FREN2021 · Romance Languages and Literatures

Provence: Art, Culture, Cinema, Diversity

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

In this 3-credit immersive course, you will explore Provence, following in the footsteps of great artists, cinematographers, chefs, musicians and innovators. You will be immersed in the same natural environment that inspired Cezanne, Van Gogh and Picasso. Home base will be Aix-en-Provence, in the heart of it all. The city itself is a living, breathing museum with its history and culture inscribed in its architecture, open markets, restaurants, and inhabitants. You will see this stunning region through the eyes of writers like Marcel Pagnol and the films that immortalized his work, filmmakers like Claude Berri and more contemporary ones like Jean-Bernard Marlin. Marseille, France's second largest city, is only a half an hour away and will feature prominently in this course as well. Through it, we examine what it means to be French today in one of France's most diverse cities. We will learn about the different ethnic groups that make up Marseille and debunk some myths surrounding that beautiful city. We will look at how the notion of diversity has evolved in France over time and we will look at all of these elements through social justice lens. This course counts for Cultural Diversity Core. This course is for post-intermediate level students and will be conducted in French.