FSEM 101 - L’Amerique! The United States through French Eyes

Even before Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (1835), the United States were an object of fascination to Europeans. What the French have said, and continue to say, has a great deal to teach us about both parties of a complex relationship. Could Americans learn anything from French notions of democracy, liberty, equality, or happiness? Has Tocqueville’s dread “tyranny of the majority” finally arrived? We will consider, and respond to, both negative and positive representations of the U.S.A. in French nonfiction, poetry, cinema, popular music, and advertising.

Credits 1