Revolution happened? Who was Lafayette and what part did he play in it? What were the different steps of the French Revolution (and why do we remember mainly the most terrible one)? How did Bonaparte became Napoleon (and why do French people say «It is a Berezina!» when a catastrophy occurs)? Seminar 4 - The Revolution and the beginning of Modern times : The French Revolution, Napoleon the 1st, the Romantics, Balzac, The People s spring What is a Romantic painting? Part 1 The 1st Empire «Le sacre de Napoléon 1er» by Jacques-Louis David ( ) Part 2 The return of the Kings and Romanticism «La Liberté guidant le people» by Delacroix, musée du Louvre How did Balzac and Stendhal shaped French novel? 3

Syllabus How much did Haussmann change Paris?

Seminar 5 - The second half of the 19th century :

2d Empire, Impressionists, Industrialization,

reconstructed Paris Part 2 The 3rd Republic -

Renoir, Pissaro, Degas ) Impression, soleil levant,

France and what happened during the 1st projection?

How the World s 1st department store was opened in

Why was Eiffel the builder of the Tower and what

Gris, Modigliani, Picasso, Brancusi, Chagall,

Seminar 6 - Contemporary arts -1914 2010 : The

Architecture and design, centre Georges Pompidou,

4 Syllabus How much did Haussmann change Paris? What was Victor Hugo? Seminar 5 - The second half of the 19th century : What did Jules Verne write about? 2d Empire, Impressionists, Industrialization, Urbanization, French capitalism, Jules Verne, Emile Zola Why «Impressionists»? Part 1 Second Empire How Haussmann reconstructed Paris Part 2 The 3rd Republic The Impressionists (Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Pissaro, Degas ) Impression, soleil levant, Claude Monet (1872) How the Cinema was invented in France and what happened during the 1st projection? How the youngest and most popular French poet stopped writing at the age of 20? What were the Impressionists values and messages? How the World s 1st department store was opened in Paris and who wrote about it? Why was Eiffel the builder of the Tower and what else did he do? Gris, Modigliani, Picasso, Brancusi, Chagall, Zadkine, Soutine, Fujita : who made the «School of Paris»? Why are the watches melting (according to Dali)? Seminar 6 - Contemporary arts : The School of Paris, La Bohême, Surrealism, Cubism, Architecture and design, centre Georges Pompidou, street art Who is this lady? Who created the photo agency Magnum? What is the relation between The Little Prince and Charles de Gaulle? Who are the contemporain French movie makers? Who is «JR»? Part 1 A Les années folles, Dada and the Surrealism Marcel Duchamp ( ) Fountain (1917) Salvador Dali Persistance de la mémoire (1931) Part 1 B - 2nd WW and the Resistance Charles de Gaulle, Antoine de St Exupéry, Albert Camus Part 2 Post 2nd WW St Germain des Prés : Juliette Gréco Il n y a plus d après- Henri Cartier Bresson ( ) photograph of Parisians Christo, JR 4

5 Assessment Attendance to the course = 40 % Final exam : 60 % Multiple-choice questions (60 questions 40 minutes) Date : last course 5

After each seminar, you will receive by email: its summary (see extracts here under), resources : Internet links, articles, videos in English in order to prepare the next course and a complementary

6 After each seminar, you will receive by its summary (see extracts here under), resources : Internet links, articles, videos in English in order to prepare the next course and a complementary bibliography to prepare your personal essay. Sculpture of D Artagnan, here represented as the hero of Alexandre Dumas novel The 3 musketeers D Artagnan was a true musketeer of the King Louis 14 th, close enough to the king for being in charge of the arrest of Nicolas Fouquet. This episode, as well as his death, has been depicted by Dumas in the last of the 3 Musketeers adventures Le Vicomte de Bragelonne Despite the very glamorous picture Dumas gave of his actions, he was mainly an ordinary military officer who conquered a high rank in the Musketeers, and died in Maastricht during the war against the Dutch (1673). Early romantic paintings Géricault Le Radeau de la Méduse ( ), by Géricault Musée du Louvre Théodore Géricault ( ) was a profoundly influential artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings. Although he died young, he became one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement. The Raft of the Medusa ( ), which depicted the aftermath of a contemporary French shipwreck, Meduse, in which the captain had left the crew and passengers to die. The incident became a national scandal, and Géricault's dramatic interpretation presented a contemporary tragedy on a monumental scale. The painting's notoriety stemmed from its indictment of a corrupt establishment, but it also dramatized a more eternal theme, that of man's struggle with nature. It surely excited the imagination of the young Eugène Delacroix, who posed for one of the dying figures.

4.0. The Fort that became a Museum. ENG M.2 Sem. 2 Reading & Writing

4.0. The Fort that became a Museum. ENG M.2 Sem. 2 Reading & Writing From early times, humans have been interested in art. People have often worked together to collect and save the world s art treasures. Fine art treasure from many countries are kept in an art museum called