老司机视频

Core course

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to France 鈥� to French history, French culture, French politics, and France鈥檚 position in the world. The best introduction, of course, is France itself, which is all around us. Paris is the classroom for much of the course, which includes field trips to many important French institutions. We will analyze how those institutions work, discuss how they came to be, and see how they are facing the challenges of the twenty-first century, both at home and abroad. Some of the topics covered include French political institutions and actors, French foreign relations and diplomacy, with special reference to France and Europe, the French legal system, and the French media. Contemporary issues in French society that will be discussed include the debate over French anti-Americanism, immigration and integration, and the question of religion in French public life and education. Through the course readings and discussions, site visits and guided tours, and writing and presenting an essay addressing a major issue confronting France today, students will develop their understanding of the history, politics, and diplomacy of France.

Elective courses

Current Issues in International Relations

This course will look at certain ongoing international issues, including but not limited to: approaches to globalization; the WTO and its critics; the IFIs and their critics; the United Nations, its political structures, and proposals for their reform; the United Nations and its agencies; the US as a military power; the US in the world economy; humanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to Protect; the European Union as a system of international relations; the European Union as a player in international relations. Secondly, there are a number of global crises: the financial crisis, the oil crisis and the food supply crisis. Thirdly, there are a number of more localized events which are unlikely to be resolved any time soon: Israel/Palestine; Iran/US; Afghanistan and Pakistan; the rise of a Latin American left, and its enemies; the cycle of poverty and war in much of Africa. Fourthly, there are recent and current events (some of which may not even have become manifest as yet) which require discussion.

International Public Law

Knowledge of basic legal concepts is essential for anyone working in or studying international relations and diplomacy. This course will examine these concepts.

Students will learn how International Public Law (IPL) is created through treaties, customs and general principles. Other possible sources of IPL will be discussed such as equity and unilateral acts. The course will look at the different actors on the international scene. States will be studied on many levels including what a State is, its different attributes, how its responsibility can be engaged. The course will look at the importance that international organizations have obtained and will see how individuals are becoming subjects and not just objects of IPL through International humanitarian law and International criminal law. Finally, methods of resolving international conflict will be analyzed from simple informal negotiations to the use of the international court system. The possibility, legality and desirability of non-peaceful methods will also be discussed.

Clash of Cultures

How different is France to the rest of the world? Is there such a thing as 鈥榯he French exception鈥� l鈥檈xception fran莽aise? Basing itself on both French (in translation) and English-speaking sources, this course will select a number of areas where the French are perceived as being a little different to their European and Trans-Atlantic neighbors. Each theme will be dealt with exclusively of others. There will be an emphasis on history, as a mirror through which much of the present can be seen, contextualized and thus better understood. The class will also use the city of Paris and its surroundings through tours and visits as a manner to illustrate some of the topics covered. Students will finish the course with a deeper understanding of France, its history and its 鈥榚xceptions鈥�. The course aims to take students on a journey through France鈥檚 rich history and point out the impact this history has had on French society, culture and politics. It would meet the needs of History majors and many other Humanities majors.

Politics in Francophone Africa

This course is an introduction to the political history of French-speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa, survey 19 francophone sub-Saharan African states, of which 16 had once been colonized by the French, and 3 by Belgium. (The four francophone countries of the Maghreb will not be treated as they fit better in the North Africa and Middle East due to cultural and strategic considerations both from their own perspectives and from external one.) What makes this collection of countries unique, in addition to their adoption of French as an official language, is their continuous and deep cooperation with France. Described as a neo-colonial system of domination by some, and a sphere of influence by others, francophone Africa is a region of the world that continues to exhibit signs of dependency and cultural imperialism vis-脿-vis its former colonial power. While continuous exploitation of African natural resources by French companies is perceived as a regulated transition from one form of domination to another, in our attempt to create an impression of continuity we should not refer to the present and to its actors as simply shadow puppets of something or somebody else. 鈥淎s far as Africa is concerned, colonialism is over,鈥� wrote Achille Mbembe. 鈥淎fricans are now the free masters of their own destiny. But to say that colonialism is over does not mean to negate history or to erase memory. It simply means to be attentive to those signs of the times which signal the entry into other configurations of human experience. Modern times almost always carry with them bits and pieces, traces and fragments of the past. But these fragments are recycled and imbued with new meanings.鈥�