French Culture Research Articles

EDUCATION IN LEBANON UNDER THE EUROPEAN CAMPAIGNS FROM 1912 TO 1921

The aim of the study was to learn about the situation of education in Lebanon during the French campaign in Syria in the period prior to 1921, to learn about developments at the educational level in Lebanon in order to reach its current status. To achieve the objectives of the study, the descriptive curriculum based on reference and extrapolation of previous studies has been followed. The study found that the education in Lebanon based on that of the French, who modified the education system in the line with their system and French became an official language. France took care of education in Syria and Lebanon because it recognized the important role of education in building an educated generation influenced by French culture to serve its political interests and orientations. The Maronite Church had also been instrumental in the emergence of education in Lebanon. Documents from the mandatory period indicated that many schools that had been closed of the war had not been re-established until after the end of hostilities. It has been subjected to some culture pressures and is therefore an interesting case study of the political role of education and the politicization of education.

French Musical: history and specificity of the genre

French Musical is “younger” than the Broadway, popular; however, there is yet no serious scientific approach towards its examination. The subject of this research is nationalization of the French Musical in historical and genre contexts. The goal is to disclose role of French Musical as a relatively young genre on the theoretical level. The article employs the interdisciplinary approach, which involves the scientific theories and concepts from other fields; historical-culturological approach, which reveals the factors contributing to assimilation of French culture with the traditions of other cultures; systemic approach aimed at examination of professional performance in French Musical as a result of development of the genre in late XX – early XXI centuries. The scientific novelty consists in introduction of the previously missing biographical materials and new information on the establishment and development of the genre of French Musical and its national specificity. The theoretical significance lies in characterization of the concepts of “French Musical”, “popular culture”, “interpretation of classical music”, “musical performance” in the context of art history knowledge, as well as methodology of science. The practical significance lies in broader understanding of the role of establishment and proliferation of French Musical, comparison of the use of chanson and jazz in the Musicals of France and the United States. The main result consists the statement that French Musical contains the key to understanding the French people, their thought pattern, and tastes. This genre allows them to express and defend their values and uniqueness.

Das galante Fest als Gesamtkunstwerk

Abstract Aurora von Königsmarck’s letters from Medevi show the outstanding role this celebrated baroque poetess played in the gallant festival culture at the Swedish court. They tell of courtly festivals taking place at the famous health spa Medevi in August 1682. They uncover festivals which do not appear in official festival books. So these letters represent very important documents of cultural history, allowing a fresh sight on courtly festival culture. This article inquires the gallant performance of Aurora’s letters, investigates them for well-known models, motifs and journals of courtly-gallant festivals and emphazises their political and aesthetical relevance. With her various artistical contributions Aurora tries to influence her position within the Swedish nobility. The festivals follow the French festival culture of Ludwig XIV. and are to be interpreted as synthesis of the arts, including several arts. Aurora’s letters are not only descriptions, but also a part of this synthesis of the arts.

PUBLIC SIGNS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC (BASED ON RUSSIAN, GERMAN AND FRENCH LANGUAGES)

The article represents a comparative analysis of Russian, German and French public signs that regulate safety precautions during the coronavirus pandemic, of their both linguistic and cultural specifics. The study is based on 500 authentic public signs, collected by the continuous sampling method in Izhevsk (Russia), Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand (France), and Leipzig (Germany) in the course of 2020. As a result, similarities and differences have been revealed concerning impact strategies as well as linguistic means whereby these strategies are realized. Most similarities are revealed in the informative public signs; however, the corresponding German and French signs are marked by detailed description of safety precautions, and Russian signs often refer to decrees of the local authorities. One of the main differences is that some Russian signs contain explicit prohibitions, whereas there are no such examples among the German and French signs under study. The difference in frequency of impact strategies that influence the recipients’ emotions also takes place: polite addresses and requests, appeals to take care of one’s health, and thanks for following the instructions. The specifics of compared cultures are reflected in the texts under study: the Russian culture is relationship-oriented, emotional, and values external control, whereas both German and French cultures are information-oriented, rational, and value internal control.

FUNCTIONING OF STRUCTURAL TYPES OF SECONDARY NOMINATION IN FRENCH POETIC TEXTS (PIERRE DE MARBEUF, VINCENT VOITURE, CLAUDE DE MALLEVILLE, MADELEINE DE SCUDÉRY)

The research deals with the essence of text-forming aspects of structural types of secondary nomination in French poetic texts. The aesthetic directions of development of French culture of the XVII century are described. It is assumed that in the French literature of the period of Preciosity in the basis of secondary nominative activity rest cognitive mechanisms of knowledge of contemporary realities and their styling in art speech of the authors of the mentioned times. For the disclosure of cognitive-pragmatic mechanisms of secondary nomens to denote objects of reality, displayed in French precious literature, a comprehensive methodology has been developed that was proved effective in determination of structural-semantic types of secondary nomination with their varieties and performance in the works of Pierre de Marbeuf, Vincent Voiture, Claude de Malleville, Madeleine de Scudéry. A new criterion for the typification of secondary units according to their belonging to the grammatical or lexical-semantic level of the language has been proposed. Structural types of secondary nomination (grammatical anaphora) relate to the grammatical process of repetition of a word, phrase, or syntagm using a secondary nomen (anaphora). Pronoun, noun, adjectival, adverbial, verbal (simple, complex) and propositional structural types of secondary nomens are traced out. They are classified into such kinds as exact, inexact, conceptual, divergent, associative and zero ones. The semantic types of the secondary nomination are united by the common principle of creation: associative thinking and expressive-figurative content. Among them stand out the stylistic anaphora, metaphor (announced/explicit, direct/pure, developed, proportional, dead, contextual), metonymy and periphrasis.A lexical analysis of specific types of secondary nouns, such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verb anaphors and their varieties in the poetry of the brightest representatives of the Precision period is also presented. The functions and purpose of the use of the studied means by the mentioned authors are clarified.

Traces of French Culture in Palanga: The Historical Context of Palanga Botanical Park, Personalities, and Memory

The article focuses on the origins of French culture in Palanga, a Lithuanian seaside resort, that go back to the years of the rule of the Tyszkiewicz family. The emphasis is put on Palanga Botanical Park (created before the end of the nineteenth century) as the most significant trace of French culture present in the resort and the seaside region until now. The specific symbols in the park created according to the will of the Counts Tyszkiewicz reflect the actualities of French culture. The importance of this space in the city is revealed, and Édouard François André’s principles of park creation are discussed in a new context. They are related to the dialogue that has been established between the residents of Palanga, the park, its creator, and his granddaughter Florence André since the first years of the independence of Lithuania. In order to give a meaning to Édouard André’s creation and to the relationship between the two countries, the correspondence between the great-granddaughter of the famous French landscape designer and the former director of the park, Antanas Sebeckas, is disclosed. It reflects the endeavour of these two personalities and its value for the international relations in representing French culture to the public. Florence André’s letters to the author of this article are also an important resource as she explains the reasons why the park plays an essential role in Palanga. It is shown how certain personal life events (Florence André’s wedding ceremony in Palanga, the park created by her great-grandfather) have become an inclusive part of the history of the town and represent intercultural relations and exchanges. The article is also based on some memories and narratives of the members of the local community in which the park features as a symbol and tradition of the city.

Introduction: decolonizing French food

ABSTRACT What are the conceptual, cultural, and economic stakes involved in thinking literature and foodways as intertwined? Theorizing food in this way fosters an interdisciplinary, intersectional approach that pays careful attention to the cultural and material pathways through which food is produced, consumed, symbolized, and invested with meaning. Scrutinizing the ideological and material underpinnings of culinary practices allows us to better appreciate food’s figurative richness and contribution to the making, unmaking, and remaking of French culture and socio-political relations. The introduction to this Special Issue reviews recent efforts in the field of Food Studies to advance such an analysis and situates the primary lines of inquiry taken up in this volume in relation to the critical frameworks that inform them. What the articles gathered here demonstrate is that acts of eating, as well as the depiction of food in art and history, both shape and are shaped by racialized and gendered power dynamics, affective investments and attachments, and economic inequities. Xenophilia and xenophobia, exoticism and repulsion are intimately connected; both modalities abstract and flatten the foodstuffs and creative capacities of the non-European. A key question that emerges in this issue is, then: How might we build better modes of conviviality, of eating together and living together well?

Діалог культур як синтез мистецтв: досвід формування інтегративної поетики в сезонах Сергія Дягілєва

The article is devoted to the definition of the synthesis of arts in Serge Diaghilev's seasons as a dialogue of cultures. In contrast to the interpretation of the dialogue of cultures as a sociological phenomenon, which has become a truism, when the dialogue of cultures in the Diaghilev's seasons is seen as a dialogue of French and Russian cultures, it is provided the interpretation of the dialogue of cultures in a work of art. In particular, in Ihor Stravinsky's "Sacred Spring" staged by Waclaw Nizynski, scenography by Nikolay Rerich, there is a dialogue between pagan and Christian cultures as a synthetic choreographic and musical image. Rerich's scenery introduces another cultural allusion - images of the East. The philosophical meaning of interpretation is the ideological definition of synthetic artistic image as a cultural dialogue. Theoretical works and memoirs of I. Stravinsky and S. Lifar testify that there was a certain school of growth in the stage space of the Seasons. Young people quickly became leading dancers, and then created their own choreographic school – "cubist" in Bronislawa and Waclaw Nizynski, "media" – in Lifar. I. Stravinsky became the founder of a new type of synthetic-type scenicism, where the musicality and picturesqueness of plastic exercises turned into large canvases of various genres – folklore, impressionist, expressionist counterpoint. The philosophy of modern art education in the field of music, choreography and vocal creativity encourages the cultural and historical reconstruction of the experience of leading artists who created unsurpassed masterpieces of European culture in the early twentieth century.

Influence of France on the formation of ballroom choreography in the context of Western Europe culture development in the XVI — early XXI centuries

The purpose of this paper to analyze the transformations in the French ballroom and choreographic practice, in the context of the development of culture of Western European countries of the XVI — early XXI centuries.
 The methodology is an organic set of basic principles of research: objectivity, historicism, multifactority, systemicity, complexity, development and pluralism, and to achieve the goal, the following methods of scientific knowledge are used: problem-chronological, concrete historical, statistical, descriptive, logical and analytical.
 The results. The analysis of trends in the development of ballroom dance in France and the influence of French culture on the formation of ballroom choreography in the XVI — early XXI centuries.
 The analysis of trends in the development of ballroom dance in France and the influence of French culture on the formation of ballroom choreography in the XVI — early XXI centuries took place. The processes of transformation and democratization of ballroom choreography in the XVIII century, which already in the XIX century turned from salon art into a leisure object for various social strata throughout Europe, were investigated. In the XX century it was France that discovered non-European types of ballroom dancing for Europe, which subsequently acquired standardization in the English professional environment.
 In the XX century France became the country where foreign art forms appeared and adapted to the conditions of European realities. France attracted artists from all over the world because of the special national culture formed in it. During the XX century the art of ballroom choreography in France developed rapidly. French performers and teachers continued long-standing national traditions. This factor had a positive effect on the training level of dancers in the field of professional and amateur ballroom dancing. Since 2010, France has been an active member of the World Dance Sports Federation (WDSF). The French Dance Federation (Fédération Française de Danse) is one of the largest organizations that develops ballroom choreography in the country. Over the past decades, dozens of open national and world ballroom dancing championships have been held in French cities (Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, etc.).
 The scientific topicality is to identify the processes of the influence of French culture on the development of ballroom choreography in the XVI — early XXI centuries.
 The practical significance. The research may be used in developing lectures by specialists in choreography.

COGNITIVE INTEGRATION IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERCULTURAL STUDIES: EDUCATIONAL EXTENSIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DIRECTION OF WRITING AND THE SPATIAL REPRESENTATION OF THE CONCEPT OF TIME AS A MODEL

The concept of time has cultural characteristics, as it is the product of a symbolic communicative context that draws its characteristics from its founding group. Hence, the concept of time is shaped and represented mentally according to its socio-cultural context. Accordingly, it seems legitimate to examine its cultural specificity. This study tackles the nature of the spatial representation of the concept of time, as this latter is carried through cultural mediums, namely the oral and written language. The target group includes 32 unschooled children aged between 10 and 11. It is worth mentioning that many intercultural studies have indicated the existence of a definite, statistically significant relationship between the concept of time on the one hand and the direction of writing on the other hand. As the spatial representation of the concept of time in children of French culture is from left to right, influenced by the direction of French writing. Whereas, the spatial representation of the concept of time in children of French-Maghreb culture is in both directions (rightleft) and (rightleft), that is, in the form of congruous formula between the two directions of French writing from left to right and Arabic from right to left. The study confirms, in its third context, the spatial representation of the concept of time among uneducated children who do not know how to read and write, the results of previous studies on the concept of time in its relationship to the direction of writing. Where the space-time orientation is characterized by the multiplicity and diversity (rightleft, leftright, topbottom, topbottom...), regardless of the direction of presentation of the images by the experimenter. Studies, with their integral depth, confirm that it is a matter of cultural learning; the school institution as a social unit with symbolic and communicative contexts works to impart our concepts, including the concept of time, the characteristics of the socio-cultural context. The child, during his development and passing through socio-cultural institutions, integrates these characteristics in the framework of cognitive units that govern his subsequent cognitive functioning

Challenging representations of Muslims and cultural métissage in the ethnic comedies L’Italien (2010) and Mohamed Dubois (2013)

In this article, I am looking at two popular ‘ethnic’ comedies, L’Italien (2010) and Mohamed Dubois (2013), that promote dialogue and conviviality between Franco-Maghrebi and Franco-French people in France while questioning the societal feasibility of legislative measures of inclusiveness, visibility and equality of chances promoted by the government in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Considering some challenges in the representations, the comedies offer, at times, a social critique of certain stereotypical views on Islam and the destiny of Muslims on French soil, but they conclude in an optimistic tone supporting the idea that there is cultural métissage in France and that Muslims and Christians do mix in today’s diverse France. The popularity of these comedies attests to the fact that there is a need to bring up the issues of Islam in France and of the cohabitation between Muslims and Christian French citizens in the public sphere. I suggest however that while the Franco-Maghrebi’s ‘essentialist identity’ is challenged in the films, there are still neo-colonialist tensions in the artistic productions that entail ambivalence towards the Muslim characters. In a Franco-French dominated film-consuming culture, the Franco-Maghrebi characters are still subject to mimicry, which consistently maintains their subordinate position in the French culture.

Albert Cohen and Dove Attia as a phenomenon of French musical of the new century

Dove Attia and Albert Cohen – French authors and stage directors, and musical producers – contribute to the development of the genre in the XXI century. The subject of this research is their creativity, which is poorly studied by the science of theater. The goal lies in describing the role of Dove Attia and Albert Cohen in the development of the French musical on the theoretical level.  Research methodology is comprised on the following approaches: interdisciplinary, which involves scientific theories and concepts from other fields of knowledge; historical-culturological, which reveals that factors contributing to the convergence of French culture with the traditions of other cultures; systematic, which examines professional performance in French musical as a result of the works of Dove Attia and Albert Cohen. The scientific novelty lies in introduction into the scientific discourse of previously missing materials on the works of Dove Attia and Albert Cohen, their activity in the context of evolution of the genre of French musical. The theoretical significance consists in characterization of the concepts of “French musical of the new century”, "interpretation of classics", “French chanson style” within the framework of art history and methodology of science. The acquired result reveal the role of establishment and proliferation of French musical, as well as popularize the works of Dove Attia and Albert Cohen, which determines the practical importance of this study. It is noted that in French musical, Dove Attia and Albert Cohen invigorate the aesthetic tastes and mentality of the French, using it as an opportunity to defend the national values in a savory and beautiful way.

Классификация французских стереотипов в русском языке (на материале русской художественной литературы)

The study aims to classify the French stereotypes according to their structural, semantic and cultural aspects in the Russian literary works of the XIX, XX and XXI centuries. The study is novel in that it is the first to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the French stereotypes in the Russian language, to develop their classification, as well as to determine the French culture influence on the Russian one. As a result, it was found that the Russian native speakers use the French stereotypes, which are classified according to the type of elements connection in the phrase and their structural pattern in the Russian language, to the semantic aspect and the degree of their cultural markedness in the Russian language.

Le Théâtre Français au Septentrion (1669–1728): Diplomatie, Échanges Culturels et Migration entre Paris et Copenhague

This article examines diplomacy, cultural exchanges, and theatre performance between France and Denmark. Based on new archival documents that, for the first time, take into account both French and Danish sources, we shed new light on the transnational history of French theatre in the Northern periphery of Europe. On one hand, the roles of cultural mediators are examined, such as Henning Meyercrone, the Danish ambassador in France, who recruited the French theatre company sent to Copenhagen and who was himself an actor. On the other hand, we trace the career of René Magnon de Montaigu, director of the first permanent French company in Copenhagen. Until now, Montaigu was completely unknown in France, but we were able to trace his debut in Paris in the royal company. The French diaspora in Denmark also played the role of ambassador, since it embodied and transmitted French culture in a context of migration.

French Cultural Strategy and the Japanese Paradigm

France used to have one of the most powerful cultural diplomacy: it needs nowadays to modernize its strategy to hold on to its international position. France has a long history of foreign cultural policy and is one of the few countries that have placed great emphasis on fostering its culture abroad. However, the French position is currently being challenged by emerging international rivalries. Establishing a cultural strategy in the 21st century requires not only a consistent approach between the projection of an elite culture and of a pop culture, but also a joint action between public and private players. Japan could be a model, even a paradigm for France and its cultural action abroad, as well as an ally through a cultural alliance.

Ballet Fit for a National Theater? Carré, the Critics, and Le Cygne at the Opéra-Comique

When Albert Carré became the director of the Paris Opéra-Comique in 1898, he did so with the goal of rejuvenating French lyric theater. He also took possession of a national institution in a state of flux. The Opéra-Comique had a new hall and a new mandate, and it had recently become the focus of debates in the press about what role the city’s second national lyric theater should play in French culture. Although debates initially revolved around opera, Carré’s plans for renewal included ballet, not seen at the Opéra-Comique for over a century. This article discusses the role ballet played in promoting Carré’s artistic objectives. At first glance the theater’s repertoire appears to be at odds with Carré’s progressive ideals. The Opéra-Comique staged only one innovative ballet, Le Cygne (1899)—a pop-culture-inflected mythological parody by Catulle Mendès, Charles Lecocq, and Madame Mariquita. Carré then turned to staging old-fashioned pantomime-ballets, confining innovative dances to divertissements in operas. The reasons for Carré’s repertoire decisions can, I argue, be found in the reception of Le Cygne. Carré’s initial ballet was highly contested, and critics’ arguments mirrored ongoing press debates about ballet’s value and place in French culture. I contend that Carré’s initial modernist ballet, and his shift to mixing conventional pantomime-ballets with modern opera divertissements in response to the contentious reception of Le Cygne, were part of a calculated attempt to establish the Opéra-Comique as an emblematic French national theater that was simultaneously a museum and a progressive space for modern innovation.

Music by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel: a Modern View of the Problem of Style Identification

Music by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel: a Modern View of the Problem of Style Identification

Into the Woods

Trees, among the world’s oldest creatures, seem to be having a moment. Not only have researchers made fascinating discoveries about their “secret lives,” these ubiquitous superorganisms have sparked the culture’s imagination as well. Trees have recently been the subject of best-selling novels, essays, and high-impact films. While most human beings would be hard pressed to name any species of tree they might encounter in their daily lives, talk about trees is becoming more and more mainstream. And logically so. The more modern technology severs our ties to the physical world—and, no less importantly, the more climate change signals the impending disappearance of that world—the more urgency we feel to reconnect. This article explores how contemporary French culture summons us to do just that. Through an exploration of a few of the most compelling recent works that testify to what I call the “arboreal imaginary” in contemporary French culture, this article posits that attending to trees in works of art is a necessarily ecological gesture, one that encourages us to think about our stewardship of the environment as much as it invites us to consider novel ways of poetically inhabiting the planet.

The problems of migration process in Maghrebian literary milieu

As a product of the North African region, Maghrebian literary phenomenon combines specific features of three cultures – Arab, Berber and French and today has a special place in the world literature. The purpose of the proposed article is to demonstrate how the colonization of the Maghreb, the expansion of the French culture, the policy of assimilation and acculturation, a resistance movement of the colonized peoples led to the literary bilingualism of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco that intensified the literary process in the region in a specific way. The novelty of the article consists in the fact that it reflects the deep connection between the Maghreb Francophone literature and the historical and cultural context. The Maghrebian francophone literature was constituted as early as in the 50s of the last century, but only in the 60s, thanks to the works of A. Memmi and A. Katibi was recognized as a separate area in the world literature. Research methods are a complex of comparative and historical- literary approaches, The fundamental relationship between the Maghrebian francophone literature and historical and cultural context distinguishes it from the mass of the so-called colonial literature. Conclusions. The Maghrebian francophone writers covering the issues of identity and nationality, revival of identity and rebellion, loss of identity and exile, as well as women’s emancipation, determine the specificity of this literary movement. The most famous representatives of the Maghrebian francophone literature are A. Djebar, M. Dib, A. Memmi, M. Feraun, K. Yasin etc. The creative work of these writers identified a new type of literature: d’expression franзaise, nationally specific to each of these countries. This article researches the migrants’ problems and the search for identity in the context of Franco-Maghrebian literary phenomenon of the works of two French-speaking Algerian writers and A.Djebar and L.Sebbar.

ASSESSING THE ROLE OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE ON WORKFORCE CREATIVITY; AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SUPPORT STAFF OF UNIVERSITY OF BAMENDA, CAMEROON

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which organisational culture affects the creativity of the support staff of the University of Bamenda. Methodology/Design/Approaches: The study employed primary data collected through self-administered questionnaires made up of structured questionnaires and unstructured interview. A total of 109 questionnaires were administered to the four selected work functions namely Secretariat staffs, Finance staffs, Health unit staff and Computer unit/Records staffs of the University of Bamenda. A total of 100 questionnaires were recovered making a response rate of 91.7%. These questionnaires were quoted using the Likert scale and analysed with the aid of the SPSS software. Findings: The findings show that changes in people-oriented culture, team culture, stable culture, and innovative culture are responsible for 54% changes in the creativity of support staff in The University of Bamenda with r2= 0.54. The descriptive research design was used and the Ordinary Least Squares regression technique employed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that there was a significant effect of organisational culture on the creativity of support staff in The University of Bamenda. That is people-oriented culture, teamwork, stable culture, and innovative culture significantly contributed to employee’s creativity at the University of Bamenda. Research Limitations: This work is limited to the University of Bamenda, located in Bambili which is an Anglo-Saxon University there by ignoring other university staffs of the French culture. Practical implications: Based on the findings, the study recommended that the University should encourage teamwork, delegation of responsibility and work innovations at the job site by practicing management by objectives (MBO). If implemented, the university will experience a more creative workforce among its support staff. Originality/Value: This study’s research questions and methods are new to the line of Assessing the role of Organisational Culture on Workforce Creativity among University of Bamenda support staffs.
 
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