London Taster Courses

If you are interested in one of our undergraduate programmes, please join us in person in London on Tuesday 4 July for our taster courses. You will have the chance to experience a French Studies course and/or an International Politics course, as well as meet staff and student ambassadors.

Agenda

Date: Tuesday 4 July 2023

French Studies Taster Course

• 13:30 - 14:15 GMT - French Studies taster course
• 14:30 - 15:00 GMT - Introduction to life at ULIP
• 15:00 - 16:00 GMT - Coffee & Tea reception with staff and students

International Politics Taster Course

• 14:30 - 15:00 GMT - Introduction to life at ULIP
• 15:00 - 15:45 GMT - International Politics taster course
• 15:45 - 17:00 GMT - Coffee & Tea reception with staff and students

If you are considering the International Politics with French programme, or the French Studies with International Relations programme, please feel free to register for both taster courses.

French Studies Taster Course (13:30 - 16:00 GMT)

French republicanism and its discontents

In France, the idea of the “nation” and of the “Republic” are deeply intertwined. To be French means to be a republican. The notion of the Republic is commonly and interchangeably associated with a political system and its institutions; a historical moment (the French Revolution of 1789); a set of ideas (Enlightenment philosophy, political liberalism, the Rights of Man, laïcité); symbols (the tricolour flag, Bastille Day, the Marseillaise); and universal values (liberté, égalité, fraternité).

Reminders of France’s republican identity are everywhere: from street names to school classrooms to the façades of public edifices. In addition to these countless visual reminders, public discourse is replete with republican references. French politicians are adept at “republicanizing” party names (Les Républicains, La République en Marche) and speeches through concepts such as “ordre républicain”, “école républicaine”, “police républicaine”.

From the French #MeToo movement to the Justice pour Adama movement, a new generation of activists are challenging dominant framings of French republicanism and developing new understandings of "what it means to be French" in contemporary France. In this taster course, we will discuss the significance of "republicanism" in contemporary French politics.

Click here to register.

International Politics Taster Course (14:30 - 17:00 GMT)

Theorising International Politics: Actors Telling Their Own Story

Academics have often been sceptical about the role of autobiographical writing in the study of international politics, as well as other disciplines. For a long time, the stories of political actors – those who do politics – were recounted and analysed by theorists, historians and academics who did not have direct experience of the events in question.

In recent years, however, feminist philosophers and oral historians have challenged this tendency, and argued that autobiographical methods should play a greater role in the study of politics. This lecture introduces these debates by asking what we can and cannot learn from actors giving an account of themselves in international politics. It aims to give you an insight into some of the methods used for the study of international politics at the University of London Institute in Paris.

Click here to register.