Paris Stories

A team of Hope College faculty members, from several departments, taught a series of linked courses on identity, the rise of nationalism, and the complicated relations between cultural insiders and outsiders by focusing on the multifarious city of Paris: heart of the French Revolution; birthplace of universalism; capital of a global imperial power; Catholic by tradition, secular by law, and largely Muslim in practice. They drew from texts, images, and stories of history, literature, art, psychology and communication studies to understand more fully the uses and meaning of citizenship. Confronting the complexity of French national identity, they hoped to gain insight into what they wrestled with in the American context. Perennial questions persist: who is American; who belongs and why; what do we believe in; how do we make meaning; and how do we make change? In asking these questions, they hoped their students developed a richer appreciation of themselves, their faith commitments, their role as citizens of a nation, and their obligations in a global community.

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