Frenchness in an Era of Globalization
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this course on French national identity taught entirely in French. It examines what constitutes Frenchness today through memory, belonging, and cultural production, looking at traditions like wine and cheese, an internationally spoken language, and monuments open to global visitors alongside more contested subjects such as France's colonial history and the Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal in New York. Materials include the syllabus, readings, and assignments MIT makes available through OpenCourseWare, allowing self-paced study of how a nation defines itself against globalization pressures. The course sits at the intersection of language study and cultural history, using contemporary controversies as case studies for broader questions about heritage and belonging. No certificate is offered, but full course materials are free to access and download.