FYS 1259 - From the colonies to the banlieues: the odyssey of Africans to France

Credits: 4
This course is an overview of the African presence in the French imaginary and society. Considering that the colonies were once part of the French colonial empire and that the indigenous were French citizens, this course will analyze the successive statuses and the trajectories of the African subject in contact with France from the colonization to the contemporary period. By analyzing the period of colonization, the successive waves of migrations and finally the difficulties faced by French citizens of African descent, students will learn about the complexity of the relationship between France and Africa. Ultimately, students will learn through a variety of materials that the African subject who was first a native, then an immigrant and finally a “banlieusard” seems to remain a second-class citizen in the French imaginary.
McDaniel Plan: First-Year Seminar; International Nonwestern