The institute Teaching Syllabus
Pract. matters Diversity History Literature
Timetable Openness Arts Institutions
Contacts Modernity Sociology Hist. of ideas
© 2011 IFUPE (Institut de Formation Universitaire Pour Etudiants étrangers, Paris). Etablissement privé d'enseignement supérieur.
National Identity and immigration:
the political debate entrapped
Social model versus
economic challenges
The Republican School and modernity
A certain number of key themes lie at the heart of evolving intellectual commitment and social debate in France. These themes of reflection are part and parcel of the very definition of the nation, and their anchorage in the country’s collective psyche explains why frequently reappear in public debate. It is therefore important to know the issues and their different aspects.
With its founding dates, its ideological points of reference, and its regular battles, the history of intellectuals partakes, in France, both of specific national characteristics and of a universalist ideal. Accounting for the lines de force governing the emergence of this phenomenon and for the developments they brought about, we are better placed to understand much of how French society represent its particular role in the circumstances of History. From Zola to Aron, from Sartre to Camus, instances of commitment are legion.
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We are keen that our students should learn how to decipher current events in French society in depth, behind the froth of daily news. We also hold dear the prospect of providing the signposts necessary for understanding the underlying themes of current intellectual debate in France in direct conjunction with some of the extramural cultural modules. Appropriate events will be followed in Paris, where much of the lively intellectual life of France is concentrated.
Contemporary French society, even following the decline in ideologies observed during the last 20 years, enjoys an intense intellectual life, whether in political divides or in fruitful currents of thought, which reveals a keen interest in the subject. The main threads of this history need to be known so as to understand what is at stake in French intellectual life.
