In this assignment, you will review and respond to French-American related interest stories which have been posted on the course Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/FYSFreedomFries or any other articles that you have found through your research. Post your review on the Issues of Interest blog, which can be accessed from the course webpage.
In addition to providing the link to the article and its title, include a brief summary of the story as well as a few sentences describing its relevancy to issues discussed in class. Please look closely at posts which have already been contributed to the Issues of Interest blog; you may not post a response to an article already used by a classmate. Each response should be different and unique! As always, adhere to the standards for formal, academic writing at the college level.
In addition to providing the link to the article and its title, include a brief summary of the story as well as a few sentences describing its relevancy to issues discussed in class. Please look closely at posts which have already been contributed to the Issues of Interest blog; you may not post a response to an article already used by a classmate. Each response should be different and unique! As always, adhere to the standards for formal, academic writing at the college level.
Your grade will be determined by the following criteria:
1) Title of article and link provided (1 pt)
2) Relevancy to course material/discussion (5 pts)
2) Relevancy to course material/discussion (5 pts)
4) Critical reflection on the source (4 pts)
There will be 5 posts required over the course of the semester, so be on the lookout for additional articles!
Erik Hark
ReplyDeleteIssues of interest blog #4
November 11, 2014
For this issue of interest blog I read and article that was called “ What to expect at a French wedding”. This article can be found at http://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/expect-typical-french-wedding.
This article caught my attention right away because we have talked about French weddings in class before so I already have a little bit of schema on the topic. One thing I already knew about the topic was that weddings in France are not as big of deal as they are in America.
As I read through the article there were many things that I saw were different right away. In this article it said that their invitations to the wedding are sent out a few months before the wedding. In America we generally have our invitation sent out way earlier like a year almost in advanced. Also another thing to do with the invitations is that the article said you do not have to RSVP, which around here most invitations ask that you RSVP so the family knows how much food they need.
In France there are no brides maids of best man at the wedding, but they do have flower boys and girls. They generally wear the same kind of clothing as we do at our weddings. One thing that is also similar to what we do here in America is how we both have a seated meal with assigned seats after the wedding ceremony. Like any other wedding to there is the first dance and many other kind of dancing in both cultures for the wedding. We talked about the French weddings in class but it was really interesting to read another article on why French weddings are the way they are and it was cool to be able to point out the similarities and differences between the two. I think tis source is really reliable because they were at the wedding first hand and it all seemed so accurate.
Jack Pendexter
ReplyDeleteIssues of Interest Blog #4
November 11, 2014
Article Title- “French Language is on the Up, Report Reveals”
Link- http://www.thelocal.fr/20141106/french-speakers-world-language-english
I chose an article called “French Language is on the UP, Report Reveals” which I found off of the class facebook page. The article was about a report recently published by the International Organization of La Francophonie that showed a 25% increase in the number of French speakers since 2010, and predicted it will increase almost threefold by 2060. The number increased from 220 million in 2010 to 274 million in 2014, and it predicted to rise to 767 million by 2060. This increase is partly due to the French language booming in sub-Saharan African nations. The report also included statistics, such as French being the official language of 32 countries and that French is the fifth most widely spoken language in the world. All of these statistics show that French is not a dying language; In fact, it is growing at a steady rate. This article did not have much relevance to our recent class discussions on politics and religion, but it was relevant to our previous class discussions on the French language and France’s role internationally. The widespread use of French in international business, which I believe was the second most used in the world according to the article, shows how France still plays a prominent economic and cultural role on the global stage. Contrary to what our textbook said, French is actually growing as a language at a fairly steady rate. One aspect of the article that is loosely relatable to our recent readings and discussions on politics is the mentioning that French language is growing partly due to a demographic boom in sub-Saharan African countries. Many of these countries where the French language is booming are former colonies of the French Empire, which we discussed in class, and the history between France and its colonies still plays a big role in immigration, language, and foreign relations. I found this source non-biased, and completely reliable for the statistical information they discussed. It was completely factual, and I was very interested by some of the findings that the International Organization of La Francophonie came up with. One thing that took me aback was the prediction that 767 million people will speak French by 2060 because that number seemed like a stretch, but based on the recent increases it makes sense statistically. Overall the source seemed accurate and completely fact driven, with no signs of bias.
http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2014/10/11/les-sacs-plastiques-a-usage-unique-interdits-en-france-a-partir-de-2016_4504521_3244.html
ReplyDeleteFor this Issues of Interest, I read an article titled "L'Assemblée vote l'interdiction de la vaisselle jetable et des sacs plastiques," or, in English, "The Assembly votes on the ban of disposable dishes and plastic bags." This article discussed the French Assembley's vote on October 10, 2014 to ban disposables by 2020, such as plastic cups, plates, and bags. This was a very interesting article, and I felt that it related very well to our recent class discussion about politics, and gave a more specific look into how the people react when such a strict ban is passed. The newspaper it came from, Le Monde, is a respected national French newspaper and although it isn't widely available in English, some articles are available in English, though few and far between. Overall, the article presented fairly new, and very important, information that would be wonderful to have available in English for non-French speakers, but provided a strong connection to our class discussions and Au Contraire nevertheless.
Jim Scales
ReplyDeleteIssues of Interest #4
http://www.myfrenchlife.org/2014/10/23/french-work-ethic/
The article I read was entitled “Nailing the work-life balance: is the French work ethic the best in the world?” which was posted on the Facebook page. This article discusses the French work ethic and argues that France has the best work ethic in the world. She discusses the efficiency of the French work by quoting a statistic that the French make $25 per hour per head, whereas the Americans are producing $24.60 per hour per head. She also discusses the French fighting for their right to vacation. One example used to show this Fight for vacation was the protests in 1936 to protect the 31 days of vacation for the French. Another example was a more recent movement by many French companies making it illegal for workers to look at work materials on their computers or phones outside of work.
My response to this is that I disagree with the author. The French, by law, take twice as many vacation days as the average American and that speaks to a work ethic. The statistic with $25 an hour per head compared to $24.60 does not mean a better work ethic either. What this does prove is that the French are more efficient workers on average than the Americans on average. The author should’ve centered their argument on the French being more efficient, not having a better work ethic. I do not disagree with the idea that more breaks makes a more efficient work place but taking breaks lends to less of a work ethic. It was a very interesting argument that was presented but I would have to disagree with the thesis and suggest that it be slightly changed to reflect the great efficiency of the French at work, not the subpar work ethic.
This article ties into our discussions of both the French at work and the French at home. Whether it is from our reading, class discussions, or Dr.Leal's personal input we have discussed at great depths these two topics. It was very helpful to have this knowledge when looking at the article.
Alyssa Crile
ReplyDeleteIssues of Interest #4
http://www.myfrenchlife.org/2014/10/23/french-work-ethic/
The article I read is titled "Nailing the work-life balance: is the French work ethic the best in the world?" This article is about the French work ethic and how some find it lazy, but the French do not. They have gone on strike for their vacation time and feel as if it is their right. Unlike in France, in America the work-life balance usually goes more towards work. In France, they believe that they get more work done by not pushing themselves. Working long hours simply makes your work take longer to take up your time. This is relevant to what we have discussed in class because we discussed matters like this when we did our chapter on work in France. We discussed how to some the French may seem lazy when really they just go about working differently than we do in America. Work isn't as high of a priority as it is here. This article is somewhat credible because it was written by a student at a University in France. What makes it seem less credible is the fact that it has a comments section, which makes anything less credible. Overall this article was interesting and had good facts about the work ethic in France.
The article I read was titled “10 Phrases That Only The French Understand.” The link to the article is: http://uk.businessinsider.com/10-idioms-only-the-french-understand-2014-10 The article listed 10 different phrases that, when translated directly to english, made absolutely no sense. I found this article very interesting because I have a bit of knowledge of the french language, and had discussed these types of phrases before but only knew 1 of the 10. I loved this because I know there are phrases in english that are the same way. My favorite phrase was the first one,“Est-ce que je te demande si ta grand-mère fait du vélo?” I am going to start using this! This relates to class because we have recognized that every culture has their differences. It shows that language is an art. It also shows that everything is not what it seems. This article came from Bussiness Insider UK and from what I can tell it is reliable.
ReplyDeleteThe article i read about was about " 10 phrases that only the French understand." http://uk.businessinsider.com/10-idioms-only-the-french-understand-2014-10. This article was about some of the phrases that the french use every day like " Mind your own business" to some people this is rather funny besides the person who is receiving the insult. Another thing i found interesting was that apparently if you don't tie your dog on "sausage line" you're cheap? From what i can tell this article is reliable and some of the phrases they have is very interesting. Another thing was how the French have a lot of phrases that insult each other. On this website it list all the insults people use on each other.
ReplyDeleteIssue of Interest
ReplyDeletehttp://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/expect-typical-french-wedding
This article discussed about how a wedding is done in France and how the process is done for the bride and groom. To start, they just send out invitations that don’t even needed to be answered back. You are just expected to show up and if you don’t you better have a good reason why you didn’t show up to your best friend’s wedding. So in this sense the RSVP no longer applies to the wedding. Another thing to mention is you always have to look nice and follow a specific dress code. As discussed in class, marriage is slowly declining in France and civil unions are increasing and are becoming even more common because divorce is even trickier and takes way longer in France than in the U.S. Another difference is that marriage here is recognize in both church and state form. In France, marriage is only showed in form of the state and no other form is accepted. Although both have after parties, there are more event associated with the French wedding. Sometimes the parties last long into the night and into the morning hours.
Issues of Interest #4
ReplyDeleteTitle- Key French jihadist believed dead in Syria airstrike
Link- http://www.france24.com/en/20141107-french-jihadist-syria-airstrike-david-drugeon-khorasan/
This article which was posted the 8th of November was about a man by the name of David Drugeon who is a bomb maker has been believed to be killed by a US air raid. The US stated that David was plotting with the Jihadists to seek out attacks on the western countries. This death if it is confirmed true will be a major setback for the Khorasan group. What is more odd about this story other than Davids “death” is that he was born into a middle class French family and grew up as an Ardent football fan. People may read that and think it’s not odd but David became steadily radicalized after his parents became divorced. Which is how I can see this relating to our class discussions. As you can see family plays a huge role in a French persons life. With just his parents getting a divorce him and his brother made a big turn in their lives and joined a group that was up to no good. Joining this group also as you can see may have led to Davids “death”. Which is a good thing and something sad as David was only 24 years old and what people may see as just lost and troubled by his parents’ divorce.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20141106/french-speakers-world-language-english
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was titled “French Language is on the Up, Report Reveals” and discussed the findings of a new report done by the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF). The report states that the number of French speakers around the world has gone up by 25% since 2010 and is even expected to increase threefold by the year 2060. 274 million is the number of French speakers in 2014, making French the sixth most spoken language following Mandarin, English, Spanish, Arabic, and Hindi. A big part of this growth is due to sub-Saharan African nations which accounted for 15% of the overall increase. There is great hope that French speakers in Africa could assist with France’s economic growth that has been being lost to English speakers over the years. There is even talk of French being the most spoken language by 2050, however skeptics think English is much more likely to accomplish this feat. Regardless, this is still exciting news for France and relates to how in class we talked about how prideful the French are, especially of their language. The French language is part of the nation’s identity and as we learned, it is something that the French not only value to grow but also to preserve.
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/french-school-lunches-show-how-to-teach-kids-healthy-eating-habits/story-fneuz8zj-1227046226100
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was titled "French school lunches show how to teach kids healthy eating habits." The article talks about the difference between the eating habits of the children in France. In France there lunch consists of three, small balanced portions of food; they usually start with a salad, then a main and side dish with cheese, then move onto dessert. They believe that “By instilling our children with good habits early on — French kids start school aged three — we can avoid a lifetime of weight issues, and everything that follows in adulthood when there is bad nutrition and excess weight,” Rebeca Plantier tells us. The article goes on to talk about how they change out some not so healthy choices like chocolates are can easly be switched out with a kiwi to start there children eating healthy right away. I think after reading this article that America can learn a thing or two from the French in there Dieting aspects. Not only do they get the proper nutrients they need for everyday like, but this allows them to maintain a healthy weight and live life to the fullest by having there weight under control. This can impact anyone if raised on the proper diet and seems like the French really know what there doing in this aspect of there society.