Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Differences In French Law Pertaining To Refugees From Former Colonies: A Case Study Of North Africa And Indochina, Lauren Bergin

Honors Theses

Colonial relations between colonizer and colonized are an interesting yet often understudied part of the legal field. This thesis will focus on these links within the relationship between France and two of its former colonies: North Africa and Indochina. In order to discover more information on these relationships, I take a historical approach focusing on legal documents, debates, and decrees, both from the French government and international bodies and representatives such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The resulting discoveries show that French legal documents were far more concerned with North Africa compared to Indochina, both regarding asylum …

The Bittersweet Tooth: Understanding French Identity Through The Colonial Empire, Commodity Fetishism, And Pâtisserie, Clarisse D. Allehaut

Honors Theses

This thesis argues that patisserie and the French relationship with dessert are a part of national identity. The historical context of patisserie runs parallel to the growth and power of the French colonial empire. Patisserie feels removed from the empire, and yet the two show how gastronomy, luxury, and exploitative power in the form of empire are components of French history and identity. Marx’s theory on commodity fetishism serves as the backbone for this argument. This theoretical idea supposes that value is an objective concept and society attributes importance and perceived meaning. Patisserie exemplifies commodity fetishism as a good with …

Is France Having A Populist Moment?, Emma Gilmore

Honors Theses

The word populism is often thrown around in news media and academic scholarship, but there is a lack of understanding of what it actually means as a political theory. In France, the two presidential candidates that made it to the second round in 2017, Emmanuel Macron and Marine le Pen, were both called populist, despite having vastly different campaign strategies and messages. This study used a computer-based method to analyze Campaign books from 24 candidates beginning in 1981 that determined that Populist language is on the rise, but not as aggressively as news media suggests.

The Black Experience In Early To Mid-20th-Century Great Britain, France, And Germany: The Positioning Of A Community As The “Other”, Tawreak Gamble-Eddington

Honors Theses

This essay looks at the experience of Blacks during the early to mid-20th-century in Germany, Great Britain, and France. Drawing on the autobiographies of Black Germans and African-Americans living in France—as well as various secondary sources, government documents, newspaper articles, and accounts from African-American reporters visiting Europe—Blacks can be firmly placed within the context of early to mid-20th-century Europe and more generally European history. Due to the accessibility of primary accounts by mixed-race Europeans in the 20th century, special attention is paid to the experiences of mixed-race members of the Black community and their perception in each country. Coinciding with …

Le Passé, Le Présent, Et L’Avenir Des Soins Dentaires En France, Grace Yotts

Honors Theses

Picture the bustling streets of Paris in the mid-1700’s, lined with a mosaic of shouting artisans and heckling businessmen trying to make a profit from the many passersby. Among the sea of street-savvy merchants, one man stood out. Wheeling an ornate cart decked in human teeth and performing partly as a charlatan, he was none other than a tooth-puller. Dental care in France was born through these theatrical tooth-pullers, who were looking more to be a spectacle then to relieve a toothache. As science progressed over time, so too did the stance on oral health. Revolutionary milestones such as the …

Sex Education In France: An Imbalanced History, Marisa Peters

Honors Theses

Although the history of sex education is relatively new, it is very complex. Enlightenment philosophers from Rousseau to de Sade had ideas on what the sex education of girls and of boys should entail, with Rousseau preparing her for marriage, and the latter preparing her to be a libertine! In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries there were stereotypes too, of girls in the countryside learning about sex as a result of cramped living and proximity to farm animals. For young bourgeois women in the city, there were manuals on marriage and how to perform their wifely …

Cooperating For Charity: The Effect Of Decentralization On French Associations, Ragan Ketrow

Honors Theses

This thesis explored the relationship between the decentralization laws of 1982 and 1983 in France and French associations as well as the resulting lack of exceptionalism in the French nonprofit sector. This thesis explores the claims of the French nonprofit scholar Edith Archambault as she argues that the steep rise in associations in France in the 1980s is due to the legal changes that occured during that same decade. In order to evaluate these claims, I used regression tests to compare the relationship between the growth of associations and other variants including economic growth, disposable income, and government expenditure. In …

When Worlds Collide: Charlie Hebdo And Islam In The 21st Century, Mildred Morse

Honors Theses

Caricatures are entrenched in French socio-political identity. That identity has shifted due to internal and external forces, but the most important event for the socio-political identity of France in the 21st century is the attacks at Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. The event and the responses to it reignited the ideas of incompatibility of France and Islam, furthering the schism between French society and the integration of Islam. The nature of the memory of Charlie Hebdoand its effect on the perception of Islam before January 2015 and after necessitates the question, “How does Charlie Hebdo reveal contradictory ideas of …

Liberté, Égalité, Manifester: Explaining The Yellow Vest Movement In France, Brady L. Cole

Honors Theses

Les Gilets Jaunes, or the yellow vests, is a movement of protestors that have had a large presence in France since 2018. Beginning as an online petition against French President Emmanuel Macron’s fuel tax hike, the movement has quickly amassed several hundred thousand protestors in Paris and other cities across the country. It is the objective of this thesis to examine potential reasons why 300,000 people have felt the need to protest throughout France, apart from the now rescinded fuel tax.

To this end, a sample of data from the Varieties of Democracy database was selected. These variables covered various …

Honoré De Balzac’S Portrayal Of The Feminine Condition In The Wild Ass’S Skin, Père Goriot, And The Lily Of The Valley, Brooke V. Musmeci

Honors Theses

In 19th century France, women appeared to be second class citizens. They were often limited in their abilities to have independence and secure their own wealth. This perception of women perhaps justifies why, as Honoré de Balzac’s novels illustrated the realities of French society, he attempted to characterize women’s struggles to obtain control and power in their lives. In his novels The Wild Ass’s Skin (1831), The Lily of the Valley (1835), and Le Père Goriot (1835), Balzac sought to prove how women could improve their lot.

Firstly, in studying how women had been relegated to second-class citizens under their …

French Exceptionalism: The Impact Of Laïcité, Rachel Culp

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the impact of citizens’ attitudes toward religious freedom on their attitudes toward four socio-political issues: abortion, same-sex marriage, importance of Christianity to nationality and whether Islam is viewed as incompatible with nationality in a Western European context. I focused specifically on France, Germany and the UK as these countries represent three distinct approaches to the separation of religion and government. I aim to isolate and investigate the impact of the concept of laïcité, the French interpretation of secularism, and see if laïcité and attitudes toward laïcité impact citizens’ attitudes differently toward socio-political issues. My research found that …

Une Étude Comparative De La Restauration Scolaire Des Primaires Au Lycée En France Et Aux États Unis Au Xxie Siècle, Brianna Cummings

Honors Theses

In recent years, there has been much debate surrounding national school lunch programs around the world. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the first school lunch programs were introduced on a school to school basis in both France and the United States. However national school lunch programs were not established until the middle of the following century. Since their establishment, national laws towards the school lunch program have greatly changed, sparked by major concern from citizens. By examining lunch programs in France and the United States, clear differences, as well as points of similarity, have been highlighted. These …

Le Féminisme Et La Femme Musulmane En France, Anna Elizabeth Gagion

Honors Theses

My French thesis investigates how some definitions of French feminism and particular French feminist movements find themselves oppressing Muslim women. France is a country that has vigorously regulated the separation of Church and State since 1902 legislation that declared “la laïcité” (secularism) obligatory for all public education. In my research I have found that the general belief in France that religion should never have any bearing on political decisions has been beneficial to most French citizens, but it also appears to oppress a number of Muslim women, as witnessed by the on-going debate surrounding the headscarf ban in French public …

L'Éducation Comme Activisme: Comment Des Associations Françaises Lgbt Actuelles Utilisent Des Interventions En Milieu Scolaire Pour Sensibiliser Des Élèves Aux Identités Lgbt, William Garner

Honors Theses

Plusieurs communautés à travers le monde deviennent plus tolérantes des personnes LGBT, comme en témoignent les nations qui légalisent le mariage entre des personnes de même sexe et qui passent des lois qui protègent contre la discrimination basée sur l'orientation sexuelle ou l'identité du genre. Mais les attitudes ne changent pas toujours aussi rapidement que les lois. Cette étude concerne la France, un pays qui a passé la législation soutenant la communauté LGBT mais qui nourrit encore beaucoup d'homophobie, de biphobie et de transphobie. Je m'intéresse aux programmes éducatifs aux niveaux de collège et de lycée organisés par des associations …

La Violence Sexuelle Faite Aux Femmes Musulmanes Dans Les Banlieues : Le RôLe Des IdéOlogies Fondamentalistes D’Islam, De La Stigmatisation De L’Homme Musulman Et Du FéMinisme Blanc, Elsa Farooq

Honors Theses

In a post-Harvey Weinstein world, sexual assault and sexual harassment have become a daily conversation around the world; however, frequently missing in this conversation are the voices of minority women. In France, sexual violence against Muslim women in the low-income housing areas called banlieues has been an issue for some time, with factors such as fundamentalist Islam, the stigmatization of Muslim men, and what some have called “white feminism” contributing to the problem as well as to the difficulty of talking about it. Underlying these forces is France’s colonial past, which has shaped how and why sexual violence has become …

Un Crime Contre L'Humanité : Une Analyse De Quelques Journaux Algériens Et Français, La Mémoire Collective Et Les Relations Franco-Algériennes, Olivia Gustafson

Honors Theses

Cette thèse fait une étude de l’histoire des relations franco-algériennes et et de la façon dont cette histoire influence les relations présentement. Avec l’élection d’Emmanuel Macron en 2017, quelques journaux ont dit que cette présidence commencera une nouvelle ère pour les relations franco-algériennes. Ainsi, cette étude pose-t-elle la question de comment les médias français et algériens représentent ces relations et cette histoire, et comment les tragédies qui se sont passées pendant la colonisation vont être réparées par l’État français. Brièvement, j’affirme que ces articles représentent une tension entre Macron, qui veut réparer les blessures du passé en passant à l’avenir, …

French Colonialism In Algeria: War, Legacy, And Memory, Haley Brown

Honors Theses

Over the course of my research for my honors thesis project, I sought to better understand the history of French colonialism in Algeria in addition to how it is remembered today. I theorized that the legacy of this history impacts issues of immigration exclusion, islamophobia, racism, and social discrimination faced by Algerians in modern day France. These issues have become important topics of discussion and investigation in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks carried out by descendants of North African immigrants in the heart of hexagonal France. Through the study of primary and secondary sources, as well as a …

La Vie En Périphérie : Une Comparaison Critique De La Représentation Des Populations Marginalisées Et Le Racisme Systématique Aux Etats-Unis Et À La Banlieue Du Paris, Milan Essex

Honors Theses

Les populations marginalisées sont toujours examinées à la loupe : les médias, les nouvelles, les films et la littérature. D’une part, elles sont utilisées en tant d’artistes, d’innovateurs, de modèles. D’autre part, elles sont stigmatisées comme des criminels, des paresseux, des instigateurs. La violence est toujours attachée à la figure où la peau est enrichie avec de la mélanine, et les droits humains sont menacés pour les personnes avec la peau de plus en plus brune, et les yeux de plus en plus «exotiques». Les épreuves de la peau noire se fixent dans la manière dont elles ne sont pas …

Une Analyse Des Réponses À La Montée De L’Islam Radical En France, Austin Bannister

Honors Theses

My study begins with a close look at the Parisian “banlieue” and popular imagery associated with it. When the large wave of immigrants came to France in the 1950’s, they were very poor and settled in the outskirts of Paris. Today, even some sixty years later, this “banlieue” is roughly synonymous with “slums” or “shantytowns” and is associated with criminal activity, very poor inhabitants, and violence. A distinction between beautiful Paris and the rundown banlieue is defined not only by the appearance of their respective buildings, but by the lives of their inhabitants as well. There is a clear social …

Unveiling Laïcité: Secularism Algerian Muslims And The Headscarf Affair In Modern France, Coleen Nugent

Honors Theses

The historical relationship between the French state and its form of secularism, laïcité, and the French Muslim population is fraught with conflict, misunderstanding, and ambivalence. Laïcité, is a form of secularism unique to France, thus why it refuses to be translated from its native French. France also has a unique colonial relationship with Algeria, which was considered an integral part of France during France's colonial empire. Both the history of laïcité and the history of this colonial relationship help to explain the modern relationship between laïcité and the French Muslim population. In order to analyze this conflict, the "Head Scarf …

Les Refugies De La Mer: L'Histoire La Sociologie Le Cinema Et La Litterature Des Immigres Vietnamiens Apres La Guerre Du Vietnam(1978-1995), Kathryn Dowling

Honors Theses

In the years following the Vietnamese War, more than one million refugees left Vietnam. Many of these immigrants arrived in France, diversifying an already well-established Vietnamese community. These immigrants have a unique history, social identity, and cultural contributions. Yet, Vietnamese immigrants in France are an understudied group. The current research examined the history, sociology, and cultural contributions of Vietnamese immigrants in France.

La Nature Des Relations Françaises : Du Sexe À L’Amour Au Mariage, Rachel Frisch

Honors Theses

The French definition of the word relation is simple. According to the dictionary of the French language, a relationship is simply the "relationship between people". But anyone who has had a relationship knows that this definition oversimplifies things. In fact, there are many types of relationships that can go beyond this simplistic definition. These types of relationships include sexual relationships, and marital relationships, among many others. So, each type of relationship has its own definition. But, what are these types of relationships mean for France, a country that represents certain visions of "romance" to the rest of the world? France …

Une Génération S’Expriment: Le Mouvement Social Du Rap Et La Culture Hip-Hop Pendant Les Années 1990s En France, Robert Hazzard

Honors Theses

A study of the emergence of rap and hip-hop culture during the 1990s in France.

War Across Language: A Comparative Content Analysis Of Variations Affecting The American And The French Reporting Of Civil War In The Central African Republic, Craig A. Smith

Honors Theses

It is easy to forget that people all across the world read about the same events that you do, albeit published by different media outfits. What they read, though, can differ drastically. This study analyzed the New York Times and Le Monde for their content in reporting. Articles were examined from each paper to better understand what the focus, themes, and views were on the conflict in the Central African Republic, as expressed by each respective media outlet. Literature was collected to establish a basic knowledge of French colonialism and the Central African Republic. All of the selected articles for …

Moving The Plague: The Movement Of People And The Spread Of Bubonic Plague In Fourteenth Century Through Eighteenth Century Europe, Gillian R. Fowler

Honors Theses

Research regarding the Yersinia Pestis (bubonic plague) in later medieval and early modern Europe has focused mainly on rat fleas and their role in transmitting the bacteria. This research focuses on people and their day to day movements and how that relates to the spread of bubonic plague across the following three areas of Europe, England, France and northern Italy during the time period between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. The changing belief system regarding the cause of these outbreaks emerges within these medieval Europeans which helps to facilitate the growing response to plague outbreaks and the affirmative actions taken …

Apre La Guerre: Les Immigres Algeriens En France, Alexander Porter

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the treatment of Algerian immigrants in France after the Algerian war through various lenses. First, it examines how the bitter Algerian war against the French colonizing power influenced French citizens and politicians at home against Algerian immigrants. It then moves on to discuss the demographics of Algerian immigrants living in France, and the shift it underwent in the years following the war. It then discusses the poor treatment Algerian immigrants underwent politically, economically, and culturally while living in France. Finally, this thesis examines the current state of Algerian immigrants in France.

La Dernière Reine: L’Histoire D’Anne De Bretagne, Andrew N. T. Churchill

Honors Theses

The king, Charles VIII, is dead. The year is 1498. In Brittany, people are delighted that their sovereign Anne will return. Long live the duchess! In France, there is a new king, Louis XII. Long live the king ! In the eyes of the Britons, Anne was enthralled in France after the defeat and death of her father, Francis II of Brittany, in the hands of the French armies at Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. The Treaty of the Orchard, signed after the battle, gave the King of France, Charles VIII, the right to decide the fate of Anne of Brittany. After some attempts …

Féminisme Français : Fait, Fiction, Jennifer Granina

Honors Theses

What gives power to an idea? What makes it real in the hearts and minds of people who believe in it? What creates the desire to struggle for this idea, an ethereal and elusive conception? These are the questions that must be considered by philosophers, by those who believe enough in an idea to make it a reality. It was the mission of feminists in France since the beginning of the 19th century. For them, feminism was not a movement that had a beginning and an end, it was a force, present in the world since the creation of the …

Le Moi Double: Les Inconscients (Post)Coloniaux Chez Césaire Et Breton, Emma A. Krosschell

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the poetic works of two French-speaking surrealist poets of the twentieth century, Aimé Césaire and André Breton. Despite their common point of surrealism, Césaire and Breton's poems differ because of their identities in a society afflicted by Western colonization. Using the literary theories of postcolonialism as a perspective for the analysis of Breton and Césaire's poems, I show that both men have a double consciousness based on the complicated influence of a colonizing society. Literary criticism of postcolonialism examines individual identities in colonial societies in relation to their symbolic position as "colonist" or "colonized." Césaire, a Martinican …

Secularization In Orleans, France: A Case Study Utilizing Mark Chaves' 'New Differentiation Theory', Stephanie J. Beck

Honors Theses

Steeped in a heavily religious history, Europe and specifically France provide an intriguing backdrop for a closer look into secularization in present-day Orleans, France. Many various approaches to secularization theory have arisen over the past sixty years. This paper explores the evolution of secularization theory, delving into Mark Chaves' "New Differentiation Theory", based upon religious authority's influence on t he individual, societal, and institutional levels. Though created by an American academician, the "New Differentiation Theory'' provides a new basis of analysis with which one may draw conclusions regarding the state of secularization in a European city (in this case Orleans, …