France

This course centers around medieval literary texts and traditions: pastoral tales, lyric dialogues, the characters of the berger and her lover, the intervening and often violent interests of the chevalier. Texts are studied as social as well as literary documents; they are treated in the original Old French as well as modern translations. Manuscripts are consulted online as primary source material. Themes covered include the role and the voice of the female characters, their sexuality, as well as the treatment of sexual violence and the implication of this cultural dialogue.

This course analyzes the overlap between literature and painting at the end of the pivotal 19th century. It studies the representations of the artist Emile Zola, the process and the system of creating at the time, the aesthetic and social circumstances at play, and the emergence of modern painting. The course considers, as a means of understanding this phenomena, the exchanges between literature and visual art, notably analyzing ekphrasis and the "tableau en texte."

The extensive independent study field research paper produced by the student is both the centerpiece of the intern's professional engagement and the culmination of the academic achievements of the semester. During the preparatory session, IFE teaches the methodological guidelines and principles to which students are expected to adhere in the development of their written research. Students work individually with a research advisor from their field. The first task is to identify a topic, following guidelines established by IFE for research topic choice. The subject must be tied in a useful and complementary way to the student-intern's responsibilities, as well as to the core concerns of the host organization. The research question should be designed to draw as much as possible on resources available to the intern via the internship (data, documents, interviews, observations, seminars and the like). Students begin to focus on this project after the first 2-3 weeks on the internship. Each internship agreement signed with an organization makes explicit mention of this program requirement, and this is the culminating element of their semester. Once the topic is identified, students meet individually, as regularly as they wish, with their IFE research advisor to generate a research question from the topic, develop an outline, identify sources and research methods, and discuss drafts submitted by the student. The research advisor also helps students prepare for the oral defense of their work which takes place a month before the end of the program and the due date of the paper. The purpose of this exercise is to help students evaluate their progress and diagnose the weak points in their outline and arguments. Rather than an extraneous burden added to the intern's other duties, the field research project grows out of the internship through a useful and rewarding synergy of internship and research. The Field Study and Internship model results in well-trained student-interns fully engaged in mission-driven internships in their field, while exploring a critical problem guided by an experienced research advisor.

This course covers the major themes of European cultural history since the end of the 18th century. It studies institutions (schools, universities), vectors (books, press), actors, and audiences. This study is also part of the political history of the continent, through the commitment and birth of the “intellectual”, as well as the debates and polemics of the time.

This course provides a structured introduction to environmental issues and collective action and is divided into three modules. It begins with an overview of environmental challenges, exploring theories on economic impact, overpopulation, and consumption. The course then examines literature on collective action, focusing on solutions to resource dilemmas. It engages with these ideas through essays, discussions, and case studies in fisheries and wildlife management. The final module emphasizes research skills through theory, application, and feedback, developing essential tools to study complex environmental and collective action issues.

The extensive independent study field research paper produced by the student is both the centerpiece of the intern's professional engagement and the culmination of the academic achievements of the semester. During the preparatory session, IFE teaches the methodological guidelines and principles to which students are expected to adhere in the development of their written research. Students work individually with a research advisor from their field. The first task is to identify a topic, following guidelines established by IFE for research topic choice. The subject must be tied in a useful and complementary way to the student-intern's responsibilities, as well as to the core concerns of the host organization. The research question should be designed to draw as much as possible on resources available to the intern via the internship (data, documents, interviews, observations, seminars and the like). Students begin to focus on this project after the first 2-3 weeks on the internship. Each internship agreement signed with an organization makes explicit mention of this program requirement, and this is the culminating element of their semester. Once the topic is identified, students meet individually, as regularly as they wish, with their IFE research advisor to generate a research question from the topic, develop an outline, identify sources and research methods, and discuss drafts submitted by the student. The research advisor also helps students prepare for the oral defense of their work which takes place a month before the end of the program and the due date of the paper. The purpose of this exercise is to help students evaluate their progress and diagnose the weak points in their outline and arguments. Rather than an extraneous burden added to the intern's other duties, the field research project grows out of the internship through a useful and rewarding synergy of internship and research. The Field Study and Internship model results in well-trained student-interns fully engaged in mission-driven internships in their field, while exploring a critical problem guided by an experienced research advisor.

This course provides the tools to analyze, as citizens as well as practitioners and workers, international affairs in the contemporary world. It explores international issues, based on research and practice, through economic, strategic, political and social lenses. National and international political issues are of particular interest. Indeed, all actors, should they be public, private, non governmental, etc., face questions related to power, financial means, culture and organization. Hence, this course begins by studying global and transversal issues to lay the foundations for examining regional and national issues. Theories of international relations are used as far as they shed light on the practice of world affairs as well as history, geography, economics, strategy and other social sciences. The course attempts to cover the most important issues, actors and geographical areas pertaining to international affairs.

This course provides a better understanding of the European Union and how it operates, and reflects on how it can (or cannot) respond to the major challenges facing the world today. It considers questions such as: How will the European Union cope with these challenges? Will it be able to continue building its strategic autonomy? Will it be able to offer Ukraine the support it needs, both militarily and politically, in a landscape where voices are being raised in both the Council and Parliament against enlargement? And how will it pursue its own objectives? How can we respond to the challenge of climate change, at a time when the Green Pact is being undermined by the energy crisis and growing contestation from a section of the population and the political class? The course discusses a new political sequence opening up for the EU, with the renewal of its leadership and a new balance of power in Parliament, and the context of this new configuration taking place against a backdrop of unprecedented geopolitical tensions.

This course provides an introduction to the statistical and econometric theory underlying surveys and counterfactual policy evaluations, which have long played a prominent role in democracies' political life. Doing so, it sharpens critical appraisal of the very many surveys and policy evaluations that are to be found in public discourse. This class uses mathematical notation and proofs: students should be motivated to engage with mathematically formalized material.

This course focuses on an analysis of French literary, philosophical, and critical texts and how they overlap, concerning notably the "woman question" in its 17th century incarnation. The central text is Molière's LES FEMMES SAVANTES (1672) play. Supplemental texts include excerpts from Descartes and Poulain de la Barre. Central philosophical and literary themes include notions of the body (socially, medically) and the spirit as well as the self-determination of women, socially and literarily.