FRENCH 229 America Through French Eyes: Perceptions and Realities

The French have long been fascinated by the United States, especially since the end of the Second World War. At times, the U.S. has been seen as a model to be emulated in France; more often, it has stood out as the antithesis of French culture and values. This course examines French representations of the United States and of Americans through an examination of key historical and literary texts—essays, autobiographies, and fiction—as well as films. Topics to be explored include: representations of African-Americans in French films (Josephine Baker), French views of Taylorization, the Coca Cola wars of the 1950s, French-American tensions during the Cold War, especially under de Gaulle, as well as more recent debates about Eurodisney, McDonald’s, Hollywood, globalization, and multiculturalism. Prerequisite: At least one unit of 205, 206, 207, or 208, an SAT II score of 700, an equivalent departmental placement score, or an AP score of 4 or 5.

We will begin with a brief overview of French-American relations, concentrating on the late eighteenth century, that is, the period of the two revolutions, and the 1920s and 1930s, when a significant American intellectual community resided in Paris. We will then study French-American relations—cultural, political, social and economic—from 1945 to the present day. In our examination of such issues of current interest as the war in Iraq, we will concentrate on texts from the French press and journal articles.

Readings:
Excerpts of the following primary texts:
Alexis de Tocqueville, De la démocratie en Amérique
André Siegfried, Les Etats-Unis d’aujourd’hui
Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Voyage au bout de la nuit
Paul Morand, New York
Georges Duhamel, Scènes de la vie future
Simone de Beauvoir, L’Amérique au jour le jour
Jean-Paul Sartre, “Individualisme et conformisme aux Etats-Unis”
Jean Baudrillard, Amérique
Edgar Morin, Journal de Californie
Excerpts from the following secondary texts:
Christine Fauré and Tom Bishop, eds., L’Amérique des Français
Emmanuel Todd, Après l’Empire
Jean-François Revel, L’Obsession antiaméricaine: son fonctionnement, ses causes, ses
inconséquences
Philippe Roger, L’Ennemi américain: généalogie de l’antiaméricanisme
Richard Kuisel, Seducing the French: The Dilemma of Americanization
Tyler Stovall, Paris noir: African-Americans in the City of Light
Jean-Philippe Mathy, Extrême-Occident: French Intellectuals and America

Films:
A bout de souffle, (other films to be determined)