Contemporary French Society and Culture
405
Fall 2006
Jim Reid
Office: Stevenson 215
438-7894/jhreid@ilstu.edu
Homepage:  http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid/
Class homepage:  http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid/SeminarContemporaryFrenchCulture/405Societysince1945.htm
Office Hours: M/W 12:00-2:00, by apt., or just knock

     In this course we will study the history of French society since 1945, as it has been influenced by the French, European and global economies.  We will interpret this history by exploring historical trends as they are presented in a French history text, and the effects of these trends on  individuals as they are dramatized by contemporary French literary works.  We will discuss the changing trends in how France has responded to the massive explosion of the world economy since the Second World War and to increasing global competition after 1965:  changes in the nature and size of social classes and jobs, the distribution of power among social classes, and the effects on French mentalities and values of competing values:  social solidarity; and the individualist and consumerist drives to maximize one's own interest and buy enjoy more and more commodities and services.  We will ask ourselves how France came to be in the problematic socio-economic situation where it finds itself in today

August 22  Course Introduction (Contemporary Social and Economic Issues); Borne, Histoire de la société depuis 1945, 5-8:  the contrast between France in 1945 and in the 1990s; 23-31:  social change and the resistance to social change in the years after World War II; 35, 37 (bottom)-44:  social upheavals. Borne I Synthèse; Guide de lecture critique (GLC):  Résistances et Changements

August 29  Borne, 44-56:  the death of the village and the transformation of cities and suburbs, May 1968; Perec, Les Choses, 9-41, Borne/Perec Synthèse Borne 44-56, Perec I, 9-41

September 5  Perec II, 42-105

September 12 Perec III 106-57

September 19 Borne, 151-58:  Solidarity:  Schooling for all; La France d’aujourd’hui, 24-25, 70, 82-83, 120, 123-24 (handout): The French Social Welfare System; Borne, 71(milieu)-74:   The rise in the standard of living and changes in society in the 1970s and 1980s. GLC Borne III;  Also copy Système scolaire; Borne/Sécu Synthèse  MAKE APPOINTMENT WITH ME TO DISCUSS YOUR PROSPECTUS

September 26 Borne 103-22, 135-44, 59, 62-69:  103-22, Workers and Social Structure; 135-44:  The shrinking of the working class and the increase in social inequalities; 59, 62-69:  Immigration since WWII. Borne 103-69 synthèse. For the present status of immigration in France, see http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3226,36-805985@51-805847,0.html; http://medias.lemonde.fr/mmpub/edt/doc/20060824/805853_insee_pdf.pdf

September 28 noon, PROSPECTUS DUE, prospectus guidelines

October 3 Charef, Le Thé au harem d'Archi Ahmed, Thé 7-59

October 10 Charef, Thé 60-120

October 17 Charef, Thé 121-83

October 19 FIRST DRAFT OF TERM PAPER DUE

October 24 Borne, 81-93, 129-35, 164-73:  Culture and its Public, Mass Communication; 81-93:  Family and Women.

October 31 Houellebecq, Les Particules élémentaires, 13-75

November 7 Houellebecq, 75-149

November 14 Houellebecq, 149-224

November 28 Houellebecq, 225-317

December 5 GLC:  La "Santé" de la France; Lisez tous les articles suivants (Ceux sur le chômage sont facultatifs): Comment va la France?; Chômage I; Chômage II; "L'éternelle quête du modèle étranger"; "Trompeuses statistiques de l'emploi";  Editorial du Monde "Débats économiques"; Le Monde; Sondage:  Qu'en pensent les Français?.

December 7 FINAL DRAFT TERM PAPER DUE

May 12, Final Exam

Question Sheets

I expect all questions on the question sheets to be answered thoughtfully before coming to class.  I encourage you to rethink, revise or supplement your answers during the class. 

Do not list all the details and events on the pages corresponding to each question.  Rather, answer the synthetic question and use selected structures and changes to illustrate your synthetic answer.  This is what is valuable for you to remember and what I will test on the final exam. 

Term Paper

Each student will complete a 10-12 page term paper on a significant French social practice, mentality, or value since1945, as it is presented in historical sources and/or a literary text we have not discussed in class. 

The paper will treat its subject historically, in other words, in terms of the specificity of the practices, mentalities, or values in a particular periods of the last 60 years and historical trends towards change from and repetition of previous mentalities, practices, and values.

The paper will include an explicit thesis about the nature and historical significance of the subject and an argument that supports this thesis.  The argument will be based upon explicit logical transitions and on references to specific passages or words in critical articles or works. 

A prospectus will be due before spring break (see syllabus). Guidelines for the prospectus are attached to the syllabus.  The prospectus will include a bibliography (MLA style) of works that you will probably use in writing your term paper and one or two paragraphs that state your preliminary thesis and a summary of your possible argument.  The summary will refer to texts in the bibliography that will help you explore aspects of your argument.

There will be two drafts of the term paper (see syllabus).  Both drafts should be fully researched, composed, and interpreted.  The second draft will be based on your reflections since the first draft and your responses to my comments on that draft.

Final Grade

Graduates
Class participation 15%
Class preparation 20% 
Term Paper 45%
Final Exam  20%
 

Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contract Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5833 (voice) or 438-8620 (TTY).