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Begun in 1993, Columbia’s French Cultural Studies in a Global Context program at Reid Hall in Paris is the result of a carefully crafted integration of American and French research practices in the area of Cultural Studies. Courses provide students with access to the best in contemporary scholarship and theory; the experienced and dynamic staff has a long-standing commitment to international education; and the individual attention given to students plays an important role in the success of their experience at Reid Hall.

The M.A. program in French Cultural Studies in a Global Context supplies 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. 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.

The curriculum begins with an introduction to methodological points of entry used in cultural studies and to the socio-historical context of modern French society.The curriculum as a whole provides a broad foundation for cultural studies while allowing students to pursue one of two tracks which focus either on France and Europe or on France, Africa and the Middle East. In addition, students develop further their French language skills in written and oral expression. Each student writes an M.A. essay (in French or English) on one particular aspect of modern France under the direction of a faculty advisor.

Courses are 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.Faculty from Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania also teach in the program.

Study in Paris reinforces the ability to understand French language and society; to appreciate the cosmopolitan atmosphere that has long attracted intellectuals to Paris; and to analyze the relations between France, Francophone countries and Europe. The program is based at Reid Hall, Columbia University’s center in Paris, which has been dedicated to French-American cultural and intellectual exchange for over one hundred years. It houses Columbia University’s Institute for Scholars; hosts the prestigious Sterling Currier colloquia and other conferences, concerts and readings; and sponsors several undergraduate programs. Dating to the eighteenth century and situated in the heart of Montparnasse, Reid Hall is known for its bi-cultural atmosphere and its ongoing ties with prominent French institutions such as the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques and different branches of the University of Paris. Students attend most of their courses and meet regularly with faculty members at Reid Hall. The rest of their course work is conducted at selected institutions of higher learning in Paris.

Courses

Classes are held in the fall and spring semesters. The spring semester ends at the end of June. Summer (July and August) is reserved for fieldwork, travel and completion of the Master’s essay.All students take core courses in history and cultural studies and a course in French language, as well as a course in a French university appropriate for the topic of their Master’s essay. They take two additional courses pertinent to the track that they have chosen. Students may make research-related visits to seats of pan-European political institutions (such as Brussels, Strasbourg, or Geneva) or to the Colonial Archives in Aix-en-Provence and they may conduct fieldwork during the summer in an African or Middle Eastern country, a region in France or another European country, depending on their track and the topic of their Master’s essay.

For access to classes at 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, students meet with the Academic Coordinator for the French University who provides a list of pre-selected courses/seminars. Some of the courses that French Cultural Studies students have taken are: Femmes et société: Gabrielle Houbre (Université Paris VII); L’écriture en question: F. Marmande (Université Paris VII); Peinture et poésie: E. Formentelli (Université Paris VII); Questions d’art contemporain: S. Lemoine (Université Paris IV); Histoire culturelle de la France au 20ème siècle: J.-F. Sirinelli (Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques) and J.-P. Rioux (Education nationale); Les relations culturelles internationals: L. B. Dorléac and M.-A. Matard-Bonucci (Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques); Etat des études gay et lesbienne: F. Gaspard and D. Eribon (EHESS); Questions de responsabilité: le parjure et le pardon. La peine de mort: J. Derrida (EHESS); Témoignages, preuves et rumeurs du vrai et du faux dans la Première Guerre mondiale:C. Prochasson and Anne Rasmussen (EHESS); Afrique au XXème siècle: E. M'Bokolo and J. Kabogo (EHESS); Histoire urbaine de Paris: E.Cohen (Université Paris VII); Europe, Monde musulman: M. et N. Blili (Université Paris VII); Anthropologie monde contemporain: M. Augé (EHESS); L’histoire des relations internationales: La politique extérieure française de 1914 – 1945: G. H. Soutou (Université Paris IV).

During orientation, students are placed into one of two French language courses based on their proficiency. At the beginning of the program, students also consult with the Director of Studies and the Faculty Advisor to plan their research for the MA essay. They meet with their faculty tutor and the Director of Studies and the Faculty Advisor throughout the year. The Academic Coordinator for the French University provides help on papers written in French and on oral presentations.

Near the end of the program, students take two written qualifying examinations on aspects of French cultural studies in a global context and give short oral presentations on the research for their Master’s essays.The written Master’s essay is completed at the end of August.

Beyond the Classroom

Columbia’s Academic Coordinator for the French University conducts a tour of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) and the library of the Centre Pompidou. Students also visit specialized libraries and archives as part of their course work. Library cards for the BNF are issued to all students in the program, and access also is provided to other specialized libraries, archives and documentation centers.

All students on the program take two trips as a group, conducted by Reid Hall: the first to a European city and the second to a region of France selected by the students (such as Burgundy, Brittany, Périgord, Côte d’Azur, or Provence).

Housing

The Columbia University Programs in Paris have contracted the services of an experienced agent who works with individual students to locate accommodations that are suited to their needs.Under current arrangements, the fee is 10% of the total rent for the year (from September through August).

Students, Alumni and Careers

Recent graduates of the French Cultural Studies program entered with bachelor’s degrees from Barnard, Bates, Boston, Brown, California (Berkeley), California (San Diego), Chicago, Colby, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Fordham, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns 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.

Titles of some recent Master’s essays are: La relation entre le service militaire et l’identité politique francaise; Le compromise scolaire français: la continuation de la colonization éducatrice en Indochine entre 1920-1940; Euro Disney: from cultural rhetoric to French consumer reality; Images culturelles des flacons de parfum français; Culture noire américaine et jeunesse noire français; The theme of returning home in Vietnamese novels; Public schools and their response to immgration; Surrealism, Mexico City and Paris 1920-1935.

An M.A. in French Cultural Studies can lead to further graduate work in an American Ph.D. program or in Law, International Affairs, Journalism, or Medicine; in the French University system at the doctoral level or in French professional schools; careers in secondary school systems in the U.S. or elsewhere; positions in the United States or Europe in the diplomatic service; business, finance and banking; journalism, publishing, editing and translating; art and cultural organizations; political advocacy NGOs, and academic administration.