PARIS PROGRAM UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Director: Sarah Roberts Summer 2012 French 43A: French History and Culture Instructor: Sarah Roberts Email:
[email protected] Dates and Times In Berkeley (Week 1): June 25 – July 5, M-Th, 1:00pm-3:00pm. In Paris: July 9 – August 9, M-Th, 1:00pm-3:00pm. Course Description French 43A provides a comprehensive introduction to French history and culture from the Romans to the present day. The overarching goal of the course is to help participants observe, analyze, and interpret what they experience during their stay in France. This goal will be approached in three ways: 1) by providing an historical perspective on French civilization and culture; 2) by introducing participants to a number of historical and cultural themes relevant to Paris; and 3) by developing students’ curiosity and knowledge about French culture through field trips in the Paris region. The field trips include a tour of Paris by boat (bateau mouche), along the river Seine, and two all-day excursions outside of Paris, to impressionist painter Claude Monet’s house in Giverny, and to the Palace of Versailles. Other destinations, within Paris, include the Conciergerie palace and prison, the Garnier Opera House, the Pasteur Institute, the Cluny Museum, the Orsay Museum, and the Sainte-Chapelle. Towards the end of the program, we also go to the Théâtre de la Huchette to see a performance of Eugène Ionesco’s La Cantatrice chauve, the play students study in the Program’s language and conversation courses. French 43A is conducted entirely in English. It has no prerequisites.