Course aims:

Knowing, understanding and a correctly using fundamental ideas concerning intercultural communication.
Integration of the knowledge in a coherent structure in accordance with the contemporary demands.
-

Course Entry Requirements:

-

Course contents:

Define the concepts of culture and civilization. Physiognomy of France. Regions: The Northwest, The Ile de France: Paris, Yesterday’s Paris , Today’s Paris,Around Paris, The Centre, The West Centre, the East Centre, the Southwest, the Southeast , the overseas France The legacy of the past What remains of prehistory? Of Gaul? From the Gallo-Roman civilization to the barbarian invasions. The Middle Ages. The Renaissance. The absolute monarchy.From the Enlightenment to the French Revolution. The first empire.From the Restoration to the Commune. The Third Republic. The modern era. The literary life and thought. The French ideal of each period as reflected in literature. The Middle Ages. The Renaissance. The Baroque period. The Classicism. The Enlightenment. The French Revolution. The Romanticism. The Realism. The Symbolism. The Surrealism. The Absurd. The Postmodernism. The fine arts- overview: architecture, sculpture, painting, music. Specifics:Gothic architecture, Baroque architecture, Rococo style, the classic style and the geometric style, modernist trends. French inventors and scientists: in philosophy, in medicine, in physics, in biology, in aeronautics, in cinematography. Modern France Institutions. Education. Transport. Employment. Health. Consumption and household budget. Free time.

Teaching methods:

Lecture, conversation, exemplification.

Learning outcomes:

O1. Knowing the most important aspects of the chronological evolution of the comments regarding the main phenomena of French culture and civilization O2. Training intelligence, imposing rigours of thought, developing the method, the logical qualities as well as developing those qualities that lead to a minimal yet crystal clear distinction. O3. Integrating the phenomena of French culture and civilisation in the wider context of the values of the universal culture and civilization.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

A two-hour written examination (60% of the final grade) A mid-term essay (40% of the final grade)

Recommended reading:

Brunet, A., La civilisation occidentale. Les faits, les idées, les hommes, les oeuvres, d’Homère à Picasso. Edition revue et augmentée., Hachette, Paris, 1990,
Cignatta, Tiziana. A vous la France ! : Culture et civilisation de la France et des pays francophones (1CD audio), CIDEB, Amazon,
Cotentin-Rey, Ghislaine,. Les grandes étapes de la civilisation française, Bordas, Paris, 1991,
Monnerie, Annie, La France aux cent visages. Livre de l’étudiant, Didier, Paris, 1996,
Trudel, Marcel. Mythes et réalités dans l'histoire du Québec, Éditions Hurtubise, Montréal, 2009,