France

This course is a survey of the changes in French society from a macro-sociological perspective, focusing on the three spheres of school, work, and culture. It examines the ways in which social order changes and is maintained, incorporating the teachings of sociologists such as Pierre Bourdieu, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber.

This course analyzes the functions of European Union (EU) economic integration with a special focus on the Eurozone. It emphasizes the ways in which the European Single Market for goods, services, and capital impinges on the ability of national governments and European institutions to conduct economic policies. The implications of a monetary union for the functioning of member states' economies and domestic policies are analyzed with the help of macroeconomic tools. The various aspects of economic governance of the European monetary union are studied within the framework of a modern political economy. Structural aspects of the European integration (external economic relations and the role of the EU in globalization, banking and financial regulation, the economic implications of population aging, the transition to a low-carbon economic growth path, etc.) are also dealt with by mobilizing the most recent analyses. The course selects a number of issues that appear salient in current debates about the EU, its relationship with the rest of the world, and its future. It mobilizes the economist's analytical tool box to shed light on policy decision-making and pending issues.

This course consists of three segments. The first part of this course focuses on grammar: logical analysis, tenses, modes, style, and spelling; accompanied by regular dictation and vocabulary building. The second part focuses on writing skills to develop competence in French written expression. The third part focuses on written comprehension and understanding various kinds of texts: informative, argumentative, or authoritative.

This course focuses on fiction and imagination in Renaissance and Baroque romantic poetry. It is taught in French and focuses on French poetry; however, the course also analyzes myths from many different cultures that are referenced throughout the studied poems.

This course provides students with an overview of the shape and organization of the global economy today. It offers a survey of current global trends, supplying their historical background and tackling the interpretations put forward by economists to explain their significance. It examines the economic situation among the various players of the international economy by focusing on different countries and regions to show how they have become interdependent. Teaching and class discussions are fed by recent in-depth summaries supplied by the Economist magazine, which will be made available. Students give a short presentation during the term on the economic situation of a country of their choice, with particular relevance to the present theme (pre-arranged with the instructor).

This course introduces the Sahel region, whose strategic importance is expected to rise in the next decades. Located between the Maghreb and the Gulf of Guinea, the Sahel region is at the crossroads of many strategic issues. The course analyzes security threats (socioeconomic difficulties, cross-border trafficking, ethnic tensions, etc.) and terrorist threats as a result of the numerous cross-border and rural spaces characterized by a security vacuum that contributes to criminal and terrorist groups' activities. It examines the states’ structural weaknesses and political tensions that have jeopardized the region’s stability, as well as the rapid demographic growth and urbanization that could lead to new socioeconomic prospects or increased instability.