French at William & Mary

THE SUMMER PROGRAM IN MONTPELLIER

This one-month Summer Program will introduce you to French culture, develop your language skills and allow you to earn 6 credits in French.

Explore Paris: The Summer Program initially takes you to Paris for three days of introduction to the city that symbolizes France to the rest of the world. You will be met at the airport by the Resident Director and taken by bus to your hotel, always located in the heart of Paris. You can use the first day to become accustomed to the time difference and, if you wish, to begin to explore the city on your own. Keep in mind that a half-day sightseeing trip of the city by car (bus) has been planned for the second day. You will probably tour the Seine on a bateau-mouche and spend part of a day on a guided tour of Versailles, Louis XIV's magnificent palace which played such an important role in the development of classical culture. The rest of your time will be largely free to explore Paris as you see fit. You will be close to the Louvre, should you have an interest in art, and not far from the Musée d'Orsay, Musée Picasso, Musée Rodin, or l'Institut du Monde Arabe. You may want to shop at the bouquinistes along the Seine and you will want to have at least one meal at a good restaurant to sample la cuisine française.

Study in Montpellier: At the end of your visit you will travel down to Montpellier by group. Here you will be met by the moniteurs (graduate student aides) from l'IEFE (Institut des Etudes Françaises pour les Etudiants et Professeurs Etrangers), the institute-associated with the Université Paul-Valéry-which organizes the Summer Program. You will take a placement test to establish your level of French language skills, and will then spend four weeks in Montpellier taking language and culture courses taught by the instructors of l'IEFE and one course taught by the Resident Director of the program, a William and Mary professor.

Discover le Midi (the south of France): Montpellier, a University city in Languedoc-Roussillon in the south of France, is within twenty minutes of the Mediterranean and its beautiful sand beaches. You will have ample opportunity to visit the beaches as well as some of the many sites in the area which offer monuments of Roman and Medieval French civilizations. Excursions to various sites will be provided every Sunday. Past excursions have taken students to: Nîmes and le pont du Gard; the Templar village of la Couvertoirade or the pilgrims' St-Guillem-le-Désert in the nearby Cévennes mountains; Avignon and le palais des Papes; the medieval town of Carcassonne; Arles and les Baux de Provence; or the crusading St-Louis' Aigues-Mortes. Each year the excursions vary somewhat.

Live in Montpellier: For the four weeks which you will be spending near the Mediterranean you will have the opportunity to live with a French family and experience firsthand the cuisine and moeurs of 21st-century France. We will ask you to fill out a form, indicating your preferences, in order to match you as well as possible with a family. Twice a week you will have the opportunity to dine with your family…be prepared to take your time!

The summer program for 2005 will cost $3950 plus a $50 application fee. Application forms are available in the MLL Dept. and the Reves Center.
The application deadline is extended to February 18th.

Interested? Students enrolled at the College of William and Mary as well as students from other institutions should feel free to contact Professor Don Monson, Resident Director in 2004-2005, or Professor Maryse Fauvel, Director of the Summer Program 2005, about questions relating to academic topics or about the region [Email: damons@wm.edu or mxfauv@wm.edu]

Questions about dates, cost of the program or other administrative details should be addressed to the Reves Center [Email: tcjoha@wm.edu]