French

This course presents the current debate on the opening of borders at the time of globalization. Through a comparative analysis of the trade policies of the major powers (Europe, the United States, and China), it allows us to measure the stakes and risks associated with the current resurgence of protectionism. The course studies the evolution of trade since 1948, exposes the main theories of international trade, and presents a comparative analysis of the trade policies in Europe, the United States, and China. It provides an understanding of the challenges of trade relations between nations in the context of both the economic crisis and globalization. Should economies be opened or closed? The course presents economic and political doctrines as well as current events that shed light on the current confrontation between free trade and protectionism.

The observed correlation between economic growth on one hand, and a worsening environmental situation on the other, calls for greater consideration of ecological issues in economic thinking. In this respect, and in parallel with the reflections on a hypothetical "decoupling" that would reconcile continued growth and decarbonization of the economy, it may be useful to look at the competing hypothesis: an exit from growth. It is this second hypothesis that this course studies, by taking stock of various works in economics and political science that help us to think about a post-growth society. After briefly recalling the main foundations of the critique of growth, the course sketches out the contours of an economic and social organization that breaks with the imperative of growth. The course addresses the various difficulties that would be posed by an end to growth: unemployment, how to organize production, and how to define what should and shouldn't be produced. The course provides a better understanding of current and future debates around the concepts of green growth and degrowth, questions current growth models, and engages in critical reflection on post-growth perspectives.

This course is dedicated to the study of Dramaturgy of Romantic Drama, a genre that came to the forefront of French stages with the Romantic revolution of the 1830s. After the presentation of the major theoretical texts that founded Romantic Dramaturgy, it focuses on dramaturgical analysis of three major plays from the repertoire covering almost the entire 19th century, from the Golden Age of the 1830s with Hugo and Musset, to the late avatar represented by CYRANO DE BERGERAC in 1897. Theoretical knowledge is mobilized--the poetics of the genre, plot construction, the character system, the management of time and space--and applied to specific to specific works and themes. The transition from text to stage is also addressed with the help of video recordings of historical and modern stagings.

This course deals with collective mobilizations of working class men and women (riots, strikes, syndicalism, demonstrations) from the 18th century to today. In history, the study of revolts and revolutions has raised the question of the people's participation in national politics. The revolting working classes are indeed a strong representation, full of meaning, images, and symbols. This image is perhaps all the more central in France where the national narrative is built on the legacy of the French Revolution, when the people imposed democracy. This course presents the very history of these mobilizations, of their action patterns and objects of contestation, while focusing on men and women who revolt. It outlines the history of ideas and political movements (socialism, communism, anarchism, etc) along with the history of political and union organizations that structured part of the popular protests. This course examines collective and popular mobilizations from the revolutionary period to today and analyzes the role of these mobilizations on political, social, and cultural history of contemporary France.

Taking advantage of the fresh perspective that being abroad offers, this course explores writing in another language, using the specific format of short stories. Themes, places, and formal constraints are given to guide students in discovering the city and producing their own short stories, to make this semester in Lyon not a tourist trip but a unique opportunity to reflect. The workshop, led by a teacher-researcher who is also an author, literary translator, and collection director, provides precise information on the French literary and publishing scene, professions, must-know places, important events, and more. Students are first asked to research stories in their own language, and then to share them with others, each bringing examples from their own cultural background to understand the structure of these short stories. Students then produce their own short stories in French and sharpen them. Lastly, students hand in a portfolio that includes their readings and analysis of literary devices, short stories they have written themselves, and proposals for creative ways of sharing their work. This is not a French writing course but a creative writing workshop; thus, an interest in reading literature (in any language) and an artistic sensibility (in any field) is necessary. 

This course explores the causes of the paradigm shift in the relations between human and non-human beings. It focuses on moral and political theories and on their implementation in the law of the European Union and European member states. Legislation and case law are critically assessed in light of the relevant international rules. Particular attention is paid to the protection of endangered species; the legal regulation of the breeding and slaughter for consumption of non-human beings; the abusive practices of bio-medical research, cosmetic testing, sports and entertainment; the treatment of pets; and the deliberate extinction of undesirable non-human beings. The course discusses the contribution of the activist movements to the prohibition of cruel traditions (foie gras, corrida, fur industry, cosmetics). It focuses on the recent approaches towards a “global animal law” as a matter of global justice and on the project “1 HEALTH”. Lastly, the course offers an overview of the relations between human and non-human beings in art history, of the animals’ symbolism, and of the transition “from aesthetics to ethics."

This course provides the conceptual keys and analytical frameworks essential to better understand the main contemporary international issues. It explores, from a political sciences perspective, three classic themes of international relations: the diversity of actors on the international scene; the transformation of conflict and security; and the challenges posed by globalization. This is not an introductory course, as the approach is firmly focused on a selection of topical issues and the scientific debates they raise.

This course focuses on how certain elements, such as direction, cinematography, editing, color, and sound all contribute to the artistry and emotional impact of a film. The goal is to understand how directors use these tools to create a specific aesthetic and convey their message.

This course analyzes how the issues related to LGBT+ populations give rise to power relations in and for space, between different actors and at different scales, from the local to the global. On the one hand, the course emphasizes the spatial dimension of the minority experience of LGBT+ people. On the other hand, it shows that the issues relating to this group are invested with multiple meanings by different actors, leading to an accentuation of the processes of opposition between “us” and “them”, between “here” and “there”. To this end, the course draws on several social science disciplines. In addition to providing knowledge about gender and sexuality, this course allows students to look at contemporary issues (urban spaces, migration, globalization, international relations, etc.) in a new light. It also introduces students to the research process in the social sciences. 

Although present for two thousand years in Gaul and then in France, Jews are like a “blind spot” in the national narrative. They are only sporadically mentioned in national history as persecuted (crusades, Dreyfus affair, Holocaust). Yet they have contributed to the construction of France at every period through their political, economic, religious, scientific, and cultural input. This course sheds light on more than 2000 years of this rich and eventful relationship, alternating phases of greatness, success, and integration followed by persecution and expulsion, then reconstruction. It is a national history but also a multiregional history, from the Comtat Venaissin to Provence, from Occitania to Alsace, Lorraine and Aquitaine, all the way to the fairs of Champagne and Paris. The course conducts a political reflection on the relationship of a minority constituted as a nation with the French state, and then on its successful integration. It examines the evolution of a religious minority in the very Catholic kingdom of France. Finally, the course addresses social, cultural, and economic history. It highlights the contribution of the Jews to France, but also of France to the Jews, and discovers the richness and diversity of the political, social, economic, scientific, cultural, and religious history of the Jews in France over the past 2000 years and their contribution to France's progress towards modernity.