FRANCE
PARIS

May 12 - June 1, 2013

Total Program Fee: $4950


Academics and Courses   Application, Cost & Important Details

Program Location:

Paris, France--with its rich heritage and breathtaking landmarks--offers unique opportunities for learning. The finest and most famous museums, monuments, churches, and chateaux are found here, in a city which leads the western world in literature, philosophy, art, fashion, luxury goods, fine food, and wine. Some of the most influential and productive men and women in human history have lived and worked in Paris, and we will learn about them as we follow their footsteps.

Program Description:

During three weeks in June, participants will stay in a typical Parisian hotel and take one course chosen from World Literature, Introduction to Ethics, Statistics and Probability, or Humanities: Exploring Paris. This is a unique opportunity to learn about  French civilization, culture, and thought from philosophical, analytical, artistic, literary, and historical perspectives in the midst of one of the most inspirational cities in the world. In addition to course content, students will explore French culture, thought, taste, and traditions as they experience living in the capital of the largest country in Europe.

Please note: Be aware that study abroad programs require a great deal of walking. Even though we will use the Paris Métro, students should be prepared to climb long flights of stairs and to walk at least 2 to 3 miles each day. In the older areas, walkways may be cobbled, and pavements may be uneven or slippery. 

Excursions: A half-day bus tour of Paris landmarks will be followed by visits to the city’s top attractions including the Eiffel Tower, the Musée du Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and Notre Dame Cathedral. A lesson on French wines, an evening Seine River cruise, a fashion show at the Galeries Lafayette, and weekend visits to the great churches of the Basilica of Sacré Coeur and the Église Saint-Denis are planned. In addition, all students will receive subway tickets and a 100-page Guidebook to Paris, so they can do their own sightseeing in Paris during free time.

A day excursion by train will take us to Louis XIV’s magnificent palace and gardens at Versailles where Marie Antoinette was the last queen in residence. In addition to tours that include all participants, individual instructors may lead or assign field trips that relate to their courses.

Classes: Classes will be held for approximately 3 hours a day during the week at various locations, and all courses will incorporate local culture. 

Accommodations: Housing will be in a tourist class hotel and students will share rooms. Students will be provided a continental breakfast at the hotel each morning and a stipend for a second meal. Breakfast is the time when daily announcements and sessions on survival French, using the Métro, café manners,and shopping tips, will be made. 

Academics:

All TnCIS programs are academic in nature and course work that takes advantage of the program location will be the central focus. TnCIS program courses are for credit only. In France, students will enroll in ONE of the following courses:

ENGLISH:  World Literature: 1650 – Present (Prerequisites: ENG 1010 & 1020)
This course is a study of Western European literature from three periods: Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Modern literature.  France was a center of European art and literature in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and has been a strong influence up to the present day.  The course, while covering the general literary movements and achievements of Western European culture, will emphasize the French contributions.  History, social customs, and cultural movements will be absorbed experientially as students visit historic sites and museums.  Students will visit places where the literature was written, such as the Victor Hugo house, or which inspired the literature, such as the Cathedral of Notre Dame, or where the literature was presented, such as Versailles, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Excursions to art museums will reinforce the common elements of the art and literature of Neo-classicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism.  In the twentieth century, the impact of France on the development of film will be discussed.  Walking the historic streets and neighborhoods of Paris will impart a first-hand encounter with the culture that produced the literature. Paris itself is a text to be studied. See course syllabus

HUMANITIES: French Culture – Exploring Paris (No prerequisites)
Introduction in English to the art, history, heroes, and lifestyle of the French people. The course will utilize the student’s living experience in Paris and visits to more than 15 city sites and landmarks as material for understanding contemporary and historical French culture. Students should anticipate walking 2 miles per day as we explore the seven ages of Paris. See course syllabus

MATH: Statistics and Probability (No Prerequisite)
Topics include basic statistical concepts, elementary probability theory, normal distributions and applications, statistical inference, regression lines, and correlation.  Technology applications will be investigated throughout the course.  The students will be expected to gather and analyze statistics about the French culture (including but not limited to demographic, economic, political, entertainment, historical data).  This data will be gathered on various excursions, from various sources, etc.  The data would include: museum statistics, monuments data and statistics, church statistics, country demographics, and other relative items.  The data would be analyzed and compared to domestic data for the purpose of understanding concepts.  This would help develop a deeper meaning of both the culture and the application of statistics.  This will help develop a sense of meaning for the difference in types of data and types of data analysis.  See course syllabus

PHILOSOPHY: Introduction to Ethics (No prerequisites)
The beauty of Paris, the Latin Quarter, Montmartre, the sidewalk cafes… These have inspired the best in artists and thinkers.  In this environment we shall explore the nature and possibility of moral knowledge and will examine abortion, euthanasia, animal rights, affirmative action, and the environment from a moral perspective.  We shall visit the haunts and gravesites of Sartre and other great thinkers, enjoy thoughtful conversation in the sidewalk cafés, and generally draw on the history and environment to enrich the content of our study. See course syllabus 

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