University of Bordeaux

This course reassesses the multi-medial and genre-averse nature of the works of Samuel Beckett. The first part of the seminar focuses on modern interpretations of Beckett’s works in areas such as disability studies, queer studies, transhumanism, and feminism. The second part examines how Beckett challenges the boundaries and norms of the written word through various cross-generic mediums.

This course produces a project combining text productions and creative productions in different forms (drawings, photos, paintings, collages, etc.), exploring the theme of the memory of cities. Students first analyze various documents and works on the theme of the “grande mémoire” (the big memory) to inspire personal expression. This creative process allows students to develop their language skills in French by deepening their knowledge of French culture and discovering French history, as well as the culture of others. The course provides an opportunity for cooperative work between students through a group project that is ultimately displayed in an exhibition. 

This course examines the history of British radicalism, with a focus on two moments: the late 19th century around the work of William Morris, and the post-war years, up to the 1980s. It explores the intellectual, artistic, and material production both of Morris and his circle and of alternative cultures in the post-war period. The course first examines the evolutions of radicalism in post-war Britain through the development of alternative cultures and “new social movements,” while exploring intellectual debates within the British left. It pays close attention to artistic expression and cultural practices within radical cultures. The themes covered include the intellectual debates of the New Left in the late 1950s and early 1960s; the cultural politics of the underground in the 1960s; the challenges of feminism; the emergence of participatory forms of political action around “community politics” and “community arts” practices; the influence of Black and Asian political and cultural organizations on a post-colonial critique of Britain’s imperial legacies; the cultural and class politics of Punk and the question of its position in the British history of radicalism. The second part of the course focuses on the work of William Morris. NEWS FROM NOWHERE (1890), “a Utopian romance” as well as a book supporting anarchist ideology, details the radical reconstruction of society. It serves as a base for the exploration of late-Victorian aesthetics and politics, and highlights the contemporary scope and significance of William Morris’s revolutionary cultural legacy.

This course examines the surrealist movement in the 1920s in France. It studies the history of the movement as well as the lives of the main creators, along with surrealist films and art, to give context to the poetry of the movement which focused on the idea of “l’amour fou,” or how love had the ability to change life. The course also examines the role of women in surrealist poetry and whether they were celebrated or objectified. It focuses on the works of André Breton, Robert Desnos, and Paul Éluard.

This course discusses the cultural, economic, technical, institutional, and political reasons that allowed the emergence of the New Wave. It studies the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers in France at the turn of the 60s, and the changes it brought about in the production, representations, staging, reception of films and in the future history of cinema. The course contextualizes this turning point in the history of French cinema in order to grasp its importance, as the keystone of a process of legitimization of cinema as an art that began in the beginnings of cinema. It then identifies the issues at stake in the authors' policy born within the "Cahiers du cinéma" during the 50s under the pen of the future directors of the New Wave. The course also distinguishes between the careers of filmmakers from the Paris "right bank" and those from the "left bank."

The course focuses on key algebraic structures including ring and polynomial theory, with a strong emphasis on mathematical proofs and applications of algorithms including Euclid's, Lagrange interpolation, RSA cryptography, and the Fast Fourier Transform.

This course covers the following topics and subtopics: reduction of endomorphisms, determinants, eigenvectors, and eigenvalues; characteristic polynomials and minimal polynomials; Cayley-Hamilton Theorem; diagonalization and trigonalization; Dunford and Gauss-Jordan Reductions; Hermitian and Euclidean spaces; bilinear forms; quadratic forms; self-adjoint; and orthogonal groups in 2 or 3 dimensions.

This course allows students to get familiar with the camera (film and/or digital) and its set of technical parameters. Lessons and exercises develop a technical foundations, understanding light, exposures, and dynamics. The course also includes an opportunity to work in the film lab to experiment with image development without a physical camera, and provides an opportunity to practice presentation by submitting photographs in exposition style.

This course is dedicated to better understanding the evolution of theatrical art in Europe from antiquity to the 20th century. It considers performance spaces characterized by their architecture, their place in the city, and their function in society to understand the possible history of the “places of theater.” The course starts by examining the origins of theater in ancient Greek and Roman society, followed by medieval theater and theater of the Italian, English, and Spanish Renaissance. It then studies French theater from the 17th century to the 19th century and finally, takes a look at European theater up to the 20th century.

This course delves into psychology and behavior when faced with risk, cognitive biases, and decision making. It discusses emotions and their relevance to economic phenomena and examines the works of Smith, Kahneman and Tversky, John Locke, Jeremy Bentham, and other names in psychological and behavioral economics.