France

This course discusses the issues European migration policies seek to address, from curbing irregular migration and increasing migrant returns, to attracting talents and making asylum systems work. It explores the range of actors who shape this agenda and how policies at EU and EU Member State levels are intertwined. The course critically assesses the main migration issues in Europe, examines the trade-offs faced by European policymakers, analyzes how migration policies are designed and implemented, and outlines the effects European migration policies have on countries of origin and transit.

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 is an introduction to the study of religion in the social sciences. It examines what people do with religion and what religion does to people. The guiding thread of this course is to investigate how “religion” itself as a category is debated and contested, what counts as religion, and who gets to decide. The course is divided into three parts. The first part explores the definitions of religion that have been provided by classical authors. The second part analyzes the intersections of religion with other social categories such as class, gender, and race. The third part interrogates the politics of religion and how States, international organizations, political actors, and citizens grapple with religion, seek to regulate it, or use it to further political ends. The course is interdisciplinary and exposes students to various approaches of religion rooted in political science, sociology, history, and anthropology. It provides the theoretical and methodological tools to best appraise the place of religion in contemporary societies and discuss such complex and debated issues as secularism, fundamentalism, religious freedom, and religious discrimination.

This course examines the ambivalent role of digital technologies in our societies and questions our future by questioning their relevance. It first considers where we come from and how the pre-web world prepared us for this new reality, notably through science fiction. It then invites us to understand what is happening in our daily lives by deciphering the announced technological advances and their effects on reality. Finally, the course imagines a horizon that seems most desirable for all.

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.

Most states are small by one or another measure. But what exactly is a small state, and to what extent does size matter for the conduct of international affairs? How can small states influence international relations? This course uses the lens of this category of small states to critically think about key concepts in political science, such as sovereignty, independence/dependence, security, and power. It first introduces the concept of small states, its historical development, and the field of small state studies. It then discusses common characteristics and challenges of, as well as the heterogeneity among, small and microstates, and finally turns to specific issues of importance to small states, including their role in international organizations such as the United Nations or the European Union; security and defense; climate change; or economic development.

This course examines the grotesque style, a recurrent feature of American literature, by focusing on fiction works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It begins by covering the definition of the “grotesque” from several scholars, each of whom present the concept differently. The grotesque, therefore, requires special deciphering that is examined in the seminar. An analysis of a selection of grotesque American fiction also allows a study of the reasons for the use of the grotesque and the role it plays.

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.