Importance and Diversity of France’s Overseas Territories

Single Semester Course

This course will emphasize the study of the very diverse cultures, traditions, and history of France’s overseas departments and regions (Dom-Roms) and their colonial past and analyze the challenges and successes that the Dom-Roms encounter in our current times. The course is taught in English. Students will study interviews, various types of reportages, investigations, and current newspaper articles while examining the status and importance of the Dom-Roms (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, La Réunion, Mayotte, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, French Guiana, La Martinique, La Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthelémy, and New Caledonia with their 2,785,000 citizens) for France’s position in the world as a global power. Thanks to its overseas territories,  France is indeed the only European Union country found on three different oceans and has an exclusive economic zone second only to the United States. This course will focus on reading, analyzing news clips, and class discussions.