Maymester Traveling Seminar: The Many Faces of France

Program Dates: May 12 - May 30, 2025

Join IAU for this multidisciplinary Maymester traveling seminar that will explore various regions of France, researching its history as well as contemporary society and France’s position on the world stage. Students will focus on the cultural foundations that make up the complexities of France as we know it today. The program will run in both French and in English and is suitable for students with all levels of French. 

Itinerary & Destination Themes

• Aix-en-Provence/Marseille and the Region of Provence: Ancient France and its Mediterranean Heritage
• Lyon: A confluence of stories and history
• Strasbourg: French and German influences: the European project
• Paris: Intellectual and Artistic Hub

The full itinerary will be available soon! Please note, the schedule is tentative and subject to change. 

Academics

IAU/ ACM’s Maymester Traveling Seminar is designed for students interested in academic and cultural experience throughout various regions of France. Students explore major cities and cultural sites across the country focusing on cultural heritage and the diversity of the backgrounds as a guide to better understanding the complexity of France.

Through lectures, readings, and media studies, students will discover and reflect on portraits of France that don't always seem apparent from afar. They will discover little-known parts of history while visiting the Tata Senegalese cemetery or the Musée de la Résistance in Lyon, the secrets of royal propaganda in the gardens of Versailles or the different marks left by the French revolutions. Students will also uncover certain works of literary and pictorial art secrets by visiting the Palais du facteur cheval , the Musée Ungerer in Strasbourg or the Louvres in Paris.

The reading and analysis of classical and contemporary Texts will supplement their visits (Victor Hugo, Theophile Gautier, Leopold Sédar Senghor or Charlotte Delbo.) and will serve as a springboard for them to write their journal and creative texts. This Maymester program will allow students to learn from and exchange their observations with experts from ACM-IAU as well as will distinguished on-site scholars, artists, and local guides in order to frame their own perception of France’s roots, identities and margins. As part of this program, students take the following course: 

FRE 366:The Many Faces of France Cultural History of France
LIT 366:The Many Faces of France French and francophone literature
HIS 366: The Many Faces of France Cultural History of France
CCS 366: The Many Faces of France French cultural identities

Note that this Maymester is intended for students who have completed at least 3 or 4 semesters of college French.

The syllabus and itinerary for this program can be found here.

Application Deadline

Please view the Application Deadlines page for details.

Program Fees

Please view the Program Fees page for details. 

About the Professor

Dr. Aurore Guitry has served as the Coordinator of IAU-ACM's Center for French Studies since 2022. She is a prolific writer, translator, and Professor of Literature, French and Translation. She joined the faculty at IAU-ACM in 2016. She holds a Master's in Literature (Women and Imagination in Shakespeare’s Plays: King Lear, Richard III and Macbeth), and a PhD in Creative Writing from Aix-Marseille University. She has written six novels, some of which are translated into Italian, German and Russian. Her work and research explores the problem of identity and the relation between text and image. As a ghostwriter, she wrote several biographies for politicians or business figures. She has also translated a dozen American novels, biographies, art books, etc. She is fluent in French and English and speaks Thai.

Program Inclusions

Program includes tuition for three credits, lodging, daily breakfast, some group lunches and/or dinners, intra-program transportation (by plane, train, or bus), entrances/fees for all scheduled cultural activities and academic visits, orientation fee, and health, liability, and repatriation insurance. Additional student costs include round-trip airfare, most lunches/dinners, textbooks, and personal expenses.

Students who enroll in the Maymester Seminar and the spring semester at one of IAU's locations are eligible to receive a $2,000 grant credited to their Maymester invoice. Students who enroll in a Maymester Seminar and a summer program (where program dates align)consecutively are eligible to receive a $1,000 grant credited to their summer invoice.