In this article, the authors focus on ways to structure conversations about racism in world history classrooms through a case study of race and racism in Haiti at the turn of the 19th century. Drawing on the events of the Haitian Revolution, the authors describe how identifying patterns of racial hierarchy can provide a framework for talking about…

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Russia experienced a considerable lack of teachers. In this situation, foreign migrants became Russia's preferred teachers for more than a century. Foreigners were particularly welcome to teach languages and a whole range of other subjects such as history, geography, and mathematics. All teaching…

This article attempts a contrast to the contribution by Hugh Starkey. Rather than his account of the inexorable rise of human rights discourse, and of the implementation of human rights standards, human rights are here presented as always and necessarily scandalous and highly contested. First, I explain why the UK has lagged so far behind its…

Reexamines the role of ideas as a factor in the French Revolution. Discusses recent research concerning the influence of philosophy upon this Revolution. Looks at research dealing with the Enlightenment thinkers and the "Cercle Social" Girondists among other philosophies. Views the French Revolution as a means of understanding the modern…

Focuses on the contents of foreign language texts and the types of foreigners who learn French. The article notes the tone of didactic discussions in these manuals and questions the usage of two terms appearing there--"methodology" and "selection." (Author/CK)

Courses on French civilization and culture should begin with a presentation of essential information, including historical background, role of the state, and the weight and presence of the past. They should move on through public life--politics, commerce, industry, social structures, the media--to the experiences of day-to-day life. (Author/JR)

The university for the third age (U3A) began in 1973 when a professor organized a summer program for retired persons at the Universite des Sciences Socialies, Toulouse, France. The Toulouse model included a weekly public lecture on a major topic of concern for older persons, discussion groups, seminars, and recreational facilities, taking…

The traditional upper-level course in French civilization at Utah State University was abandoned in favor of a course entitled "France Today," taught once a year to a consistent enrollment of students majoring in a wide variety of disciplines. The content varies somewhat each year, but the class typically begins with several class…

A collaborative effort of French and West German radio produced a series of programs providing French language instruction and practice. The programs consist of dialogues, exercises, civilization, and an authentic cultural document. (MSE)

E-learning leads to changes in the way courses are conceived. Diffused through the Web, course content cannot be the pure transcription of a "classical" course. The students need to personalize it and to access it when they need it (just-in-time). The MEMORAe project aims at applying knowledge management techniques to improve the…

A course on modern France designed for presentation in English at the college level uses four books to approach an understanding of the country through autobiography, philosophy, sociology, and history. Students with reading ability in French are assigned readings from French-language periodicals and others read from English-language periodicals.…

Study abroad programs in Paris and the French provinces offer a variety of opportunities for study by both language and nonlanguage majors, and for faculty directing programs. Courses have varying structures, objectives, and costs, but continue to be generally popular. (MSE)

Argues that the ethnographic interview gives teachers an insider's understanding of an aspect of a foreign culture and endows them with the insight to interpret the insider account from an observer's perspective. The article describes materials developed for inservice training and a pilot course that tested them with Irish teachers preparing to…

One method used to examine a target culture is to focus on a single region of a target language country, approaching all the issues normally raised in a culture class through the perspective of that region. The coherence this adds to class activities and overall class structure, the manageability of topics, and the opportunity to work with a range…

The technique used by one teacher to incorporate cultural sensitivity into the business French course is described. Cultural orientation begins in the first class meeting with a discussion of shapes and symbols. Discussion proceeds to the hexagon, a geographic, cultural, and linguistic symbol for France. A discussion of French geography and a…