France and the African Diaspora

HIST3136OC. France and the African Diaspora, 3 points.

Insructor:  Frank Guridy, Dr. Kenneth and Kareitha Forde Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies.  

Taught in English. This course also counts as a Global Core Requirement at Columbia University.

This course explores France’s complex racialized colonial history by encouraging students to examine the ways the country helped constitute a racialized colonial empire and the ways it created the conditions the conditions to challenge it. The course encourages students to contemplate how France has figured into the creation of the African Diaspora and how diasporic movements for freedom have shaped France. The course will build upon the concept of vernacular landscapes to encourage students to examine how these histories are memorialized, or not, in France today. Topics to be explored will include: the impact of slavery on France, including its port cities including Nantes; the intertwined character of the French and Haitian Revolutions; the convergence of anti-colonial movements in Paris during the interwar period and beyond, and the experiences of Black expatriates in the country during the twentieth century. The course’s location at Reid Hall in Paris will give students ample opportunities to students to examine the reciprocal impact between France and decolonization and freedom movements.

To enroll in this course, you must apply to the Columbia Summer in Paris program through the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE).  Global Learning Scholarships available.  Tuition charges apply. 

Please note the program dates are different from the Summer Session Terms. Visit the UGE website for the start and end dates for the Columbia in Summer in Paris program.

Please email uge@columbia.edu with any questions you may have.