In this course, students will be introduced to the culture and way of life of several francophone countries as well as their literature and humor. These countries will include Quebec, Algeria, the Ivory Coast, Mali, the West Indies and Belgium. Learners will study the geo-political situation of these regions, their culinary culture and their artistic esthetic through fictional texts, poetry, songs and cinema.

Material will include texts from Kama-Sywor Kamanda, Roch Carrier, Emmanuel Roblès, Mariama Bâ, Yambo Ouologuem, excerpts from a comic book by Marguerite Abouet, and movie clips including Abderrahmane Sissako’s Bamako. Students will continue to perfect their writing and reading skills individually through short compositions and in group with documents’ analyses. They will practice their oral competence with an individual oral presentation of one aspect of francophone culture.