Cultural icons in France



Cultural icons in France

Second semester

6 credits


100% coursework


FREN1002 or equivalent


FREN2001 or FREN2002

Hours per week:

2 hrs/week

Contact hours:

24 hours

Total learning hours:

120 hours

This course is intended for students in French with an intermediate level of proficiency in the language. It is designed to enhance core competencies and skills in spoken and written French while exploring society and culture. Through analyses, readings, discussions and lectures, participants will reflect critically on a range of cultural icons that play an essential role in shaping today’s French collective identity. People, artefacts, signs, objects, rituals and events belonging to the high and popular culture and shared by French people will be studied. While the interrelations between those symbolic figures will emerge, the concept of “cultural grammar” will be introduced, enabling students to develop a more holistic understanding of French culture and acquire new tools to reflect on their own culture. All the materials used in this course will be in French.


To familiarize students with important characteristics of French culture and history; to discuss the role of collective myths in contemporary societies; to elicit a process of self-assessment of the learner’s prejudices and tenets, as well as a new appraisal of his/her own iconic figures; to improve the students’ receptive and productive skills in the French language.

Learning outcomes

1) Demonstrate understanding of the concept of cultural icon and familiarity with essential features of French society and culture. 2) Recognize the relationship between a variety of cultural icons and the role they play in shaping culture. 3) Apply knowledge of French cultural icons to reflect critically on the significance of cultural icons in Hong Kong, China or in other parts of the world. 4) Discuss texts and documents in a subjective or objective way to express critical opinions and judgments in the target language. 5) Use the French language at a level of upper-intermediate proficiency consistent with level B1+/B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL).