20. Battles For and Against Americanization

France Since 1871 (HIST 276)

Anti-Americanism in France has historically been directed toward the U.S. government and corporations rather than American citizens. In the wake of World War II, the Marshall Plan for rebuilding Europe was considered by many to be a form of American imperialism. Along with the establishment of American military bases on French soil, the years after World War II bore witness to a great influx of American products, notably refrigerators and Coca-Cola. French concern over American cultural imports persists today, and has extended to include policies aimed at keeping the French language free of English words.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Current Disputes in the French University System
06:00 - Chapter 2. Anti-Americanism in France from 1945: Intellectuals and Communists against "Coca-Colonization"
15:56 - Chapter 3. Perception of American Aggression: The Fear of War
21:57 - Chapter 4. The Coca-Cola Expansion
32:39 - Chapter 5. Anti-Americanism in Architecture: Against Skyscraperization
38:19 - Chapter 6. Americanization and Globalization: From Village Markets to Supermarkets
43:28 - Chapter 7. Purity of the French Language: The Threat of Franglais

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Fall 2007.