Program Details
Location
Montpellier,
France
Term
May Session
Housing
Apartment
Languages Taught In
English
French
Sponsor
College of Liberal Arts
Program Eligibility
Student Type
UofM Students
Non UofM Students
Student Year
Freshmen
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
Graduate Students
GPA
2.5
Language Prerequisite
No Language Prerequisite
About
“Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are.” While this truism comes from French philosopher of gastronomy Brillat-Savarin in his Physiology of Taste, we could argue that it would pertain to any individual and any society. However, France—and the French—have a cultural identity that is especially signified through food, from the cuisine gastronomique to the humble baguette. It’s no surprise that French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss’s The Raw and the Cooked proposes a system for studying cultures expressed in culinary terms. The symbolic equivalence between food and cultural identity has long been perpetuated in political, economic, and scholarly discourses, as well as in literature and film. The bigger-than-life appetites of the hero of Rabelais’s Gargantua link the ingestion and digestion of vast quantities of food to the production and consumption of knowledge in the new age of humanism sweeping through France during the Renaissance. In modern times, a much celebrated scene in Proust’s Swann’s Way made a simple tea cake (madeleine) synonymous with the narrator’s childhood memories and, in the broader spectrum, cultural memories. Dining scenes are often a feature of French films, reflecting the importance of social rituals surrounding the preparing and eating of food, and the communities that form or are affirmed through them.
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to examine the relationship of food to culture in a place where food is a privileged cultural medium—one could say almost a national pastime. In an average French household, the time spent acquiring fresh ingredients, preparing meals, and consuming them far outpaces that spent by American families in the same activities. Food and its manner of consumption can tell us much about gender, family, class, and ethnic differences, as well as the principles of sociability and conviviality attending the French meal. It can also reveal how national and regional identities evolve, as new foods, languages, and cultural practices are assimilated.
Course readings will draw on a variety of disciplinary perspectives on the theme of the place of food, from cultural anthropology to history, to sociology, to cultural studies and gastronomy, as well as to literature and film. Discussion and written assignments are intended to invite students to understand the cultural specificity of the French while reflecting critically on the differences in the role food plays in our own culture.
Program Model
Housing & Meals
You will live in shared housing with other program participants. Welcome and farewell meals, and some other additional meals, are included in the program fee. Additional meals can be prepared in the housing or taken at local eateries.
Application Deadline
March 1, 2024
Program Dates
May session 2024: May 11–June 2, 2024 (tentative)
Academics
Coursework for this program will include a mix of journal assignments and papers.
Receive credit for: FREN 3650 (elective for French major or minor) or FREN 3750 (non French major or minor)
Program Leader
Trina Whitaker is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in French within the College of Liberal Arts who has been teaching French language and culture for over 25 years.
Excursions
We will visit a number of locations where food is produced and consumed (some specific itinerary items subject to change):
- Arceaux Market
- Wineries in the Pic Saint-Loup and other regions
- Aigues Mortes, a walled medieval city near Montpellier
- Salins du Midi, the most important salt producer in France
- Mediterranean sea
- Visit an oyster park by boat
- The port city of Sète
- Restaurants and markets in Montpellier
- Student dining halls and local culinary school
- Regional olive grove, truffle and lavender farms
Program Fee
May 2024 Cost of Participation
The program fee generally includes tuition and educational costs, orientation & international health insurance, airfare, airport transfers, housing, excursions, and some meals. Generally, program fees range between $6,800–$8,000.
Students should also budget for passport, course texts/supplies, additional meals, and daily living expenses not included in the program fee.
Billing & Payments
Visit Billing for information about the billing process for application fees, deposits, and program fees.
The application fee, deposit, and program fee are charged to the student's UofM account.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Visit Financial Information for information on using financial aid and scholarships for study abroad.
Cancellation Policy
The regular Learning Abroad Center cancellation and refund policy does not apply to this course. Connect with your program contact for details on the cancellation and refund policy for this program.
May 2024
Consuming French Culture & CuisineMay Session 2024 |
|
|---|---|
Program Fee
|
|
| Non-refundable deposit | $400 |
| Tuition and educational costs | $4,503 |
| International health insurance | $58 |
| Housing and/or meals | $872 |
| Transportation (if required and included in program fee)Group flight | $2,010 |
| Total Program Fee | $7,843 |
| Program discount for University of Minnesota and Big Ten students, if applicable | $0 |
| Total Program Fee with discount, if applicable | $7,843 |
Estimated Additional Expenses
|
|
| Costs Typically Incurred Prior to Departure These costs may need to be paid before your financial aid is disbursed for your term abroad. | |
| Transportation to and from program site | $0 |
| Passport/photos | $150 |
| Visa/required documents | $0 |
| Travel clinic/immunizations* | $0 |
| Housing deposit | $0 |
| Total Estimated Cost Incurred Prior to Departure | $150 |
| Costs Typically Incurred After Arrival in Host Country | |
| Texts/materials | $0 |
| Housing and/or meals not included in program fee | $300 |
| Essential daily living expenses | $200 |
| Total Estimated Cost Incurred After Arrival in Host Country | $500 |
Total Estimated Cost of Participation
|
|
| Total Estimated Cost of Participation | $8,493 |
| Spending money and personal travel Not included in financial aid calculation | $200 |
| Additional Notes & Information | |
| * Immunizations Note: This estimate is based on approximate cost of travel-related vaccinations and medications required for entry or recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Your costs may be higher or lower depending on your travel clinic, the specific immunizations and medication prescribed, and your insurance coverage. | |
Prepare
Complete pre-application advising.
Current US passport processing times are longer than normal. If you do not have a passport, or your passport expires less than 6 months after your return date from your time abroad, apply for a new passport now.
Apply
The COVID-19 vaccine series is strongly recommended, pursuant to CDC guidelines, but not required for participation in this program.
You will be charged a $50 application fee for each application you submit.
Complete
When you submit your online application, you will be assigned an application checklist that includes:
- First Step session
Next Steps
- After you complete all required application checklist items, you will receive an automated email message indicating your application is ready to be reviewed.
- Your completed application will be reviewed by the program leader in the sponsoring college/department.
- If admitted, the Confirmation & Payment Agreement form will be added to your checklist. Complete this form to secure your spot on the program. By submitting the form, you also give your approval for the program deposit to be billed to your UofM student account.
- Complete the confirmation checklist, which include the following items in additional to program-specific forms:
- Passport Information
- Emergency Contacts
- Health Information Form
- Online Health & Safety Orientation
- Release & Waiver
- You will receive information about additional steps from the sponsoring college/department.