At one time, most Americans had a positive view of France and the French, but beginning in the 1950s we have often looked at France through negative stereotypes. Some deserved, most not. Let’s explore France through a variety of people, places, things, and events—"Casablanca", Left versus Right, the French Foreign Legion, Edith Piaf, the guillotine, Pepé Le Pew, Père Lachaise cemetery, Napoleon, the Dreyfus Affair, the World Wars, the rudeness of Parisian waiters, and more. After three sessions, you may view France, and the French, in a different way.

Moderator: David Dreher's interest in France goes back to his two years of French language study in high school and continued with graduate-level courses in French history in college. While serving overseas with the US Dept of State, he had minimal contact with French diplomats. Take this course to learn why.