French

This course focuses on the history of Central and Eastern Europe during the mid-15th to mid-17th centuries. Topics include the Holy Roman Empire, The Ottoman Empire, the protestant reformation, Scandinavia, and Russia at this time. Furthermore, it explores the complex relations between these states after the Middle Ages and the creations of the states that would continue into the contemporary era.

This course delves into the practical aspects of literary translation, focusing on the analysis of translated texts. It examines various issues and challenges that arise during the translation process, including cultural, literary, and linguistic considerations. Close examination of translated works provide insight into the complexities of translation and develop critical thinking skills for evaluating translation choices. Discussions center around the options available for translation, providing a deeper understanding of the strategies and techniques employed in the field. Through a combination of theoretical exploration and practical exercises, the course builds skills in literary translation and develops an appreciation for the art and craft of translation.

This course is devoted to the notion of freedom as it is thought of in philosophy. The first part of the course focuses on the ancient idea of freedom as opposed to slavery, or as free will (as in Saint Augustine) to provide the sources from which modern reflections on freedom have been drawn, especially in German idealism. The course then follows the evolution of theories of freedom from Kant, Hegel, and Schelling to Isaiah Berlin, Sartre, Butler, and Axel Honneth, and to the re-emergence of the question of slavery in contemporary thought. An important part of the course is devoted to an in-depth study of F.G.J. Schelling's PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO HUMAN FREEDOM (1809) to confront a seemingly difficult text with the keys to understanding the complex intellectual edifices that underpin our modern vision of freedom.

The intellectual challenge and historiographical novelty of this course lie in the change of perspective it proposes: a contemporary history of France seen from its extra-European extensions, which are the overseas territories of the Republic. It revisits significant social, political, economic, and cultural moments in order to gain a different perspective on the history of nation-building. In this sense, this course is part of the abundant renewal of a history of France, thought beyond the limits of the Hexagon and linked to a history of the colonial and imperial fact. A basic knowledge of French history is an essential prerequisite.

This course highlights the dynamic intersection of art and commerce in the world of cinema and audiovisual production.  It examines the economic forces that shape the global film and audiovisual industries through studies of history, film markets, and examples of the film economy. The course also examines the roles of the studio and producers to learn how money is obtained, in the past and today.

This course experiments with and develops various graphic techniques and gestures including engraving, collage, dry techniques, washes, and mixed techniques. It also addresses the question of the nature and status of images (narration, illustration, expression, abstraction). Sessions are accompanied by image analyses to encourage students to be open to the many possible forms of representation. A personal notebook dedicated to graphic practices is kept throughout the year outside of class hours to develop liveliness and mastery of graphic gestures.

This course presents the different theories of cinema that have emerged since 1945. It involves tracing the history of a field where theories, critiques, and practices have constantly influenced each other. Doing film studies does not only mean choosing cinema as an object, but also knowing the history of thought on cinema, in order to be able to grasp contemporary debates on the practice of moving images. This course explores the history of cinema theories of André Bazin, Siegfried Kracauer, Pier Paolo Passolini, Gilles Deleuze, Christian Metz, and Raymond Bellour as well as more recent cinema theories such as feminist perspectives applied to cinema (Laura Mulvey), figural studies (Nicole Brenez),  perspectives interested in the transition to digital (Àngel Quintana), and new practices of images (Jean-Louis Comolli). The course presents film theories through a study of founding texts and a comparison with film extracts. It discusses these theoretical texts with regard to extracts, in order to exercise and refine their analytical skills with the specific notions and concepts of cinema theory.

This course represents additional work for the course FR 133B, POPULAR FRENCH MUSIC. This course provides an opportunity to listen to and analyze popular French and francophone songs of the 20th an 21st centuries while discovering French society and culture. It discusses the vocabulary and what the lyrics mean from the author's point of view.

This course focuses on the history of Greek and Roman Antiquity, from the palatial civilizations of the Aegean to the end of the Western Roman Empire. It presents the major chronological and cultural landmarks essential to approaching the history of the ancient Mediterranean worlds and analyzes the main institutional, socio-economic, and religious systems.