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Columbia University Language Resource Center – 2/13/2015
____________________________
Sébastien Dubreil, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of French, Francophone Studies & Applied Linguistics
Director, French Language Program
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
865-235-1602
INTERCONNECTING THE FL CURRICULUM:
NEW INTERFACES
AND CRITICAL CULTURAL STUDIES
PAUSE TO CONSIDER…
“catalyzing the development of
anticipatory dispositions that enable
complex, nuanced, recipient-aware,
nimble and improvisational
communicative capacities”
(Thorne, 2011)
INTERNATIONALIZING THE CURRICULUM AT
HOME: A FRANCO-GERMAN LENSES
The Easy Way
3
INTERNATIONALIZATION
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• “… the process of integrating an international, intercultural or global
dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of higher education at the
institutional level” (Knight, 2008, p. 21).
• “a complex, multidimensional learning process that includes the integrative,
intercultural, interdisciplinary, comparative, transfer of knowledge-technology,
contextual, and global dimensions of knowledge construction. These all
combine to form what we refer to as an international mindset.” (Paige and
Mestenhauser, 1999, p. 504-505)
• Course drawing on the framework of sociocultural theory and multiple
literacies
WHY THIS COURSE? AND WHAT IS IT?
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• Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures
• Two parallel courses on contemporary culture: French and German
• No official institutional framework for team teaching
• Curriculum designed in collaboration around overarching issue
• Goal: engender a critical awareness in our students and foster the
development of graduates who are truly international in their outlook
• Operate in a translingual and transcultural framework: French and German
culture in the European context on the one hand and US culture on the other
• Develop students’ abilities to work collaboratively with diversity, complexity,
and ambiguity
CHANGING SOCIETIES…
OUR GOALS WITH THE “EXPERIMENTAL CLASS”
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• Ask (new, different) questions
• Challenge our own (as educators) and students’ (cultural) perspectives
• Form new hypotheses and test them
• Develop and explore new perspectives
• Attempt to understand change in Germany/France/Europe/(the US?)
• + Our unique and different perspectives (as people from Europe-Exiles (?),
as Americans who study Europe (via French and German culture), as people
who lived in Europe, as people who plan to study or work in Europe and/or
trans-nationally
• Different Positions as “Experts”
TWO ITERATIONS
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• An overarching/organizing:
• 2009: youth identity formation in urban settings (Paris & Berlin)
• 2012: youth culture and the notion of borders
• Common meetings every three weeks
• Various types of activities to foster introspection and cultural learning as inquiry
• Various types of documents to engage with various modalities:
• Texts (media, literature)
• Films (fiction, documentaries)
• Photographs (examine and compare imagery from three cultures)
• Songs (choose and present a song to the other half of the class)
STEREOTYPES
& THE EUROPEAN PROJECT
Week 3 Meeting
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OUR FIRST FRENCH-GERMAN MEETING!
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STEREOTYPES DISCUSSION
Brief brainstorming sessions (using polleverywhere.com):
• All student: what stereotypes do you think French and Germans (Europeans?) have of
Americans?
Text 472115 and your message to 37607 or Submit 472115 and your message to
http://PollEv.com
• French Students: what stereotypes do you have of Germans/Germany?
Text 472116 and your message to 37607 or Submit 472116 and your message to
http://PollEv.com
• German Students: what stereotypes do you have of French people/France?
Text 472117 and your message to 37607 or Submit 472117 and your message to
http://PollEv.com
What is Germany? What is German in the
21st Century?
Our approaches to the question:
Set of Tensions that defines
Germany/Germanness in the Context of
Europe and/in a globalizing world
Pessimisms – Optimisms
GERMAN CONTEXTS
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- Germany is a latecomer to
nationhood/unification: strong national
sentiments – lack of national identity
- The World Wars and National
Socialism: Germany as Europe’s
warmonger; today: Germany as a
country that has learned from/because
of its past
- Divided Germany: West Germany’s
orientation towards the West;
Socialism; peaceful revolution in 1989
- The idea of Europe in Germany, the
EU and Germany
GERMAN HISTORY AS TENSION
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SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC TENSIONS
- Germany’s strong Economy: Because
of or in spite of the Euro
- Export Oriented Economy: Economic
Aid or Exploitation
- Solidarity vs. Anger vis-à-vis poorer
European countries
Social Tensions: Immigration, Integration, and Multiculturalism
- Germany’s long history of (work) migration
- Nazi legacy
- 1960s worker shortages in East and West Germany
- Global migrations after 1989
- Multicultural Germany as challenge and as chance
16
FRENCH CONTEXTS
• What is France in the 21st Century?
• Set of tensions that defines France/Frenchness in the context of Europe and/in
a globalizing world:
• Regional legacies
• 2005 riots
• Debate on national identity
• Coming to grips with multiple identities
• Pessimism vs. optimism
today: Charlie Hebdo
FRENCH CONTEXTS
• The importance of the past
• Despite the strong central government and the apparent national identity, France is a recently unified country
• Jacobinism vs. diversity: France’s sensitivity to homogeneity and difference blindness; cultural exception; question of immigration
• Definite (recent) turn toward social democracy – (though under siege)
• France and Europe:
• The higher the social class the higher approval of the EU
• Need to remember and transcend diversity and tensions between communities (and Islam)
• Impact of the crisis on European construction
• France expects the EU to promote peace and social democracy as well as protecting the environment.
• Europeanness as added identity
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EUROPEAN CONTEXTS:
ISSUES, QUESTIONS, AND CHALLENGES
• Tumultuous history between France and Germany
• Franco-German relationship as important for change; Holland-Merkel as symbol for cooperation
• Individuality vs. union (national sovereignty through integration)
• Tension around the situation of Greece and Mali
• Takers vs. givers
• Question of immigration
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• In your opinion, why is the relationship
between France and Germany
important for the European Project?
• What challenges are Europe and the
EU facing right now?
• How would you compare these
challenges to the challenges the US is
facing?
• What do you see as the greatest
challenges for the future for Europe
and/or for the US?
FRANCE, GERMANY, EUROPE
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1. What are the challenges in constructing an entity as large as the European Union or the United States?
2. Who is European? Who can become European? A lot of Americans consider themselves, for example, “Irish-American,” or “Italian-American,“African-American,” or “Latino-American.” What are the differences between these hyphenated” identities within the US and how do they compare to the newly emerging “hyphenated” Europeans (Afro-Germans, Turkish-Germans, etc…)?
3. Why is the notion of citizenship such a central component of the European project?
4. Why is the notion of linguistic diversity such a central component of the European project?
5. Compare the “German Dream” and the “French Dream” to what you consider to be the “American Dream”! How did the idea of the “melting pot” evolve in the different nations? What are similarities? What are differences?
6. How can one understand the notion of multiculturalism?
BORDERS
Week 6 Meeting
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GUTEN MORGEN! BONJOUR!
• German History: Shifting Borders
• WWI and WWII: German aggression,
Nazi fight for “Lebensraum”
• Occupation, division, Cold War
borders
• Fall of the Wall
• EU enlargement to the East: Germany
is not EU borderland any more
• Borderlands
• “Internal Borders”
• French History: Shifting Borders
• Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoléon
• Alsace-Lorraine
• Colonial empire: “Algérie française”
• “L’Hexagone”
• European Union: Espace Schengen –
The French borders are not necessarily
in France
• “Internal borders” – regional identity
• Metaphorical borders: what’s in a name
SUMMARY
French Borders German Borders
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POLL 2
What borders do you think exist in the United States and in American culture?
• Text 608989 and your answer to 37607
• or submit 608989 and your answer to http://PollEv.com
SHORT FILM: PARIS BY NIGHT
• Directed by Tony Gatlif (Gadjo Dilo, 1997; Vengo, 2000; Exils, 2004; Liberté,
2008; Indignados, 2012)
• French film director (screenwrite, composer, actor, producer) born in Algeria in
1948 as Michel Dahamani Gatlif
• Of Romani ethnicity
• Cannes film festival award: best director
• “César” for best original score
• What does the title evoke for you?
PARIS BY NIGHT – DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• Watch the clip and think about the national, cultural, linguistic, and symbolic
borders and barriers that are depicted.
• What is the role of the gaze in this film?
• What are some of the stereotypes that are used? What role do they play?
• What is the symbolism of the last shot?
CLIP: IM JULI
1. 2000 Feature film by acclaimed Turkish-German director Fatih Akin, love-
comedy, multicultural comedy, road movie, “Euro-film”: crossing of many
borders!
2. The situation in the clip: A German man is stuck in Bulgaria, on the border to
Turkey, without a passport. He “needs” to go to Turkey. He gets a ride with a
Turkish-German man who is driving to Istanbul and they approach the
border…
• Watch the clip and think about the
national, cultural, and linguistic borders
and barriers that are depicted in the film!
Discuss and Explain!
• Also, how does the film depict legal
boundaries, (cross)-cultural
understanding, and traditions?
• What kinds of clichés does the film use?
How are they used?
• Finally, how does this clip use humor?
What is the function of humor in the clip?
IM JULI
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FOOTBALL AND RACISM
Week 9
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POLL: WHAT DO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH
• Soccer
Text 776996 and your message to 37607
Submit 776996 + your message to http://PollEv.com
• Soccer Fan Culture
Text 776997 and your message to 37607
Submit 776997 + your message to http://PollEv.com
• Sports Fans in the US
Text 776998 and your message to 37607
Submit 776998 + your message to http://PollEv.com
• Part of the Series “Crossroads:
Inside the European Union”,
Films for the Humanities
• 2007 Documentary Film, 30 min
FILM INTRODUCTION: NO COLORS
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Group Discussions
Group One:
• What kinds of discriminations do Europeans of Color face?
• Why, according to the film, is soccer a particularly revealing site for a discussion of European racism?
Group Two
• What is the particular situation of the French team?
• How does the film address the French riots in the suburbs?
• In what way does the film give any insights into situations that are particular to France, England, or Germany? How is this a film about Europe as a whole?
Group Three:
• What role does religion play? What is Islamophobia and how is this related to racism?
• What role do sex, sexuality, and gender play in these discussions?
• What role do global conflicts play for these tensions within Europe?
Group Four
• What kinds of solutions to these problems and tensions does the film present?
• Reflect on the style and form of the film – how does this influence the message?
CLASS DISCUSSION
• How do these discussions compare to the questions about race, racism, and
religion that the US faces? Do these questions also play out in (professional or
college) Sports?
APPLY
Week 12
36
Scenario 1
You are students; you share an apartment with friends. One of them will go abroad for a year and you are “interviewing” students to find another roommate to replace him. One is from Germany, France, etc…
Scenario 2
You are students abroad from France, Germany, and the US. You share an apartment. A conflict arises about cleanliness in the kitchen (or common area or bathroom)…
Scenario 3
You are international students sitting at a café terrace in France/Germany/the US. You start debating the relationship between language and identity…
Scenario 4
You are returning from a year-abroad study program. A friend, who plans to go abroad, is asking for your advice on what to pack, what to expect…
Scenario 5
You are leaving for a year to study abroad. You are talking to a friend who just returned to get his/her advice on what to expect…
Scenario 6
You have just arrived in (France/Germany/the US) for a year abroad. You get on the train/bus to your host city. You begin a conversation with another passenger…
Scenario 7
You have just returned to UT after the summer holiday and you meet international students on
campus. They have a lot of questions for you…
Scenario 8
Illustrate “in your own words/images” the scene from L’Auberge espagnole where Xavier meets the
barman and Neus and is told how to learn a “puta madre” Spanish (pardon the French)…
Scenario 9
Illustrate “in your own words/images” Xavier’s notion that after one returns from a study abroad
experience, one recounts the embarrassing moments/experiences one has had…
Scenario 10
Write and shoot a video for a slam poem/song that represents French/German/American culture…
Scenario 11
You live in an apartment in Germany or France during your study abroad trip and you and your
flatmates are watching the Eurovision contest…
Scenario 12
You live in an apartment in Germany or France during your study abroad trip and you and your
flatmates are watching the Soccer World Cup…
FOR EXAMPLE
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• Here is an example of what 4 students produced in 35 minutes.
STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF THE PROCESS
40
The not so good
My opinion about the integration of the German culture class and ours has varied throughout the semester. At first I thought it would be a really great way of bringing together the two different mind sets of the cultures. The German culture being something I knew little about aside from Nazis, beer, and bratwurst, I was more than excited to hear a little more in the contexts we were discussing in our own section. In the beginning, the groups went well, especially when discussing immigration which the German class seemed to know the most about. The similar sentiments and problems are prominently seen in the two cultures, and our small group discussion went well; I learned much from them and hope it was reciprocal. After this, the discussions began going downhill. I’m not sure if it was from a diminishing interest throughout the semester or if the topics became more abstract, but I noticed a sharp drop in interesting conversations on both the French and German sides. It became more difficult to keep everyone on topic instead of talking about personal work load and spring break plans. Maybe it was just the composition of my groups changing from week to week; I lost the truly interested students and found some who were just in it for the credits.
While the overall direction of the group class was well thought out, the limited time and what seemed like lack of interest in the other class’s subject matter caused the class to lose site of the educational goal. I heard many others say that it seemed useless to combine the two classes because they were not taking a French/German class, but a German/French class. Also, I had some problems truly understanding the German aspect of the discussion because I lacked the resources needed to fully understand that side of the issue.
STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF THE PROCESS
41
Better
The small group discussion gave me further insight into how the Germans feel about
immigrants because a young man in my group was from Bavaria, Germany. He explained
that in the bigger cities, such as Frankfurt and Munich, is it much easier for non Germans to
obtain employment. However, he said that in the smaller cities and areas of Germany it is
virtually impossible for “outsiders” to seek employment. He even stated that if you are from
one area of Germany and you seek employment in another area, oftentimes you will not be
hired simply because of where you are from. In many places in Europe there seems to be
such a struggle to preserve the ways of the past and the homogeny of a culture. I have
not decided if I view this as a good thing or not, but I am looking forward to exploring
the issue further this semester.
STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF THE PROCESS
42
Even better
It has been a great semester in which I truly feel that my ideas, perspectives, and opinions have grown and changed based on what we have discussed and learned! This past week and a half, we wrapped up our series of discussions with both the German students and our French partners. I think that meeting with the German students was a great idea because it taught me a lot about Europe and European relations as a whole, which is something I had never studied or learned about. I was particularly interested in the issue of Turkish-German relations, because I was completely unaware of the hostility that some Germans and other Europeans have towards Turkey and Turkish people. Perhaps it is because in the United States it seems that Americans have hostilities only towards people of a different nationality who look and appear different, such as Hispanics and Asians, and in my opinion it is hard to tell a Turkish person from a German person. Americans seem to swoon and love to interact with people of a different nationality who look similar to them, such as British, French, and Italians, which has always baffled me how some people could be so accepting of certain nationalities and ethnicities and then be so hostile towards other nationalities.
STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF THE PROCESS
43
Good
The class definitely opened up my eyes to new aspects of American and French culture,
as well as a little German culture, and it really made me question a lot of things about
myself as well. (…) I really felt like we were able to create, in the classroom, more than a
simple student teacher relationship. We were definitely a community. What I have
learned and experienced in this class I will be able to take with me in my future
pursuits. I know myself a little better; I know America and France a little better.
STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF THE PROCESS
44
Truly exceptional
Identity is an ever-transforming concept; one created on a personally individualistic level, but that expands in complexity when you consider its role on a local, national, or global arena. Identity presents itself in our language, literature, behaviors, beliefs, fashion, music and more. It’s how we present ourselves, how we see ourselves, how others see us. What’s so interesting about identity is its subjective quality; seeing it change over time, space, and context. (…)
The effect of shifting locations creates further intricacies in identities. National belongings change when borders are crossed while people with diverse linguistic backgrounds cross borders with relative ease, and those on the margins develop perspectives with exclusive insights. With so many factors playing a role in our identity construct, it can be difficult to reconcile that fact that we are actively assembling our own versions of truth about the world. In class an example was given concerning the building of a monument of knowledge, always shifting as each new piece is added to the structure. Our environment acts on us, and we return the favor. As architects of knowledge, we might find a way to control the design by avoiding the limitations produced by stagnant perspectives… through learning of new languages, by crossing space and borders, seeking the margins and challenging the perceptions Others have taken towards us.
Transformation-Growth-Change --- An opportunity for liberation.
CONCLUSION: GLOBALIZATION, FRANCE,
GERMANY, EUROPE, USA –
CRITICAL CULTURAL STUDIES
Week 15
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PERSPECTIVES
46
• Belonging, Identity, Nationality in a Globalizing
World
• People, Languages, Stories, Sounds, cross
Borders
• Trace these Border-Crossings in Literature, Film,
Music…
• Way to trace the shifting borders of identity and
national belonging
• Meaning-making as a negotiated, intersubjective
discourse.
BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH…
• What do these pictures tell you?
• What kind of identity (identities) is (are) performed?
47
OR THIS…
48
• We explored and questioned
cultural similarities and
differences
• We questioned the future of the
notion of “living together”
• We asked students what role
they were ready to play in that
process as educated,
responsible global citizens
…AND CHANGING SOCIETIES
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SO WHAT’S NEXT?
50
LEARNING TO PAY ATTENTION:
LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPES
• Goal: tend to the language/culture of public spaces
• Landry & Bourhis (1997): "the visibility and salience of languages on public and
commercial signs in a given territory or region" (p. 23)
• Shohamy, Eliezer, & Barmi (2010): Examine issues of identity and positioning in
various urban contexts.
• Williams (2010): Pedagogical applications to L2 learning
STUDENTS AS AUTHORS: WRITING TO THINK
IPADS, IBOOKS, BOOK WRITING, & SOCIAL
PEDAGOGY
• Goals: textual literacy, grammar as
meaning making
• Exploring culture and cultural
difference through collaborative
(creative) short-story writing
• Collaborative writing process
• Imagine an audience social
pedagogy
GAME-BASED LEARNING
54
• First-year game – “Où est la Liberté?”
• Second-year game – “Secrets Français à Knoxville”
• Game-design as language learning
ECOPOD – UO GLOBAL SCHOLARS HALL
ECOPOD – UO GLOBAL SCHOLARS HALL
• The Transformed Residential Experience: Global Scholars Hall engages students as multilingual participants in everyday life and makes second language use part of their social, professional, and educational endeavors.
• Integrates place-based experiences in a residential immersive
• Draw on empirical data to inform similar experiences in other residential learning communities nationally and internationally.
• Problem-based (language) learning: engagement in a relevant content area such as sustainability, water rights, and disease eradication.
56
57
Sébastien Dubreil, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of French, Francophone Studies & Applied Linguistics
Director, French Language Program
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
865-235-1602
THANK YOU!
FILM DISCUSSION
Exils, 2004, Tony Gatlif: France,
Spain, Morocco, Algeria
The Edge of Heaven (Auf der Anderen
Seite), 2007, Fatih Akin: Bremen,
Hamburg, Istanbul, Black Sea
Are these films about Europe?List the differences and similarities!
Who travels, why, where, and how?
What are they looking for?
What role does language play in both films?Compare the depictions of the different European and non-European countries in the films!
SONGS
• Adriano (letzte warnung) • Ma France à Moi (Diam’s)
• Das Haus am See (Peter Fox) • Foux du Fa Fa (Flight of the Conchord)
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