University of Bordeaux

This course focuses on training students how to translate both the tone and grammar of Francophone and Anglophone literature. Students first translate from English to French, and then from French to English. Students are given abstracts from English and French writers, mostly from the latter half of the twentieth century.

The course is concerned with the political structure of France as well as global politics and their relationship with media and journalism. The class also makes comparisons between the communications of the previous century with the current methods and common functioning of communication today. The class also studies French politicians and their opinions on communication.

The first part of this course analyzes how traditions and values are communicated and transfer between different generations (Gen Z, Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomers). The course analyzes how generational differences (uses of technology, access to media, family formation) influence each generation's willingness to break or continue traditions. The course then covers gender trends in intergenerational communication and what woman and men value or disregard more from one generation to another. As a final project, students are required to interview three men and three women from a specific demographic group (low income, ethnicity, single parent homes, etc.) and analyze the difference between men and woman's intention to pass on or omit their families' (parents or grandparents) traditions. After analyzing the data, students write a 12- to 15-page paper about the differences found, why this difference may occur (based on lectures and readings), and whether this difference is significant or coherent with outside resources. The second half of the course follows a political approach to the role of media and communications within the world today. This course is taught in two parts, students can take part 1, part 2, or both parts.

This course presents various techniques used in sculpture. Topics include: the use of materials such as clay, stone, and metal; mold casting; the play of shadow and light; and abstract and figurative production.

This course focuses on the reading and analysis of Parmenides' poem. In lecture, students discuss the poem's literary meaning and value, analyze its philosophical content, and unpack its arguments. In section, students complete reading and discussion of secondary authors, mostly philosophers and contemporaries of Parmenides who write on his arguments and philosophy.

The lecture part of this course focuses on the history of silent film. The discussion section focuses on the analysis of the cultural and aesthetic issues of silent film. Cinema was born with the films of the Lumière brothers. The course traces the turbulent history of silent films and experimental film, but also considers how certain forms were gradually imposed and why the transition to talkies was so late. The course relies on a large number of excerpts from the diverse film industries of various countries and films. The works of Georges Méliès, Sergei Eisenstein, and Buster Keaton may be covered. This course teaches students how to exercise and practice film analysis. Through the use of several films, the course familiarizes students with analytical tools and tests their knowledge. The discussion is a continuation of the course of history of cinema; the examples considered have the distinction of being silent films.

As one of the oldest and most perplexing phenomena in human society, political corruption exists in almost every country in the contemporary world. Social scientists and policy makers have long been baffled by the relationship between corruption and political and economic development and the question of how to successfully contain corruption. Conventional wisdom is that corruption harms rule of law, demoralizes the society, and inhibits economic growth. But it is more often assumed than tested and proven. Much has been written about political corruption. Yet many questions still remain. This course addresses five sets of broad questions that are most common in the discourse on corruption and governance: definition of corruption; causes of corruption; patterns of corruption; consequences of corruption; and control of corruption. This intensive short course—conducted in four-day lectures and discussions—introduces students to theories and key social science debates on the causes and effects of political corruption. Through discussions about whether corruption hurts economic development and political stability, this course provides a better understanding of the impact of corruption on bureaucracy, the economy, and society at large. At the end of the course, students make an assessment for mapping out strategies and codes of conduct to control corruption.