Fall 2007

FR 330K • FRENCH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL VALUES

Course Description

The objective of this course is to help students develop an understanding of the values underlying French culture that may often conflict with American cultural values. In this course UT students will directly exchange viewpoints with French students, via an on-line discussion, in order to test hypotheses and develop a more in-depth understanding of the nature and origin of the differences and similarities between French and American cultural values. We will begin by answering a set of culture questionnaires which will become the initial data for analysis. Next, students on both sides of the Atlantic will enter into an asynchronous conversation in which they will: 1) share observations and hypotheses; 2) send queries for more details, clarification and more in-depth understanding of the differences they observed; 3) respond to whatever question their francophone partners may have. A wider and wider array of materials will be made available which students will continue analyzing in a cross-cultural comparative mode. These materials include French films and their American remakes, a variety of American and French media on the web, and a multiplicity of texts.

COURSE NUMBER MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT WHEN THE TOPICS VARY.

Grading Policy

Class Participation                   10%
Online discussions/postings       30%
Oral Presentations [2 X 15%]    30%
Two Position Papers [2 X 15%]  30%

Texts

Wylie, Laurence and Jean-François Brière. 1995. Les Français. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. [Required.]

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