Discussions at Sciences Po

Monday, 1/12/09

After our filling lunch at La Coupole, we headed over to Sciences Po to join two English language classes for a discussion of French and American culture. We were all very excited to meet the students, and curious to hear what they thought about America. The first class we visited was an intermediate-level class with Masters students, and the second was an advanced beginner class with first-year license (undergraduate) students. We had discussions in both classes about the differences between the French and American school systems, as well as our perceptions of each others’ country and culture.

We all found it rather strange to be treated as ambassadors for the United States, since our opinions obviously don’t represent the diversity of the American population. Nevertheless, we did our best to respond to questions about American culture and politics. I was very impressed by how knowledgeable the students were of American news - especially the younger students! They asked very thoughtful questions about the significance of Barak Obama’s election, our separation (or lack thereof) of church and state, and our thoughts on the war on terror’s effect on personal freedom.

From these discussions, and from the rest of our first week in Paris, I started to conclude that American and French people are actually more similar than we each might think. We generally appreciate each other’s culture (whether its clothes, music, or art). We also face similar challenges, such as how to minimize socioeconomic stratification, and how to integrate different cultures and religions. Our countries’ specific circumstances are of course different, but at the end of the day, cultural tension between the French and Americans might be a little misplaced.

E.L