HOA300.2 Treasures of Strasbourg: Art, Architecture and Urbanism (Fall, Spring)

HOA300.2 Treasures of Strasbourg: Art, Architecture and Urbanism (Fall, Spring)

First offered in Fall 2025

This course explores the art, architecture, and urbanism of Strasbourg, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Alsace region of France. Proceeding neighborhood by neighborhood (in all weather!) and exploring cross-cutting themes, students will explore the city through walks and site visits, interviews and discussions with contemporary artists and gallery owners, and lectures. Through these visits the course uncovers the historic layers of the city – Holy Roman, French, German, and Alsatian – and presents an intimate, in-depth window into the unique city that is students’ home while abroad.

 

FRE400.1 Walking with Zombies: The Living Dead in French Literature (Fall)

A new course for Fall 2025!

Taught in French. This course takes our contemporary fascination for the undead seriously and explores how French literature offers an insight into these misunderstood figures, so often reduced in popular culture to mere specters of superstition. Students engage with literature that highlights the cultural, historical, and literary depictions of the undead. They analyze how representations of the undead in American cinema diverge from presentations emerging from French-speaking cultures, from which Hollywood filmmakers have nevertheless borrowed some of their most recurrent motifs.

Additionally, students will study the interplay between folklore, religion, and science in shaping the narratives around zombies and other undead figures, including a class visit to the Voodoo Museum in Strasbourg.

Prereq: Previous completion of a FRE300-level course

IRP300.3 Challenging Alliance: Franco-American Relations (Spring)

This course examines a century of debate on Franco-American relations, emphasizing the role of socio-cultural dynamics in shaping diplomatic interactions.

Students will trace the evolution of cultural interdependence between France and the United States since the early 20th century, exploring both the striking differences and mutual attractions that have defined transatlantic relations. Discussions will center on how artists, intellectuals, and journalists have framed these interactions, with key themes including cross-cultural exchanges, the effects of “Americanization,” and the contrasting perspectives of the Old and New Worlds.

Cross-listed: HST300.3

HST300.3 Challenging Alliance: Franco-American Relations (Spring)

This course examines a century of debate on Franco-American relations, emphasizing the role of socio-cultural dynamics in shaping diplomatic interactions.

Students will trace the evolution of cultural interdependence between France and the United States since the early 20th century, exploring both the striking differences and mutual attractions that have defined transatlantic relations. Discussions will center on how artists, intellectuals, and journalists have framed these interactions, with key themes including cross-cultural exchanges, the effects of “Americanization,” and the contrasting perspectives of the Old and New Worlds.

Cross-listed: IRP300.3

 

FRE300.3 Beyond the Hexagon: The (Grammatical) Discovery of France’s Regions (Spring)

Taught in French.

It is commonplace in France to refer to the nation as the Hexagon, an imaginative reference to the country’s roughly six-sided mainland. While this ‘metropolitan’ part of France is divided into twelve regions, each with its own rich identity, history, traditions, landscape, and gastronomic specialties, the nation also extends far beyond the hexagon to the Americas and the Indian Ocean.

In this course, students hone their advanced French grammar skills through a thematic exploration of France’s variegated, diverse regions. Organized region by region, students will broaden their grammatical and vocabulary skills through an in-depth exploration of France’s départments and provinces. Each segment will focus on refining grammatical and communication skills, including contextual vocabulary, while also exploring each region’s unique traditions, history, literature, local figures, and gastronomy to develop greater precision and fluency in both written and spoken French. This course is ideal for those aspiring to achieve near-native proficiency in French and a heightened appreciation for the varieties of French cultures.

Prerequisite: FRE 202 (or four semesters of college-level French)

ILL300.3 European Graphic Novels (Spring)

This course analyzes the historical, stylistic, thematic, and aesthetic aspects of graphic novels and how they reflect the social fabric and culture of France and Europe. Study a diverse selection of graphic narratives from a range of genres, traditions, cultures and creators that deal with both historic and contemporary issues, including titles from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and other European nations.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in events organized by the Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin (HEAR), the decorative arts school in Strasbourg that has produced world-renowned artists, illustrators, and cartoonists, as well as meet local authors and publishing professionals.

Discover how European ‘graphic albums’ differ from their North American counterparts and understand why every French household has a bookshelf carrying a prized collection of bande dessinée.

Cross-listed with LIT 300.3

LIT300.3 European Graphic Novels (Spring)

This course analyzes the historical, stylistic, thematic, and aesthetic aspects of graphic novels and how they reflect the social fabric and culture of France and Europe. Study a diverse selection of graphic narratives from a range of genres, traditions, cultures and creators that deal with both historic and contemporary issues, including titles from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and other European nations.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in events organized by the Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin (HEAR), the decorative arts school in Strasbourg that has produced world-renowned artists, illustrators, and cartoonists, as well as meet local authors and publishing professionals.

Discover how European ‘graphic albums’ differ from their North American counterparts and understand why every French household has a bookshelf carrying a prized collection of bande dessinée.

Cross-listed with ILL 300.3

MES325 Along the Silk Road: Europe’s Encounters with Turkey and Central Asia (Fall)

To be offered in Fall 2025

From Mozart to Molière and Shakespeare, Europeans have long been both fascinated and frightened by the “Turks.” We  explore Europe’s engagement with the religion, culture, politics, and language of the “Turkish world” – both modern-day Turkey and its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, and Central Asia. Using a historical, political, and cultural perspective, we examine the European-Turkish encounter over time while also focusing on more recent developments, including the European Union’s complex relationship with Turkey. We also study Turkish-speaking or Turkish-influenced areas such as the Balkans, the Caucuses, and Central Asia. Drawing on the rich and historic Turkish community in Strasbourg, we engage with local stakeholders and diplomatic representatives.

Cross-listed with IRP 325

IRP325 Along the Silk Road: Europe’s Encounters with Turkey and Central Asia (Fall)

To be offered Fall 2025

From Mozart to Molière and Shakespeare, Europeans have long been both fascinated and frightened by the “Turks.” We  explore Europe’s engagement with the religion, culture, politics, and language of the “Turkish world” – both modern-day Turkey and its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, and Central Asia. Using a historical, political, and cultural perspective, we examine the European-Turkish encounter over time while also focusing on more recent developments, including the European Union’s complex relationship with Turkey. We also study Turkish-speaking or Turkish-influenced areas such as the Balkans, the Caucuses, and Central Asia. Drawing on the rich and historic Turkish community in Strasbourg, we engage with local stakeholders and diplomatic representatives.

Cross-listed with MES 325.

IRP331 War, Diplomacy and Humanitarian Action (Spring)

Examine the humanitarian and diplomatic aspects of war. Drawing on case studies and dialogue with practitioners, we look at these inter-related topics: the law of armed conflict, humanitarian operations in practice, and diplomacy in war.

Meets with PSC 331