Annual Paris Trip —
Next year’s trip will be April 25-27, 2025
The aim of this annual study trip is to introduce students to the rich history of African American artists, writers and intellectuals who have lived in Paris since the 18th century, but especially since World War One, when black American troops brought jazz to France and sparked a hundred year old love affair between the two cultures (French and African-American).
We begin with a workshop at the hostel on Thursday afternoon, in which everyone briefly presents their critical and personal reactions to a reading from the Study Trip Reader and we discuss the readings. Friday we have a morning walking tour of St Germain des Prés with Julia Browne to learn about the writers and artists who lived in this area (including Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Chester Himes, among many others), followed by lunch (included in the tour). You will have the afternoon free (in which you could for example explore the legendary bookshop Shakespeare and Company, which is nearby). We will meet again in the evening for a concert or other event. Saturday morning you are free to go exploring (we will recommend museum exhibits that are linked to the theme of the trip).
Students need to arrange their own travel, but we will all stay together at a youth hostel in the Marais by the St Paul metro station, on rue Fourcy.
For access to the readings, go to this link:
moodle2.unil.ch/course/view.php?id=4210
PHOTOS FROM 2024 TRIP:
PHOTOS FROM THE 2023 TRIP:
PHOTOS FROM THE 2022 TRIP:
PHOTOS FROM THE 2019 TRIP:
Recent Paris Trip: April 21-23, 2017
Last Paris trip: April 29, May 1, 2016
We began the 2016 weekend visit with a workshop on Friday afternoon, where everyone discussed the readings by Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and Chester Himes. On Saturday our visit of Paris started off with a walk around the Latin quarter with Julia Browne of Walking the Spirits tours, and continued with a bus tour of Paris and Montmartre (stopping at the Alexandre Dumas monument and the Place Josephine Baker), and ended with lunch in a Senegalese restaurant in the Marais, le Petit Dakar (https://somanyparis.com/2014/06/19/le-petit-dakar-resto-senegalais-du-marais/).
Here’s some photos:
Most Recent Paris Trip: April 24-26, 2015
The aim of this annual study trip is to introduce students to the rich history of African American artists, writers and intellectuals who have lived in Paris since the 18th century, but especially since World War One, when black American troops brought jazz to France and sparked a hundred year old love affair between the two cultures.
We began the 2015 weekend visit with a workshop on Friday afternoon, where everyone discussed the readings by Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and Chester Himes. On Saturday our visit of Paris began with a bus tour of Paris and Montmartre with Kevi Donat of Walking the Spirits Tours (stopping at the Alexandre Dumas monument and the Place Josephine Baker), and included lunch in an African restaurant, and a visit of the Latin Quarter on foot. We finished with the so-called Beat Hotel, where Burroughs finished writing Naked Lunch and where Chester Himes wrote A Rage in Harlem.
We also welcomed three students from the University of Lancaster to our tour this time, and attended two jazz concerts.
Here’s some photos:
Photos from 2014
Practicalities: you arrange your own travel to Paris, but we stay together at the MIJE hostel in the Marais (near St. Paul’s metro station). There is a workshop Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. and a full-day guided tour including lunch on Saturday, with a coach in the morning and on foot in the afternoon. Evening activities (concerts, plays) will be announced soon. The guided tour costs 30 Euros (including lunch) for UNIL students (and 105 for non-student participants).
Here’s some photos:
The workshop
The coach
in front of the “Beat Hotel”
Learning about the African roots of Picasso’s cubist aesthetics
The Alexandre Dumas Monument, a pair of chain links, broken to show the end of slavery.
Breakfast at the hostel:
See the pictures for the 2013 Paris trip below!
PHOTOS FROM 2011
Pictures from 2011 trip to Paris:
