La fin...

Bonjour à tous!

It's sad to say, but tomorrow is the last day of classes for us UVA students this spring semester!

I enjoyed conversing with you through this blog, and I just wanted to thank you for all your help and insightful comments. We really appreciated being able to connect with you, and I believe that we better understand the French side of certain topics now. :)

I'd also like to mention that if any of you are planning to come to UVA or the United States, please feel free to E-mail me at jas4tk@virginia.edu. I'd be happy to help answer any questions you might have.

Je vous souhaite bon courage et bonne continuation!

Jasmine

Entre les murs

I first saw this film last Spring in Lyon. We just saw it again for class, but I still have this lingering question. Why were there class representatives, the two girls Esmeralda and Louise, at the meeting of teachers and administrators to decide whether students would pass the grade or not? My British friend who had been living in France for many years said he thought it had something to do with "democratizing" the school system, and letting everyone have a say. As a future teacher, this sounds like the worst idea ever! What middle school girl would keep her mouth shut about everything the teachers say about other students' grades and behavior? Certainly not any that I have met, as exemplified by the situation that later occurred in the film. Is this widespread in schools and what purpose does it serve?

Healthcare Reform

Hello all,

I was just wondering if you all have followed the coverage of the healthcare reform that is going on here in the U.S. Do you have any thoughts or opinions on the reform or the mixed American response to it?

Thanks!

Rasha

Memory of World War II

Hello, all! :)

I hope you enjoyed your vacation! We are also about to go on vacation, so please don't feel bad if our responses are delayed by a week or so!

I am writing because I need your help!

We are just learning about la Seconde Guerre mondiale en France in Madame Horne's class. Also, I took a course at l'IEP in Lyon with Monsieur Douzou, which was very enlightening. In addition to all of this, I spent my last semester (while studying in Lyon) researching WWII (World War II), specifically in France and even more specifically the Occupation, the Resistance, and Vichy propaganda.

Aside from all my background in this field and my passion for this subject, I really need your help!

Here are a few questions, or feel free to leave any commentary you like:

1. As French citizens who weren't alive during the war, what are your thoughts about the war and France's position of collaboration and/or resistance?
2. Have your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents told you any remarkable stories you would kindly share with us?
3. Do you feel that France today is still influenced by the controversy of WWII? If you can, please elaborate with an example.

These are just a few prompted questions, but I would love to hear any comments you have!

J'espère que vous allez bien, et j'attends vos réponses avec impatience! :)

Bien cordialement,

Jasmine

Elections Syndicales 2010 pour les Conseils de l'IEP

I studied at IEP Paris and found the system of student governance pretty difficult to understand. I'm sure all the american students would be very interested to learn about student governance in France, as it is so lively when compared with our Student Council here at UVa. The unions actually debated important topics whereas our student government occupies themselves with chosing which newspaper to hand out to students. I suspect the structure in the IEP campuses may differ some from that of mainstream universities in France.

I voted for UNEF. Other unions wanted to raise the droits de scolarite on students in the programme d'echange de premier cycle despite the fact the your host universities charge you nothing! Also, I believe the system of acceptance that revolves around the concours d'entree is discriminatory and should be reformed. I however was not keen on their demands to open a cafeteria CROUS in the old l'ENA building. Anyone who has ever had a plat chaud at a CROUS can understand that.

Quels sont les enjeux a IEP Lyon pour les elections 2010?

Bonjour!

Bonjour!

My name is Stephanie, and I am a third year at UVA. I have a question for the students at Lyon II: How do you like studying contemporary American Society? Is there anything that you have learned that has suprised you?

A bientot!
Stephanie

Welcome Translation

I wasn't able to read the "Welcome" post at first, but I changed the font and got this:

"We hope that this will be an interesting forum for the exchange of views and questions about contemporary France and the United States. This site is the result of an experimental partnership between students at the University of Virginia who are studying contemporary France, and students at the Institut d'etudes politiques in Lyon, who are studying contemporary American society. Contributors are welcome to write in either French or English - as they wish!"

Bienvenue à tous!

Welcome/Bienvenue

Welcome to the UVA -Lyon 2 blog spot.

We hope that this will be an interesting forum for the exchange of views and questions about contemporary France and the United States. This site is the result of an experimental partnership between students at the University of Virginia who are studying contemporary France, and students at the Institut d'etudes politiques in Lyon, who are studying contemporary American society. Contributors are welcome to write in either French or English - as they wish!