We will address how to bring French Studies into the 21st century through intersections of inclusion, diversity, issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and interdisciplinarity in order to expand our student audiences. We share concrete strategies, linked to standards, useful to a wide variety of classrooms and institutional contexts. Simulations, apps, literature, and film included. Handouts.
- From Division to Dialogue: Skills of Engagement in a Diverse and Inclusive World (Hoft-March)
The presenter will discuss using developmental exercises in French cultivating listening and dialogue on difficult topics as a means to promote diversity and inclusivity. Some exercises encourage listening: understanding crucial vocabulary, hearing important points or cultural cues, requesting clarification. Others focus on engagement strategies, culturally appropriate language, courteous interaction, respectful challenges. We will also discuss modifications for lower-level French courses. - Engaging Students, Promoting Tolerance and Inclusion in the French Classroom: Furthering Cultural Connections and Comparisons (Meyer)
This interactive presentation introduces Israeli and French post-Holocaust life writing, with exercises and approaches that help students better understand the dynamic complex relationship between culture, gender, and literary production. The unit / course addresses language, identity, gender, geography, borders, exile, migration, homeland, and memory. Benefits include easy-to-adapt exercises and specific suggestions to integrate cultural standards into a unit or course. Handout. - An Interdisciplinary and Interactive Approach to Teaching a Course on Paris (Engelking)
An interdisciplinary course on Paris represents a strategy for diversifying the French curriculum. Team-taught by a French professor and Art Historian, it includes an interactive role-playing component and a spring break trip to France where students develop guided tours of Parisian neighborhoods and share them through an app created as part of a digital humanities initiative. - Vive la Francophonie! Embracing the Francophone World Fully Across the French Curriculum (Schechner)
The presenter will discuss how she has revised the curriculum to include Francophone literature and culture. She has adapted the program to meet the needs of both American-born and immigrant students. She will discuss balancing the linguistic needs of heritage, native, and second language speakers in the classroom. In addition, she will explore how to make sure that all students feel that their individual identity is respected and understood and that no one is pressured to represent an entire culture or ethnic group.