This course is intended to investigate current issues and debates taking place in France today, and to examine the way these issues are presented in the French and international media. The notions of French cultural identity and national citizenship will be looked at, as well as France’s relations with its European neighbors and with the rest of the world. To provide essential references in support of the discussions, the course will bring in background information on various aspects of France; its national iconography, its government and its political, social, demographic environment. At the same time, the course will relate these facts to significant moments of the country’s recent history, such as the post-war period of recovery, the decolonization process, the construction of the Francophone community, the European Union project, students’ and workers’ upheavals and the current debates related to immigration and integration.