Program
The M.A. in French Cultural Studies program provides a methodological framework for contrasting and analyzing the dynamics that exist between groups within modern French culture from the Revolution of 1789 to the present.
Cultural studies examine critically the many ways in which a society represents itself. One of its fundamental postulates is that the culture of a period is never a monolithic given; rather, it is a process in which relations are negotiated. It explores issues pertaining to the institutionalization and representation of culture, the positioning of ethnicity, races, class, and gender, the production and reception of literary texts and artistic works. Each academic year, several of these issues are emphasized.
During the first month in residence, students are introduced to certain methodological points of entry used in cultural studies. They also improve and develop language skills, thereby ensuring their ability to take full advantage of the program offerings. The proseminar on Modern French Issues sets modern French society in its historical context. The remaining required seminars and electives allow students to concentrate in specific topics (see below). Each student writes an M.A. essay (in French or English) on one particular aspect of modern France under the direction of a faculty adviser.
The quality of the Paris experience enhances the intrinsic
value of the M.A. in French Cultural Studies. Study in Paris reinforces your
ability to understand French language and society; to appreciate the cosmopolitan
geopolitical site that Paris has long symbolized for intelectuals; and to analyze
the relations between France, Francophone countries, and Europe. As you improve
written and oral expression, you consolidate your comprehension of the multifaceted
paradigm designated by French culture.
For the M.A. Degree
Semesters: Fall, Spring and Summer terms.
Points of Credit: 30
Essay: M.A. essay (6 points) completed by August 30 for October graduation.
An oral presentation of work in progress is held in June. At the beginning of
the program, students consult with the Director of Studies and the Faculty Adviser
to plan their research and M.A. essay. Students are advised to select a topic
in a field in which they already have some background. Requirements include
the following: (1) one-page summary outlining the essay topic, (due in the third
week of October); (2) Individual meetings (approximately one hour a week) with
M.A. essay adviser; (3) Regular meetings with Director of Studies and Faculty
Adviser throughout the year; (4) Written essay (minimum 50 pages, plus bibliography
and notes) due August 30.
Core: One 4-point French stylistics course (a language proficiency exam
given at orientation determines whether students are required also to attend
the not-for-credit Intensive Review in the French Language); at Reid
Hall, 5 seminars/courses on different facets of French social history and cultural
studies (17 points) are required; One 3-point elective at French institutions
of higher learning (Fall, Spring, or full-year course); classes take place Fall
and Spring or throughout the academic year.
Examinations: Two 2-hour long written qualifying examinations (in French)
held in June, on aspects of cultural studies as applied to modern France.
Location
The M.A. program in French Cultural Studies is based at Reid Hall, Columbia
University's center in Paris, which has been dedicated to Franco-American cultural
and intellectual exchange for the past hundred years. In addition to sponsoring
several undergraduate programs, hosting the prestigious Sterling Currier colloquia,
Reid Hall is the site for Columbia University's international institute for
scholars.
Situated in the heart of Montparnasse, Reid Hall, with its 18th-century charm,
has a very distinguished past. It is reputed for its bi-cultural atmosphere
and its ongoing ties with prominent French institutions such as the Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme,
the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques and different branches
of the University of Paris.
Students in the M.A. Program attend most of their courses and meet regularly
with faculty at Reid Hall. The rest of their work is conducted at selected institutions
of higher learning in Paris
Libraries
Columbia's Academic Coordinator for the French University conducts
an on-site tour of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF)
and the library of the Centre Pompidou. Another site visit is to the
Documentation Française, led by one of the conservateurs.
Students also visit specialized libraries and archival centers together with
their professors. Library cards for the BNF are issued to all students in the
M.A. Program. Access also is given to other specialized libraries, archives,
and documentation centers.
Outings
During the six-week intensive: Outings to sites of particular
interest (bicycle trips, visits to Giverny and the Parc de la Villette) to the
theatre and cinema.
Les dîners de Columbia: Students are invited at least twice
a year to dine in the company of their professors and including two other French
intellectuals. The topics during the past year included L'intellectuel engagé
and L'intellectuel face au monde carcéral.
Weekend trips: Two trips are planned during the year: The first
to a region of France (Burgundy, Brittany, or the Périgord); the second
to a European city (Brussels, Strasbourg, for example).
Participation in the Club international of the Ecole Normale Supérieure
d'Ulm: Informal discussions with French graduate students on such topics
as the concept of community, gender, eating/drinking in a cross-cultural
context.
Reid Hall conferences/colloquia: Students are invited to attend
and participate in colloquia and conferences held at Reid Hall. Concerts, readings,
student parties and lunches take place regularly.
Computer Facilities
Students are urged to bring their own laptop computers (with appropriate adaptor
plugs), and have a computer room at their disposal at Reid Hall: Five PC's (equipped
with Microsoft Word and other software) are linked into a local area network
with access to the Internet, the Web and a laser printer.
Housing
The Columbia University Programs in Paris have contracted the services of Paris
Academic Rentals, represented by Lawrence Chuck Dressner, who since 1995
has been assisting students in their search for housing. After a student is
accepted into the program, the usual procedure for securing housing entails
a process of pre-assignment: on the basis of a completed housing questionnaire,
Mr. Dressner secures the appropriate housing prior to student arrival. He remains
available to students throughout the academic year.
Curriculum at Reid Hall
mid-September to mid-October
FRST G4510. Seminar on points of entry into cultural studies.
2 pts. Danielle Haase-Dubosc (Columbia University Programs). (six weeks)
Analysis of pertinent critical texts (in French and English). Enables students
to focus on the methods used by cultural critics such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michael
Baxandhall, Pierre Birnbaum, Françoise Colin, and Roland Barthes in order
to elaborate a field. Weekly reader response papers and a final short case study.
FRST G4012. Intensive review in the French language. 0 pts. Christine Valero
(Columbia University Programs). Reviews questions of grammar and style to
help students structure their thinking and written expression in French. Provides
a framework within which the issues raised in the Rhetorics and Stylistics seminar
are re-examined. A language proficiency exam taken during orientation determines
exemption from this course.
mid-September to mid-February
FRST G4014. The rhetorics and stylistics of the French language. 4 pts. Danielle Van de Velde (Université de Lille III). Close reading of key texts in literary criticism and philosophy. Weekly written exercises. Examines a text in depth to understand both its explicit and implicit significances.
mid-September to mid-November
FRST G4980. Pro-seminar on modern French issues. 3 pts. Christophe Prochasson
(Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales). Close study of particular
cases illustrating the following matters of cultural significance: Constitutions
of the Third, Fourth, Fifth Republics, evolution of political parties, institutionalization
of culture and the French educational system, the idea of territory in colonial
and post-colonial France, cultures of immigration, female identity and the history
of gender representations, French stakes in European integration.
mid-November to end of May
FRST G6510-G6511. Advanced seminar in French cultural studies, I and II.
4 pts. Dominique Kalifa (Université de Rennes). Year-long seminar
focuses on French historians and the question of culture. Readings in history,
sociology and anthropology on issues that challenge contemporary historiographers:
the concept of representation, popular culture, mass culture and mass media,
social class and gender, crime, delinquency and transgression.
mid-November to early March
FRST G4200. Culture in contemporary France, I. 4 pts. ITBA. Each year,
the seminar concentrates on one approach to French Cultural Studies. Issues
that have been central in previous years include space and memory, aesthetics,
artistic works and their reception, the institutionalization of culture, definitions
of modernity/post-modernity, and the positioning of ethnicity, race, class,
and gender within high and low culture.
mid-February to end of May
FRST G4201. Culture in contemporary France, II. 4 pts. ITBA. See above.
Tutorials
Throughout the year, the Academic Coordinator for the French University provides
continuous help on papers written in French and on oral presentations.
Academic Calendar
Fall Semester
First Wednesday in September through Saturday. Academic and
cultural orientation at Reid Hall
Monday, second week of September. Classes begin at Reid Hall.
Monday, second week of October. approximate date for Fall classes at French
institutions for higher learning.
Friday, in mid-October. Deadline for proposal for M.A. essay.
November 1. Toussaint holiday, no classes.
Monday, second week of November. Approximate date for the beginning of year-long
classes at French institutions for higher learning.
mid-December through first week of January. Winter Break
Spring Semester
Monday in April. Easter, Holiday, no classes
Mid-April, 2-week spring break
May 1. Fête du travail, holiday
May 8. Fin de la guerre, holiday
Mid-May. Ascension, holiday
Late-May. Pentecôte, holiday
Summer Semester
Mid-June. Approximate end of classes at French institutions
of higher learning
Third week of June. Comprehensive exams (in French)
Last week of June. Oral presentations, M.A. essay
August 30. Deadline for submission of M.A. essay
Friday, mid-October. Award of degree (Students receive their M.A. degree in
mid-October, and are invited to attend commencement ceremonies at Columbia University
in New York during the following May)
Curriculum at French Institutions
of Higher Learning
The Columbia University programs in Paris have exchange agreements with the
University of Paris VII (Denis Diderot), the University of Paris IV (Sorbonne),
The Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and the Institut
d'Etudes Politiques. For access to classes at these institutions, students
meet with Columbia's Academic Coordinator for the French University who provides
a list of pre-selected courses/seminars. Students usually take a class related
to the subject of their M.A. essay; they may choose a second elective at French
Institutions of higher learning for an extra 3 points of credit. Additional
auditing of classes may be recommended by the Director of Studies or the essay
director.
Semester offerings generally begin in October or February; year-long seminars
generally begin in November. Following is a sample of courses that have been
selected in previous years: Femmes et société. Gabrielle Houbre
(Université Paris VII); Masculin, féminin, neutre. Evelyne
Grossman (Université Paris VII); L'écriture en question.
Francis Marmande (Université Paris VII); Peinture et poésie.
Eliane Formentelli (Université Paris VII); Quotidien merveilleux.
Bernadette Bricout (Université Paris VII); Questions d'art contemporain.
Serge Lemoine (Université Paris IV); Histoire culturelle de la France
au 20ème siècle. Jean-François Sirinelli (Fondation
Nationale des Sciences Politiques) and Jean-Pierre Rioux (Education nationale);
Les relations culturelles internationales. Laurence Bertrand Dorléac
and Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci (Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques);
Etat des études gay et lesbienne. Françoise Gaspard and
Didier Eribon (EHESS); Questions de responsabilité le parjure et le
pardon. La peine de mort. Jacques Derrida (EHESS); Témoignages,
preuves et rumeurs du vrai et du faux dans la Première Guerre mondiale.
Christophe Prochasson and Anne Rasmussen (EHESS).
The Faculty
A core of faculty from Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania serve as members of the M.A. program's steering committee. Members of the steering committee may teach in the program in any given year and recommend American and French faculty. Selected faculty members from French institutions of higher learning serve as associates to the program. The list of French associates is subject to change. Members of the Committee include the following:
COLUMBIA
Barry Bergdoll, Professor of Art History and Archaeology;
Interests: history of French architecture and culture.
Antoine Compagnon, Blanche W. Knopf Professor of French and Comparative
Literature;
Interests: 20th-century prose; literary theory; Montaigne; Proust.
Pierre Force, Professor of French;
Interests: 17th-century literature; Pascal; Molière; the moralist
tradition.
Mark Kesselman, Professor of Political Science;
Interests: political theory and international social movements.
Rosalind Krauss, Meyer Schapiro Professor of Modern Art and Theory;
Interests: 20th-century art and theory.
Michael Riffaterre, University Professor;
Interests: theory of literature; 19th- and 20th-century French literature.
Isser Woloch, Professor of History;
Interests: 18th- and 19th-century Europe; French Revolution.
PENNSYLVANIA
Diana Crane, Professor of Sociology;
Interests: sociology of culture, art, media, and popular culture.
Lance Donaldson-Evans, Professor of Romance Languages;
Interests: French literature and intellectual history.
Gerald Prince, Professor of Romance Languages;
Interests: narratology, modern French literature.
Jean-Michel Rabaté, Professor of English and Comparative Literature;
Interests: 20th-century British and Irish literature and literary theory.
The M.A. in French Cultural Studies is taught by a distinguished team of faculty whose reputation is well established on both sides of the Atlantic. The majority are at different branches of the French University, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques. A U.S. faculty member usually teaches at least one seminar Fall or Spring term. Advisers for the M.A. essay are chosen on the basis of the topics selected by students.
Academic Advising
The Faculty Adviser and the Director of Studies meet with students individually
throughout the year to help them define their objectives, plan their research
activities and gain access to and identify their M.A. essay adviser.
The Students
Academic Background
Before arriving at Reid Hall, M.A. candidates from the past few years received
B.A. degrees from Barnard, Bates, Boston, Brown, California (Berkeley), California
(San Diego), Chicago, Colby, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Fordham, Georgetown, Harvard,
John's Hopkins, Kenyon, Loyola, Minnesota, New York University, Northwestern,
Pomona, Princeton, Skidmore, Smith, Tufts, Virginia Institute of Technology,
Wheaton, Wisconsin, Washington State, Washington (St. Louis), Yale, and Zagreb
Examples of Recent M.A. Essays
La relation entre le service militaire et l'identité
politique française.
Le compromis scolaire français: la continuation de la colonisation éducatrice
en Indochine entre 1920-1940
Décolletée, dévoilée et rose, la éduction
de la femme vêtue dans l'imaginaire zolien.
La Femme artiste contemporaine en France: exclusion ou autoexclusion?
Euro Disney: from cultural rhetoric to French consumer reality.
Images culturelles des flacons de parfum français.
Les traductions françaises de William Faulkner et Toni Morrison.
Paris: Musée à ciel ouvert.
Culture noire américaine et jeunesse noire française.
The theme of returning home in Vietnamese novels.
Feminism and Free Masonry in France.
De l'oeuvre caritative à l'oeuvre laïque.
Public schools and their response to immigration.
Representations of Paris in the contemporary French cinema.
A Feminist reading of Maurice Blanchot.
Surrealism, Mexico City and Paris 1920-1935.
The lycée in France.
Cultures and management practices in multinational companies in France.
After the M.A.
In practical terms, an M.A. in French Cultural Studies can
lead to the following career:
Continuation of graduate work in an American Ph.D. program or in Law, International
Affairs, Journalism, or Medicine.
Continuation of graduate work in the French University system at the doctoral
level or in French professional schools.
Enrichment of teaching positions in secondary school systems in the U.S. or
elsewhere.
Professional positions in different sectors in the United States or Europe,
such as the U.S. State Department, international editing, translating, art,
business, nonprofit organizations, academic administration, or health.
Some Current Activities of Graduates
How to Apply
An on-line application is available at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/admisapps.html or to request that an application be mailed to you, email gsas-admit@columbia.edu or write the Office of Admission, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 107 Low Memorial Library, New York, NY 10027. Questions regarding the curriculum and application process should be directed to Associate Dean Beatrice Terrien-Somerville, email: bt3@columbia.edu.
Special Admission Requirements
In addition to completing the application, please also submit an essay in French
of 750-1500 words (1-2 pages) describing your research interests in French cultural
studies.
Admission Deadlines
Deadline for submission of application to Columbia University, New York: May
1. Deadline for submission of application and consideration for Columbia partial
fellowship: January 1
Eligibility
The prerequisites are:
Fellowships:
A limited number of fellowships are available for those who apply by January
1.
Loan applications:
Sandra Peters, Financial Aid Counselor, Tel.: (212) 854-3808, Fax: (212) 854-2863;
e-mail: scp3@columbia.edu; Student Financial Services, sfs@columbia.edu.
Living Expenses:
The estimated cost of housing, meals, books, supplies, clothing, laundry, and
other incidentals for one full year ranges from $9,000 to $15,000 depending
on type of accommodation. A director of housing at Reid Hall assists students
in obtaining housing. Students bring their own health insurance coverage with
them.
Summer readings
Students are required to read the following prior to the beginning of the program:
Michael Baxandhall "Art, Society, and the Bouger Principle", Representations
12 (1985): pp. 32-43; Jill Forbes and Michael Kelly (eds.), French Cultural
Studies: An Introduction (Oxford University Press, paperback, 1996); Andrew
Edgard and Peter Sedgwick (eds.), Key Concepts in Cultural Theory (London
and New York: Routledge, paperback, 2000).
Why Select Our Program?
It is the pioneer program of its kind. Begun in 1993,
it is the result of a carefully crafted integration of American and French research
practices in the area of Cultural Studies. Courses are specifically selected
to provide students with access to the very best in contemporary scholarship
and theory. You will profit from the balanced and challenging curriculum taught
by faculty from Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, and French institutions
of higher learning.
The M.A. Program ensures rigorous academic standards. The experienced
and dynamic staff at Reid Hall holds a long-standing commitment to international
education. The quality of individual attention given to students largely determines
the overwhelmingly positive results they achieve in the Columbia University
programs at Reid Hall.
Whether you return to the U.S. with your M.A. in order to pursue an advanced
degree or professional career or you continue your graduate education in France,
the excellence of your diploma - guaranteed by a world-renowned university
- is your best drawing card.
Contacts: Reid Hall, Paris
4 rue de Chevreuse
Paris 75006 FRANCE
Tel.: 011 33 1 43 20 24 83
Fax: 011 33 1 43 20 52 96
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Danielle Haase-Dubosc
Interests: Early modern comparative literature, poetics and politics
of gender,and 19th- and 20th-century literature. dhd.columbia@reidhall.com
Program Director: Dr. Brunhilde Biebuyck
Interests: Oral tradition and ethnography in France and the U.S., African
oral narrative.
bb.columbia@reidhall.com
Contacts: New York
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Columbia University Admissions
107 Low Memorial Library
Tel.: (212) 854-4737; Fax: (212) 854-2863;
gsas-admit@columbia.edu
Beatrice Terrien-Somerville, Associate Dean
109 Low Memorial Library
bt3@columbia.edu
Tel.: (212) 854-5052; Fax: (212) 854-4912
Sandra Peters, Financial Aid Counselor
107 Low Memorial Library;
scp3@columbia.edu
Tel.: (212) 854-3808; Fax: (212) 854-2863
Student Financial Services (Payment of Tuition): 210 Kent Hall, Columbia University; Tel.: (212) 854-4206; sfs@columbia.edu
Office of Academic Records (Transcripts of Record): 207 Philosophy Hall, Columbia University; registrar@columbia.edu
ACIS Computer Help and P.I.N.
For Columbia e-mail account:
Tel.: (212)854-1458;
registrar@columbia.edu
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/
Career Services
East Campus, Columbia University
Tel.: (212) 854-3561
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ccs
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/frenchculturalstudies/
The Graduate Schools at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania recognize the importance of diversity in graduate training and encourage applicants from minority groups interested in the M.A. Program in French Cultural Studies to apply.