Paris: African Civilizations

Why study Africa in Paris? France shares a long and deep history of engagement with the African continent; relations with Africa have played a formative role in the making of modern France. Unlike the United States, whose most robust and sustained contact with Africa prior to the twentieth century took place through the slave trade, France’s contact with the continent took many different forms: Exploration and trade (including the slave trade), conquest (Napoleon in Egypt; Algeria in the 1830s), missionary movements, and, in the late nineteenth century, the colonial conquest and occupation of vast swaths of sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Madagascar. Although colonial policy was never monolithic, generally speaking France promoted an « assimilationist » notion of empire: This doctrine suggested that if one learned the French language and acquired French culture, one could become recognized as French, although this policy was contradicted in practice. Among the many colonial powers, France is known for its close, entangled relationship with its former colonies. In the past thirty years, the relationship has transformed as many Africans have migrated to, and settled in, France.

Studying African Civilization in Paris offers the opportunity to learn more about Africa and France and their interactions with one another. We will explore the histories, definitions, and connotations of “Frenchness,” as well as consider how the African continent and Africans have helped to create those meanings. However, this course will not simply treat Africa as a window onto France. We will also investigate how African peoples directed, shaped and contributed to the worlds in which they lived, and how they actively made and maintained relations with other peoples, such as the French. Those processes and interchanges, as we will learn, often produced unintended consequences, with which both the inhabitants of France and the many Africans who seek to migrate there today continuously grapple.

It is our goal that students emerge from the class with a better understanding of both Africa’s and France’s histories and cultures and the dynamic ways that these peoples and places have informed one another. Finally, we intend that students will have an opportunity to learn about Paris in a way that moves beyond its standard hallmarks—the museums and sites that are the mainstay of typical tourist guides—to explore the ways in which France’s African ties and African heritage also make the city.

Headquarters for the College’s study abroad programs in Paris is the University of Chicago Center in Paris, the University’s research and teaching arm in Europe. Situated in the thirteenth arrondissement, the Center in Paris is part of an ambitious intellectual project along the river Seine, including the Bibliothèque Nationale and a new home for Université de Paris (formerly Université Denis Diderot - Paris VII). The Center in Paris features classrooms, offices for faculty and graduate students, computer facilities, a small library, and an apartment for the faculty director. For participants in Chicago’s programs, the Center in Paris provides a focus for academic activities, a central meeting place, and a continuing Chicago “presence” within one of the major capitals of Europe.

Students in the African Civilizations in Paris program are housed in a residence hall within the Cité Internationale Universitaire (Cité). The Cité, a park-like residential complex in the fourteenth arrondissement, is the international student campus in Paris, though French students also live there. Students reside in single rooms with a private bath and have access to Cité facilities, including a library, theater, laundry, and athletic facilities. Students will have access to common kitchens in the residence halls and can purchase inexpensive meals at the Cité’s restaurant universitaire.

It is important to recognize the cultural context of student housing in France and understand that the amenities of dormitory facilities may vary. Although some of these differences may take some getting used to, remember that cultural differences extend to all aspects of your experience abroad. Having realistic expectations for your term in Paris will help you approach the study abroad experience with a positive attitude.

Participants in the African Civilizations in Paris program remain registered as full-time students in the College. They take and receive credit for four courses: the three courses in the civilization sequence and the French language class. The civilization sequence meets the College’s civilization requirement. Students who have already met this requirement may use these courses as electives. Their use, partial or total, in a program of study (major) must be approved by the undergraduate chair of the respective department. The language course will normally count as an elective. Course titles, units of credit, and grades are placed on the College transcript.

Study abroad students pay regular College tuition, a program fee, and a nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee. The tuition and program fee are paid in conformity with the home campus payment schedule, and the nonrefundable study abroad administrative fee is submitted when accepting a place in a program. Precise figures for the African Civilizations in Paris program during the 2023–2024 year are listed below:

Autumn tuition: as set by the Bursar’s Office

Study abroad administrative fee: $675

Paris African Civ program fee: $5,460

Previous program participants report spending in the range of $200 to $250 per week on meals and incidentals while on the program, though frugal students may spend less, and others could spend much more. Bear in mind that the cost of living in Paris is relatively high and that, while it is possible to live frugally, it is also possible to run short of money if you are unwary. It is therefore essential that you budget your funds prudently, apportioning your resources so that they last for the duration of the program. If you are planning to travel before or after the program or on weekends, you should budget accordingly.

Study abroad students retain their financial aid eligibility. For more information about financial aid resources, please see our Tuition, Fees, and Funding section.

The African Civilizations in Paris program is open to University of Chicago undergraduate students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.

The program is designed for undergraduates in good academic and disciplinary standing who are beyond their first year in the College. While the program stipulates no minimum grade-point average, an applicant’s transcript should demonstrate that they are a serious student who will make the most of this opportunity. Because the civilization sequence is taught in English, there is no language prerequisite, although students are encouraged to take French on campus before the program begins.

Because of the considerable demand for the Chicago civilization programs abroad, no student may participate in more than one of these programs. Each application is examined on the basis of the student’s scholastic record and personal statement. If you are interested in applying for this program please fill out the online application.

To discuss the Paris: African Civilizations program and the possibility of participating, please contact Kylie Poulin.