FFS 366 - Francophone Literature and Cultures

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2024/2025a: Mediascapes of Modern France. In this seminar, we examine the fascinating French media landscape and its historical and cultural specificities. Focusing on relevant print articles and radio and television programs, we look at how public and private French audiovisual formations function, what ideas they generate, and how they appeal to audiences. We discuss the governmental structures that guarantee their independence, the regulation of advertising, and the influence of politicians and shareholders on editorial choices. Through the lens of significant controversies or “affaires,” we explore such traditional newspapers as Le Monde, Libération, and Le Figaro, such radios as France Inter, and RMC, and such TV channels as TF1, France 2, and ARTE. We assess the role of newer structures like the 24-hour news channel CNews, digital, participatory, and independent newspapers like Mediapart, social media, and podcasts. Finally, we ponder on the evolution of the figure of the journalist in France. Patricia-Pia Celerier.

Prerequisite(s): Two units of 200-level work above FFS 212, or the equivalent, or by permission of the department. Open to first-year students and sophomores only by permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS