The French empire & colonial exhibition of 1931

The French Empire & colonial exhibition of 1931 from melissacannons

Language for professional communication 1 - Semaine 3 - Entreprise : Orange.

L'entreprise : Orange from melissacannons

French empire & the colonial exhibition of 1931

Composed  & uploaded by Melissa Cannons

Books consulted:

Kedward: La Vie en Bleu
Evans&Godin: France 1815-2003

Nation, language & Identity - Lecture 1 - SEPTEMBER 23rd 2013

What is a nation?

• Language
• Culture
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Values
• Shared history

Above all, a nation has something that is in common / shared with all of its inhabitants.


What is a nation state?

When a nation is ruled by a state - State (neutral / secular) --> institution --> territory.

** Both of these are contested concepts. ^^


Conflicts:

Southern Sudan vs. Nothern Sudan : Sudan - Africa's 54th Nation State.

In 2011, Sudan held a referendum in which they voted for / against independance - 99% were in favour - Sudan split into a north / south divide --> Could not stay together as a result of religious / ethnic conflicts (Islam vs Christianity).

Fights originate from the idea of political importance of each of the things that define a nation --> When one tries to impose any of these on the other (who doesn't share the same lang / values etc) it causes tensions / conflicts.

Questions can be answered differently depending on how you define a nation i.e. Which of the sub-categories mentioned above is the most dominant in your view?

• Ethnic / cultural nationalism vs. civic / political nationalism:

Ethnic / cultural nationalism is exclusive - only allows people of certain race / values belong to the nation.

Civic/ political nationalism is inclusive - allows members of differing races / values.

When splitting a country, the position of a border is not only based on the idea of religious / ethnic conflict (or any other type of conflict) but also on political / economic factors --> It is important that each section of newly independent land has equal resources / revenue.

Civic nationalism is normally concerned with: individual rights & freedom - The state needs to act in the interests of the people.

Questions:

Is the nation invented? - Is it just something that has been imagined and created in order to unite 'the people of 'a nation'?

**The idea that you have to speak the same language within a nation is becoming more and more important --> need to have a mutual language in order to share / communicate common values.

Which of your identities are most important? Your national or civic identity? Idea of US vs. THEM --> We can only have an 'us' if we have something to compare it with.

REMEMBER: The way in which we define nationalism is constantly changing.

University - 1st year - results.

                                    I GOT A 2:1 OVERALL FOR FIRST YEAR. :D

               This is a picture of my cockatiel Charley to show you how happy I am! 
                                                  (because she looks so chuffed) :)

Les Revenants (the returned) had its first airing on channel 4 tonight....

Photo credit: http://www.acrossthedays.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Les-revenants-serie-canal+.jpg

Us Brits tend not to like subtitles, maybe it's because we're too lazy to read or feel that having to divert our attention to the subtitles at the bottom of the screen takes away from the overall viewing experience, whatever the case may be, I think it has been overlooked for this brilliant French thriller. 

(Yes, I'm putting this on my blog because it is French ;) )

This subtitle phobia is even common among my own family, who were unwilling to watch this very programme tonight until I convinced them otherwise. Most of the time, they refuse to watch anything French with me because they say that they don't understand it and don't like subtitles. Luckily les revenants has managed to change their minds. 

Its gritty cinematography and surreal narrative, I feel, is typically French. Even the colour scheme seems similar to that of Amélie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain), with a green hue  being the overwhelming colour throughout.

The fact that a French programme has managed to get onto British television, and has been received really well is brilliant, and I hope that it's something that will continue to emerge in time to come. 

In terms of the narrative, I think that it's really captivating and the mystery behind it is something that the French seem to master. As the first episode, it has introduced us to an extremely complex narrative, with many unanswered questions for us viewers. 

A general synopsis of the first episode:

A group of school children were on their school bus driving along the mountains (on a school trip) when a young female pupil runs to the front of the bus and wants to be let out (presumably sensing the danger ahead), the bus proceeds to go off the edge of the mountain, with the vehicle and all of the passengers falling thousands of feet towards the ground. 

The victims have begun to reappear in their relatives homes (often their family home) and the people around them can see them (despite the fact that presumably, they are ghosts). Their reappearance has left their families in despair with nobody knowing how to deal with the situation. 

The consensus is that the victims do not know that they have died and have returned home to live their lives as they would if they were alive, with no recollection of the accident which killed them all. 

Here is a link to the channel 4 website for more information & links to watch the episode online: 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-returned 

First year of university.

     Picture credit: http://www.port.ac.uk/media/Media,89042,en.jpg

This beautiful building, above, is Park building. Where all but one of my lessons were held this year. I love that the main vicinity where my lessons are taught is the building closest to the train station (as I get the train to and from Portsmouth every day), it could not have been more convenient. 

When I first started uni, or just before I started, I was so worried, as you would be as a newbie, that I wouldn't fit in, wouldn't make friends, and wouldn't do well. All of those things have faded into insignificance. I fit in, I've made friends and I've done well this year. RESULT.

The work load since September, I'm not going to lie, has been a little bit hectic. Mainly because I did every task that was set, even the ones that weren't marked. I suppose, on reflection, I should have tried a little less, as it's first year and all that, it doesn't count towards your final grade, which is a shame really, seeing as I've got a 2:1 in all of my units. 

The unit that I found the most challenging this year was 'making of modern Europe', it was so heavy-duty. So much to remember, so much reading, so little time. I didn't like speaking up in lessons because I didn't feel that my answers would be correct, or even relevant (despite doing all of the suggested weekly reading before the seminar on a given subject.) I literally spent days revising for the MME exam, it was ridiculous. It was like reading pages and pages of history and nothing was going in, or so I thought. When the exam actually came around, I spent a little time, maybe a few minutes planning my response to the essay question and I actually ended up with quite a lot of content. I wouldn't really want to study history again but I'm really pleased with my results to be honest! :)

Quite a few of my friends have said that they found 'introduction to French studies' really difficult, and undeniably, it is. The sheer amount of knowledge that you are expected to have is quite insane but I can honestly say that after studying this unit for the past year, (well, since September), that my knowledge of France has immensely increased and I actually enjoyed the unit. :)

I'm still waiting for my grade to come through for my French language exam. I think I did well, but you know when you think you've actually done quite well at something and then you get your results back and they're really not what you expected. Yeah, I'm thinking that's going to happen now! It's even worse that the exam is worth 50% of the unit. Oh dear! 

The university of Portsmouth really is a nice, friendly place and French studies is a great degree. I'd recommend it. ;)