France

This course illuminates the landscape of counter-revolutionary efforts in the Middle East and North Africa region and the restoration—or reconfiguration—of autocracy through notable cases of human rights violations. Each session focuses on one emblematic case study in a different country; and from there, reconstructs the recent trajectory of said country, examining how the national power structure was reshuffled, in line with geopolitical transformations and to the detriment of human rights aspirations.

From the magic lantern to the early cinema, this course explores the context of the 19th-century history of Europe and the United States, told through the various European avant-garde movements. Moving forward, it observes the modernization of filmmaking with a focus on contemporary French cinema, by combining aesthetic and narrative considerations. Learning outcomes include: knowing film history focusing on this major period of its history; mastering specific filmmaking vocabulary; acquiring film analysis and basic methodology. 

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.

International economic law is a branch of international law governing a number of economic phenomena, such as international trade and investment. The course focuses on the study of intergovernmental institutional frameworks covering the circulation of goods, services, capital, and labor. It discusses institutions such as the World Trade Organization, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the Bretton Woods institutions. Furthermore, it introduces normative instruments such as the WTO Multilateral Trade Agreements (GATT, GATS, and TRIPS) and the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement negotiations. The course also explores the international regulation of capital and labor, as well as introduces the private governance of international economic relations.