Course description :
In the context of a course dedicated to representations of Paris, students officially enrolled in the course will have the possibility to spend spring break in the French capital.  After having looked at the question of what constitutes “parisianity” in the course given at the University of Pittsburgh, students who go to Paris will be asked to determine to what extent what they observe among the Parisians confirm or discredit the image that Americans make for themselves of Paris and its inhabitants.

Course objectives:
The stay in Paris and excursion to Brussels complements the two-unit on-campus course at Pitt by allowing students to do cultural data collection in situ and by addressing two principal objectives the one necessarily dependent on and complementary to the other: 1) to gain a better understanding of the daily reality of Parisian life and French metropolitan culture as lived out by residents (native-born French, first generation immigrants, newly arrived immigrants, temporary residents as well as tourists) in the capital city; and 2) to improve French language skills (written and oral) in a real immersion setting.  The excursion to Brussels is designed to put “parisianity” in a European Union context and will provide background to discuss how membership in the E.U. informs perceptions of Parisian identities.

The first goal will be reached by visiting five arrondissements of Paris (1, 3, 6, 18, 20) which are home to very different, but still completely Parisian, populations.  In this way, students will gain an appreciation of the various possible and ever-evolving definitions of “parisianity.”

The second objective will be addressed in two ways.  First, students will have to make their way around completely in French.  They will have to ask for directions, buy metro tickets, get groceries, meet and greet people (speaking with tact), and be able to obtain services.  Second, all instruction and guidance will be conducted in French, just as is done in classes on the main Pitt campus.  In addition to this, students will keep two diaries (journals): one for new vocabulary (minimum 20 new words or expressions each day based on what they see and hear around them, i.e., people speaking in the streets, billboards, public signage, television ads, etc.) as well as one for the official journal entries. 

Students must have taken two semesters of French language prior to departure.