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This course examines both sociolinguistic and cultural aspects of the French-speaking world and the relationship between la francophonie and France itself. We focus on five regions—Sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroun and Senegal), Northern Africa (Morocco and Algeria), the Caribbean (Martinique and Haiti), North America (Quebec), and Europe (Belgium)—and consider language features unique to those regional varieties, the status of French as opposed to other indigenous languages and creoles, the demographics of their speakers, and the representation of their culture in media (particularly in short stories, poetry, song, and film). A semester-long research project on one of these main areas will allow students to combine their study of the French-speaking world with other disciplines of interest to them.