Category: Modern Languages

Modern Languages Screening: “A Very Long Engagement”

A Very Long Engagement movie posterThe Modern Languages Program will host a screening of the 2004 Jean-Pierre Jeunet WWI film, “Un long dimanche de fiançailles” (“A Very Long Engagement”), at 7 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 18) in Walker 134. The screening is free and open to the public.

Film Synopsis: A young French woman, Mathilde (Audrey Tautou), is told that her fiancé (Gaspard Ulliel) has been killed in the trenches of the Somme during World War I. Refusing to believe this news, she begins trying to find out what actually happened on the battlefield that night, enlisting the help of a private investigator. During her search, she stumbles across evidence of the inhumane and morally bankrupt system used by the French to deal with deserters and hears from other men who were sentenced to extreme punishment.

The screening is part of World War I in the Copper Country, an extensive program of events and exhibits commemorating the centennial of the WWI Armistice.

Cumbria Faculty-Led Study Abroad Information Session

Street scene in EdinburghHumanities professor Dana Van Kooy, along with Carl Blair (SS), and Libby Meyer (VPA) will host an information session for Cumbria 2019, a faculty-led study abroad program in northern England and southern Scotland: summer, Track B. The session will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 10) in Fisher 130.

We welcome students from across campus. This program offers students an opportunity for foreign travel and for fulfilling HASS (humanities, arts and social sciences) and other General Education requirements in the fields of history, literature, music and archaeology. This session will provide students with information about course offerings, field trips, the application process, costs and scholarships.

Perú Faculty-Led Study Abroad Information Session

People standing in front of a large temple on a city street in Lima, PeruCarlos M. Amador will host an information session for the 2019 Lima, Perú Faculty-Led Study Abroad—Summer Track B. The session will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. today (Oct. 4) in the Walker Arts and Humanities HDMZ room 120A.

Students interested in study abroad, international minors and foreign travel are welcome to attend this meeting. Amador has led multiple study abroad trips in both Spanish and English. Information on scholarships, course offerings, pricing and international travel will be presented.

Light refreshments will be served. Forward any questions to Amador.

Free WW1CC Film Screening Tomorrow

Pierre Niney and Paula Beer in Frantz movieThe Modern Languages Program will host a screening of the François Ozon’s 2016 film Frantz at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Oct. 4) in Walker 134. The screening is free and open to the public.

Film synopsis: In 1919 Quedlinburg, Germany, a young woman named Anna is still mourning the death of her fiance, Frantz Hoffmeister, in the Great War while living with his devastated parents. One day, a mysterious Frenchman, Adrien Rivoire, comes to town both to pay his respects to Frantz’s grave and to contact that soldier’s parents. Adrian explains that he knew Frantz and gradually he wins Anna and the Hoffmeisters’ hearts as he tries to connect with them. But the truth of his motives unveils no easy answers to their complex personal conflicts with each other and the dead man linking them (from IMDB pro).

The screening is part of World War I in the Copper Country (WW1CC), an extensive program of events and exhibits commemorating the WWI Armistice. Partners include Michigan Technological University, the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw, and Finlandia University. WW1CC is made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the WW1CC program do not necessarily reflect those of the NEH or the MHC.

Faculty and Graduate Student Present at Armistice Symposium

World War One in the Copper Country logoThree faculty members and a graduate student presented on various topics related to the First World War at the Armistice & Aftermath: a World War One Symposium. The symposium is part of the commemoration of the Copper Country’s involvement in WWI. Ramon Fonkoue presented on “Art and activism in Abel Gance’s film Jaccuse: Revisiting anti-war sentiment in French art and society a century later”. Dany Jacob’s presentation was titled “’Pour la France! Pour ma famille!’: Legacies in Rouad’s Champs d’honneurs”. Laura Fiss also presented on “Recalling the trenches from Club Window: Contrasting perspectives in Dorothy Sayers and P.G. Wodehouse”. Graduate student Edzordzi Agbozo presented on “World War One & Africa: Contesting history, nation, and identity in ‘Western Togoland’”.

La Peña Conversation Hour Dates Announced

students sitting at a table playing Spanish ScrabbleJoin us at la Peña, the Spanish conversation hour hosted by the Department of Humanities and the Modern Languages Program. We come together several times during the academic year to speak Spanish in an informal social gathering. Come relax, meet Spanish speakers of all levels, and have a light snack and refreshment. Friends welcome!

La Peña is held from 5-6 p.m in Walker 120A. Join us on the following Tuesdays for Fall 2018:

  • September 11
  • September 25
  • October 9
  • October 30
  • November 13
  • November 27