Students may select courses in English, French or both according to language ability and placement tests. Students must place into the advanced level to enroll in lecture courses. Recommended semester credits are in parentheses. Quarter students should reduce total credits by one-third.
Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne
Several courses are organized and taught by Cours de Civilisation Française instructors exclusively for AIFS students. Beginning and lower intermediate students should choose courses taught in English during the first semester in Paris. Advanced students in both semesters and full year students in the second semester should choose courses taught in French (see listings). These classes should not be confused with the regular Cours de Civilisation Française lecture series.
A minimum of 8 students is needed to confirm a course (classes usually have about 15 students). Each seminar meets 30 hours per semester plus 15 hours for directed study outside class. (These are 60-minute classes for 30 contact hours, equivalent to 36 hours of 50-minute classes). All levels of French language (cours pratique) meet considerably more hours—140 contact hours of 60-minute classes.
Beginning and intermediate students must take the cours pratique in French and a seminar in French or English given by the Sorbonne each semester. They should also plan to take two additional courses or seminars each semester. Full-year students whose level of French is sufficient by the second semester will be encouraged to enroll in advanced courses. Advanced students must take one seminar in French the second semester.
Please note that placement for courses is determined by test, regardless of previous study and language level in Cannes.
Phonetic French is intended to give students a working knowledge of the language for everyday needs. Classes are taught in small groups for 25 hours per semester and must be taken in conjunction with French 101, 151, 201, 301 or 401.
| Fall and Spring Semester | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French 101 fall/spring (9) |
| Course Title: | Elementary French I + phonetics |
| Course Description: | |
| First year cours pratique in French grammar and writing practice for beginners and students with up to two years of college French. An average of 12 hours per week for 12 weeks including phonetics lab. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French 151 fall/spring (9) |
| Course Title: | Elementary French II + phonetics |
| Course Description: | |
| This course reviews basic grammar and further studies the foundations of the French language. Many complex grammar points are considered, giving students a solid background in the language. An average of 12 hours per week for 12 weeks including phonetics lab. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French 201 fall/spring (9) |
| Course Title: | Intermediate French + phonetics |
| Course Description: | |
| An average of 12 hours a week for 12 weeks including phonetics lab. Vocabulary, grammar, composition and textual analysis. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French 301 fall/spring (9) |
| Course Title: | Advanced French I + phonetics |
| Course Description: | |
| Meets for 12 hours a week. Vocabulary, grammar, composition and textual analysis. Placement is by test, regardless of previous study. Taken in conjunction with a phonetics class. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French 401 fall/spring (9) |
| Course Title: | Advanced French II + phonetics |
| Course Description: | |
| Meets for 12 hours a week. Perfecting techniques already learned and acquiring a more sophisticated written and spoken style. Taken in conjunction with a phonetics class. | |
Seminars Taught in English
These electives are exclusively for AIFS students. A minimum of 8 students is required to confirm a course.
| Seminars Taught in English | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Cultural Studies 316 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Literature and the Paris Landscape |
| Course Description: | |
| Through the study of books, poems and plays, this course aims to give a broad chronological background to the Parisian landscape. Students learn to connect the past to the present, to link fact to fiction whilst discovering some of the nation’s most famous works of art and literature and relating them to the monuments of the French capital. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 319 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Paris: Its History and ArchitectureParis: Its History and Architecture |
| Course Description: | |
| Growth patterns of the city from Roman times to the present, stressing history of art and architecture. Takes students around the city. Students must pay entrance fees. Recommended for first semester students below the advanced level. Enrollment is limited. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French Literature 305/306 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | French Literature in Translation |
| Course Description: | |
| Studies 17th and 18th century literature in the fall semester, and 19th and 20th century literature in the spring. Please note that students will need to buy books for this course. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Political Science/Literature 360 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Franco-American Relations from Lafayette to today |
| Course Description: | |
| This course traces the history of the close intellectual and political relationship between France and the U.S. from American Independence to the present day. The course includes visits to Parisian locations described in the writings of various American authors. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Sociology 360 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Multiculturalism and Modern France |
| Course Description: | |
| This course concentrates on the multiculturalism of modern France, studying the historical background and contemporary reality of the various components of French society today. | |
Seminars Taught in French
These electives are organized and taught by instructors of the Cours de Civilisation Française exclusively for AIFS students. A minimum of 8 students is needed to confirm a course. Advanced level participants are required to elect at least one each semester.
| Fall Semester | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts/French/History 313 fall only (3) |
| Course Title: | Civilisation Française (French Civilization) |
| Course Description: | |
| Major historical, artistic and literary trends and the relationships of artistic and literary works to the social, political and economical evolution of the French state. Art and society in Roman Gaul through the 10th century. Development of the French nation in medieval France. Renaissance artistic and literary developments concluding with 17th century. Recommended for all fall semester advanced level students. Continues in the spring semester as Fine Arts/ History/French 314. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 319F fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Paris: Son Histoire, Son Architecture, (Paris: Its History and Architecture) |
| Course Description: | |
| This is the same as Fine Arts 319 but taught in French. Recommended for advanced and full year students in the spring. Enrollment is limited. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 328 fall only (3) |
| Course Title: | La Peinture Française aux 16ème et 18ème Siècles (French Painting in the 16th and 18th Centuries) |
| Course Description: | |
| Survey of French painting from Renaissance to the end of the 18th century. Regular Louvre museum visits. Students pay museum entrance fees. | |
| Spring Semester | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts/History/French 314 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Civilisation Française (French Civilization) |
| Course Description: | |
| French society and artistic movements in the tumultuous 18th century and political and artistic changes in the 19th century. Study of 20th century developments. Recommended for all advanced and full year students, but not for students entering the program in the spring semester below the advanced level. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 319F fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Paris: Son Histoire, Son Architecture, (Paris: Its History and Architecture) |
| Course Description: | |
| This is the same as Fine Arts 319 but taught in French. Recommended for advanced and full year students in the spring. Enrollment is limited. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 329 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Du Réalisme au Post-Impressionnisme: la Peinture Française de 1850 à 1900 (From Realism to Post Impressionism: French Painting from 1850 to 1900) |
| Course Description: | |
| The class examines the different French movements: academism, romanticism, orientalism and the influence on foreign painters such as Whistler, Sisley. Regular visits to Musée d’Orsay. Students pay museum entrance fees. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French Literature 310 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Le Roman et la Poésie aux 19ème et 20ème Siècles (19th and 20th Century French Novels and Poetry) |
| Course Description: | |
| Development of modern French literature through the analysis of 19th and 20th century prose and poetry. Poetry and the novel are explored through the major ideas of romanticism, realism, surrealism, symbolism and existentialism. | |
Lecture Courses Taught in French
Please note these courses are not open to quarter students and are subject to change at short notice.
| Fall Semester | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Art History 411/412 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Histoire de l’Art Français (French Art History) |
| Course Description: | |
| Movements and individual artists and the development of painting, architecture and sculpture in France. The first semester covers the art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The second semester covers modern French art from the academics to cubism. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Economics/Politics 409 fall only (3) |
| Course Title: | Approche de l’Actualité en France (Overview of the French current affairs) |
| Course Description: | |
| Analysis of France’s economic and social policy. Domestic policy and France’s relationship with other European countries and the third world. French diplomacy, economic growth, unemployment, political parties, immigration, education and culture. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French Literature 411 fall only (3) |
| Course Title: | Littérature et Civilisation Françaises l’Age Classique: 17ème-18ème siècles (French Literature and Civilization : classical period 17th-18th centuries) |
| Course Description: | |
| A study of major writers and works of the 17th and 18th centuries (Molière, Racine, Voltaire, Rousseau, Madame de Lafayette. A cross-disciplinary perspective is taken so as to examine literature as a product of its social and historical contexts. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Geography/Economics 401 fall only (3) |
| Course Title: | Géographie économique et sociale de la France (French economic and social geography) |
| Course Description: | |
| Course description not available at time of publication (July 2010). Please consult the AIFS website www.aifsabroad.com for the most up-to-date information.aa | |
| Course Code and Credits: | History 409 fall only (3) |
| Course Title: | Paris de origines à la Révolution Française (Paris from its origins to the French Revolution) |
| Course Description: | |
| A survey of the town development from the Roman period through the Middle-Ages until the 18th century. Visits to the royal collections at the Louvre as well as the major monuments on the left and right bank of the Seine. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | History/Politics/Economics 411/412 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | La France et l’Europe (France and Europe) |
| Course Description: | |
| French society has experienced social, political, economic and cultural upheaval for centuries. Fall semester studies the ancient regime to the Revolution. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Sociology 411 fall only (3) |
| Course Title: | La Société Française du Moyen-Age à nos jours (French Society from Middle Ages to today) |
| Course Description: | |
| A continuation of History/Politics/Economics 411, emphasis is on aspects of these crises and their effect on daily life. | |
| Spring Semester | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Art History 411/412 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Histoire de l’Art Français (French Art History) |
| Course Description: | |
| Movements and individual artists and the development of painting, architecture and sculpture in France. The first semester covers the art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The second semester covers modern French art from the academics to cubism. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 414 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Les courant artistiques en France aux 19éme et 20éme siècles (Artistic trends in France in the 19th and 20th centuries) |
| Course Description: | |
| This course covers the innovation brought to visual arts by the different avant-garde movements of the 19th century. The course will focus predominantly on painting although major sculptures and the links between architecture and industry will also be covered. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | French Literature 416 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Littérature Française des 19ème et 20ème siècles (French Literature of the 19th and 20th centuries) |
| Course Description: | |
| Major works and writers of the 19th century from Chateaubriand to Mallarmé. Different genres: drama, poetry and the novel. The naturalist movement in the novel, symbolism as a new kind of poetry, Claudel and idealism, André Gide, Proust and the social, psychological and moral implications of La Recherche and the novels and plays of Jean Giraudoux. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Geography/Economics 402 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Géographie économique et sociale de la France (French economic and social geography) |
| Course Description: | |
| Course description not yet available. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | History 408 spring only (3) |
| Course Title: | Paris |
| Course Description: | |
| The aim of this course is to illustrate how each period of time has contributed to the scenery of Paris. This chronological study is divided into five parts: origins; medieval period; “modern time”; 19th century and 20th century. The course includes study of people and areas of the city (Montmartre, Montparnasse, public parks and gardens, les Halles and Hector Guimard). | |
| Course Code and Credits: | History/Politics/Economics 411/412 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | La France et l’Europe: La Société Française (France and Europe: French Society) |
| Course Description: | |
| French society has experienced social, political, economic and cultural upheaval for centuries. Fall semester studies the ancient regime to the Revolution. | |
Courses Taught by Other Institutions
Institut de Langue et de Culture Françaises, (ILCF)
The University of London Institute in Paris
Académie de Port Royal
Schola Cantorum
Students may take one or two courses at these institutions. Except in special circumstances, a minimum of 10 is needed for a course. Students receive transcripts or certificates authenticating work completed.
These institutions vary in accreditation status.
The Institut de Langue et de Culture Françaises is a private institution. It is recognized by the French Ministry of Higher Education. It provides a certificate and has University status as it is a part of the Institut Catholique de Paris.
The University of London Institute in Paris is a joint institute of both the University of London and the Université de Paris and, therefore, has university status.
The Académie de Port Royal is a private art school not of university status in France. Students wishing to transfer credit for Port Royal courses should check with their home institutions.
The Schola Cantorum is a private music school in Paris.
Students should confirm with home institutions whether transfer credit is allowed from private educational institutions.
| Institut de Langue et de Culture Françaises (ILCF) | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 307 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | Fashion in France |
| Course Description: | |
| Links between fashion and artistic, cultural, socio-political contexts across French history are explored. The lasting dominance of Paris in the world of fashion is examined. Students will be able to appreciate how fashion and accessories have been used to express all types of identities. Students pay entrance fees for museums and exhibitions. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Philosophy 380 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | French philosophy through 17th-20th centuries |
| Course Description: | |
| This course is conceived as a survey. It will therefore provide an insight into the major authors of the modern and contemporary French period from Descartes to René Girard. The second objective of the course is to help the students to enlarge their philosophical understanding on topics as diverse as knowledge and human mind, society and law rationalism and metaphysics, relationship with others, violence and sacrifice. Students may have to purchase textbooks for approximately 50 euros. | |
| The University of London Institute in Paris | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 300 fall/spring (3) |
| Course Title: | French Painting |
| Course Description: | |
| The French Impressionist movement, its origins, major exponents and derivative tendencies in modern art. Taught in English, it meets 30 hours (60 minute classes). Students pay museum entrance fees. Enrollment is limited. | |
| Académie de Port Royal | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Fine Arts 321 fall/spring (1-4) |
| Course Title: | Art in Studio (Painting, sketching, drawing) |
| Course Description: | |
| The amount of credit granted depends on the work produced and hours spent at the Académie. Two sessions of 3 hours or three sessions of 2 hours per week. Taught in French. Students must pay a supplement in Paris of approximately 700 euros per semester. | |
| Schola Cantorum | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Music 307 fall/spring (1-4) |
| Course Title: | Instrument Study |
| Course Description: | |
| May be taken only with consent of the Resident Director. Placement is by examination, except for beginners. Instruction in French is at the student’s expense. Credit granted depends on the work produced and hours spent at the Schola. Instruments (except piano) are not provided. | |
Non-Credit Cultural Enrichment Courses
| Non-credit courses | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Non-credit (-) |
| Course Title: | French Cooking |
| Course Description: | |
| This course gives students the chance to get first hand experience of French cooking, both in the kitchen and around the table, enjoying the fruits of their labors together at the end of each session. Taught by an experienced chefs and passionate cook, students will learn how to blend the sauces and select the fresh produce that have made French cuisine an art of worldwide claim. The course is taught in English and recipes are provided. Fee of approximately 220 euros is payable on arrival. A minimum enrolment of 6 students required to run the course. | |
| Course Code and Credits: | Non-credit (-) |
| Course Title: | Wine Appreciation |
| Course Description: | |
| This course introduces students to the art of wine-making, covering its history and the development of France’s extensive wine laws and teaching some of the key techniques used in the appreciation and analysis of fine wines. Students are provided with a bilingual manual to accompany them in their studies and will consider how regional foods and wines have become an integral part of French culture. The course is taught in English. Fee of approximately 120 euros is payable on arrival. A minimum enrolment of 12 students required to run the course. | |
