This course deals mostly with films made in and about France, Spain, Italy, the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), and sub-Saharan Africa. It focuses on how migrants, regular and clandestine migrations, as well as related themes, including globalization, hospitality and transnational modes of transportation have been written about, filmed and discussed in various types of discourses. Besides films, we will read novels, novellas, and short stories, as well as examine cartoons, comic strips, news clips, paintings, policies and installation art.
Why and how do people emigrate? Where are the major destinations of migrants? What is Fortress Europe? What is the "global South?" What is the so-called refugee crisis? Who is a refugee? What impact has the Arab Spring had on contemporary migrations to Europe? How does mass media portray the global South? What do political discourses tell us about the European and North African handling of recent human migratory movements? Since when have comic strips, paintings, and political cartoons tackled these topics? Can artists effectively put forward an alternate take on such issues? What types of responses in artistic, cultural, literary productions as well as in the political and humanitarian arenas have failed attempts at crossing the Mediterranean Sea triggered? These are some of the questions we will address. Among the films that we will analyze - all shown in class - are Chus Gutiérrez's Return to Hansala, Reem Kherici's Paris or Perish, Nadir Moknèche's Goodbye Morocco, Gianfranco Rosi's Fire at Sea and Moussa Touré's The Pirogue.
All films have English subtitles. Students registered in FREN 3471 will do the readings and assignments in French, and students registered in FREN 3750 and ALL 3920 will do the readings and assignments in English. The class will be conducted in English.
Class Time: 30% Lecture, 40% Discussion, 20% Small Group Activities, 10% Presentations. Work Load: 2 papers, a final exam, and a quiz (about 18 pages total), readings and 1 presentation.