Conversations

Course Description

Summary

Light or intense, fluid or challenging, conversation is inherently social. It transforms participants from passive recipients of information into active producers and transmitters of knowledge, as well as of socio-cultural practices. Across contexts, conversations do more than communicate ideas - they shape relationships, identities, and ways of being in the world. In his Essays, Michel de Montaigne described conversation as the “most fruitful and natural exercise for our minds.” From early modern salons to contemporary social debates, conversation continues to reflect and shape collective life. This natural penchant for causeries not only permeates French-speaking societies, but also extends into other forms of representation. Magritte’s Art of Conversation, where stone letter blocks spell out a capital  “RÊVE,” suggest a political utopia conversation embodies. In this course, students will study and practice the French art of conversation while approaching it as a dynamic cultural form. Classes will be devoted to examining conversation as an object of cultural and philological inquiry, alongside dedicated time for exchange with French students around pre-selected topics. Through both analysis and practice, students will engage conversation as a lived, evolving process. Intermediate-high. Conducted in French.