First French Club Activity of the Year!

The first activity of the year is here!  I am pleased to announce la Foire Francophone 2012!  There will be displays on different French countries and territories!  Food!  Fun!  and French!


Here are the details:
When: Thursday, February 2nd @ 7 PM
Where: WSC 3222


On a side note...


The French Department's own Jesse Hurlbut is/was over in Angoulême to attend the 39th Festival of Comic Books (how do I get that job?).  While he was there he did some reporting on the event for us stuck over here in America.  Check out the video below to see what he did!

Anatomy of a Scandal: A Murder in 1930s Paris

Sarah Maza, a historian from the University of Chicago, will be visiting campus this week.  She is the author of the book The Myth of the French Bourgeoisie as well as a few other books.  She will be giving a lecture to students this Thursday, February 2 at 11 AM in B192 JFSB.  The title of her lecture is "Anatomy of a Scandal: A Murder in 1930s Paris" (how cool of a title is that?!).  So if you'd like to learn how to create a scandal, I think this is your lecture to attend.


From reading her bio from Northwestern University, all I can say is that she is an impressive person and writer.  Her book The Myth of the French Bourgeoisie won a George Mosse Prize of the American Historical Association back in 2003.  She was the president of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and currently serves on the council of the American Historical Association.


If you would like to read her whole profile check it out here.  If you would like to read a little of her books check out the Amazon.com link here.

Tell everyone you know about this, and come yourself!

BYU French Club

It's easy to be social here at BYU.  There is always something going on, somewhere, with some group of people.  But how often is there something to do, that is totally awesome, that's in French?  Let me introduce you to the French Club.

The French Club is a group here at BYU run by French students.  Each semester there are a number of activities arranged by the club that anyone can participate in.  In the past they've had things like a French Halloween party complete with a presentation on torture.  Another time they held a French comic book night and watch the trailer to the new Tintin movie.  A huge crowd favorite is French Idol, where French students and professor get on stage and show the world what they got.  It is a really fun group to be a part of.

So how do you become a member of the French Club?  All you need to do is go up to the French Department office in the JFSB (3134) and tell the secretary that you would like to join the club.  It costs $5 for a semester long membership (available now and in the fall) and $10 for a year long membership (available fall only).  With your membership you can purchase a club t-shirt for $2 ($5 without a membership).  With your membership you can enter all the French Club activities for FREE!  It will for sure pay itself off quickly if you do go to the activities.

I've been in contact with the adviser of the club, and I've been told that the French Club is going to be starting their activities in February.  I don't know what it is yet, but I'll have a post up about it soon.

For more info you can check out the club's Facebook page here.  Also be sure to stay in contact with this blog.  We'll be posting about all French activities this semester.

I hope to see many of you at this years club activities!

BYU Career Fair & Resume Help

The BYU Career Fair is tomorrow. Get your resume in shape with a free critique session from the Humanities Advisement Center. All day today in 1175 JFSB! Tell your friends!


Visit the Career Fair website @ careerfair.byu.edu

Phoenix: Frenchies Crooning in English

I'm still learning about how many good French music artists there are in the world.  In all honesty I've been surprised many-a-time to find out that a band I like (who sings in English) is actually French.  The latest one to pop up in my life is Phoenix, and only reason I found out that they were French was because of their Pandora profile.


Here's one of the music videos that they made...I'm not sure if I should say that it's a typical European film, but it is kind of trippy.  (You've been warned)




So for a little bit more on the band.  They started off in a garage in the suburbs of Paris.  Members of the group were changed out quite often in the beginning (an incoming member was actually an old band mate with the guys who started Daft Punk!).  In 1997 they released their first self-produced album.  While they only made 500 copies, they were soon signed on with the record label Source Records.  Between the years 2000 & 2006 they produced four albums, though it wasn't until the release of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix that they became a worldwide sensation.  Their music was used in multiple American TV shows, movie trailers, and even the Green Bay Packers season montage.


Here's their music in the trailer for Valentine's Day:




Does anyone else have a favorite French band they'd like to share with the masses?  Share below in the comments!


Source: Wikipedia

International Cinema Calendar

As the semester gets underway, we as French students are faced with the daunting task of getting our French cultural activities (CA) done for our respective classes.  Over the course of this semester I'm going to try and do my best to come up with ideas that could possibly be used to fulfill these activities.  Now as a note I am in no way an authoritative voice when it comes to CAs.  In all cases ask your teacher if a certain activity will work.

My first suggestion is the International Cinema (IC).  This is one of the coolest things at BYU in my opinion.  Not only do you get to watch foreign movies in a plethora of languages, but they're also shown for free.  On top of that they're not just old school weird foreign films; there are often newer films, and most of the time they are award winning films (Some great examples are 'Joyeux Noel', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Of Gods and Men').  Each week the IC shows three films from three different languages at a variety of times.  It's not always easy to remember the schedule of films, or even what's showing.  To help you I'm going to compile this semester's French films show-dates into one easy to follow list.  

Here it is:

(All descriptions are taken from the IC schedule)

January 31 - February 4

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot [Mr. Hulot's Holiday] (1953)
"Monsieur Hulot goes on a holiday to a seaside resort, but accidents and misunderstandings follow him where ever he goes. The peace and quiet of the hotel guests doesn’t last very long with Hulot around, because although his intensions are good, things always end catastrophically."

February 21 - February 25
L'Illusionniste [The Illusionist] (2010)

"When an older, but persistent French illusionist travels to Scotland to perform a show, he meets a young girl who changes his outlook and opens his eyes to the magic of life."

March 13 - March 17

Play Time (1967)

"Monsieur Hulot has to contact an American official in Paris, but gets lost in the maze of modern architecture filled with the latest technical gadgets.  Caught in the tourist invasion, Hulot roams around Paris with a group of American tourists, causing chaos in his usual manner."

Silences of the Palace (1994)

As Alia, the daughter of a beautiful servant Khedija, grows up in the Kings Palace at the end of the French colonial rule in Tunisia, she is horrified to discover the sexual favors required of her mother and other servants."

March 20 - March 24

Germania Anno Zero [Germany Year Zero] (1948) 

"Edmund, a young boy who lives in the destructed Germany after World War II, has to work to help his family survive.  One day he meets a man who used to be his teacher, and finds out that war changes people in unsuspecting ways."

March 27 - March 31

Palsa [Palsan] (1946)

"Six vignettes follow the Allied invasion from July 1943 to winter 1944, from Sicily north to Venice, depicting fragile national communication and postwar reconstruction, both physically and psychologically"

So that is the list for the semester.  I hope you found it helpful, and that it will help you stay on top of the IC's busy movie schedule.

On a side note...does anyone have any good/memorable/cool cultural activities that they've done in the past?  Comment below!

Source: BYU International Cinema

International Internships

Have you ever dreamed of working in Paris?  Have you ever thought about working in a US embassy in France?  Have you ever considered teaching English to French students?  If yes, now is the time to do an international internship!


International internships are like a study abroad, but on speed.  With an internship you not only get the college credit, the chance to visit major and historical European cities, but you also get to beef up your resume with real life work experience.  The best part about it too is that the French Department wants to send you to do an internship, and are willing to help you along with the process.


The French Department has already sent students to places like Paris, Lille, Marseilles, and Toulouse.  Students have been able to get jobs teaching English, working in French businesses, and serving in the US embassy in Paris.  The department offers internships in fall and winter semesters, as well as during spring and summer terms.  With so many available times to go, pretty much anyone can work it into their schedules.


The French Department is currently accepting applications for their international internship program.  If you are interested you have until February 1st to get your paperwork in.  The man to talk to is Professor LeBras.  His contact info can be found here.  If you have any sort of questions you can also check out the Kennedy Center's website here.


Act now and never regret!  Wait and you will.