What does France fear? Who is afraid of France? With a focus on the 20th and 21st centuries, this course explores themes such as Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, techno-phobia, nationalism and the Front National, post-colonialism, and fears related to environmental catastrophe, “national suicide,” immigration and demographic change, changing gender norms, and France’s place in the European Union and the world. Using films, literature, and theory, we will map the fears of a nation and determine what they help us understand about France, its history, and its future.
