La France Noire: Black Cultural Expression in France
DialogueParis, France Bordeaux, France Summer II, 2025
Courses
Places writers in the context of a special theme or specific geographic location; for example, students might discuss a group of writers influenced by their commitment to revolution or radical thinking, or in the context of a geographical national or regional setting (ie. Black France, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Francophone West Africa).
Explores the creation and transformation of the African Diaspora—connections among communities of African descent in either Africa, the Americas, Europe, and/or Asia—from 1500 to the present. Emphasizes connections among themes of migration, identity, and popular culture with a special focus on 20th- and 21st-century contributions.
After the French team won the 2018 world cup, Trevor Noah referred to them as an African team. Because the players were mostly people of color–of African, Caribbean, and Arab origin people questioned how “French” they could be. This DOC looks at the idea of racial identity in France through multiple lenses–we read poetry by 20th century writers of the Négritude movement, African American performers like Josephine Baker and writers like James Baldwin, to popular Afro-French rappers and artists who are seeking to understand what it means to be Black and French. This program is unique in its focus on Blackness in the French context.
