Dispatch from Paris

Henriette GoldwynNYU Paris remains committed to sustaining the vision that has defined the program since its inception, namely, the in-depth teaching of French language and culture as a means to help students foster new perspectives on the world around them. This is reflected both in the breadth of courses offered in the undergraduate program, that range from language and literature to courses on French history, contemporary society, international relations, French and European cinema, and more, and the center’s several graduate programs.
Graduate study at NYU Paris includes Masters in French Literature, in French Language & Civilization, and a two-year program in Teaching French as a Foreign Language in conjunction with the Steinhardt School (the only program of its kind). Just launched this year with the NY-based Program in Museum Studies, a new cooperative agreement allows students to earn an M.A. in French Language & Civilization in Paris and an Advanced Certificate in Museum Studies in New York.
Our first “soirée littéraire” was launched in November in the NYU Paris library. Well attended by students and colleagues alike, the evening featured Eugène Nicole, visiting professor from the French Department and author of L’Oeuvre des mers. Professor Nicole gave a transcendent talk about the tiny French island Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Canada, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where he was born; there was a big signing and reception with lively discussion at the end.
Mansouria Mokhefi, NYU Paris Instructor and Middle East Program Director at Institut Français des Relations Internationales launched a series of brown bag lunch seminars on current events, addressing first the crisis in Syria and then the Arab Spring viewed from France. These informal and politically-themed lunchtime seminars led by a specialist are conceived and tailored for undergraduate students, to pique their curiosity about the rest of the world, to look beyond what is presented in the news, and especially to ask questions. Future events will tackle the thorny question of the Roma situation in France and the upcoming municipal elections and their significance in an increasingly heated political scene.
NYU Paris will be moving to a new academic center in the Latin Quarter in Summer 2014. With its long-standing relationships with the best Parisian universities and specialized schools, NYU Paris has long been on the cutting edge of Parisian intellectual life, a quality that will be enhanced through our move to this new space. Located in the thriving historic and intellectual heart of Paris, the new academic center will allow students the opportunity to benefit from the boundless cultural, artistic, and academic institutions of this wonderful neighborhood, including the Sorbonne, the Collège de France, the Collège des Bernardins, and the Cluny Museum, to name just a few.

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