{"id":98,"date":"2020-04-10T19:33:03","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T19:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/?p=98"},"modified":"2020-05-15T20:25:19","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T20:25:19","slug":"tocquevilles-association-with-barlow-and-nadeau-culture-code-and-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/2020\/04\/10\/tocquevilles-association-with-barlow-and-nadeau-culture-code-and-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Tocqueville’s Association with Barlow and Nadeau: Culture Code and Conversation (Tocqueville Capital)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sacre<\/a>

Sacre Coeur overlooking Paris<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The smaller town feel of Strasbourg, a view from the Grand Ile, which circles the heart of the historic city<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

(What is\u00a0Tocqueville Capital<\/em>?\u00a0 Read the\u00a0welcome post for the series!<\/a>)<\/p>\n

In this edition of Tocqueville Capital, <\/em>we return to the land of Alexis\u2019s roots.\u00a0 Last May, I traveled with my colleague – and friend – Heather, along with our students on a three-week cross-cultural course to Strasbourg and Paris, France.\u00a0 Our college offers these courses as part of our general education curriculum, QuEST (Qualities Essential for Student Transformation<\/a>), as a way of helping students become more effective in building and navigating relationships with those who have cultural values and experiences that differ from their own.\u00a0 One of the most fundamental differences that students experienced in the course related to social interaction, which can impact the way in which bonds build between people.\u00a0 Thankfully, Heather had incorporated a fabulous read for the course that helped students prepare; I was also thrilled to see that it connected to Tocqueville.<\/p>\n

In The Bonjour Effect: The Secrets of French Conversation Revealed<\/em><\/a>, Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau discuss many facets of conversation in French culture.\u00a0 Barlow\u2019s and Nadeau\u2019s work is enriched both by their experience living in France for a period of time, as native qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, as well as support from research and cultural analyses, putting the stories of their experience into a larger context.\u00a0 Among the many themes covered by their book, they focus on French tendencies in conversation and discussion, which are essential to engage effectively with others.<\/p>\n

Barlow and Nadeau illustrate the importance of conversation when the French interact with one another through such ranging examples as swimming pools and office culture.\u00a0 Whether engaging in the popular activity of swimming in a crowded pool, where talk cannot occur underwater or being deprived of the opportunity to process a decision made by management, a spirited discussion ensues as people offer their perspectives (see these topics and more in Ch. 7). \u00a0Underlying these exchanges is a desire to express thoughts and chat without necessarily diving deeply into a topic. Barlow and Nadeau characterize these interactions as conversation<\/em>, which \u201cfocuses on the relationship between interlocutors.\u00a0 Discussions are different.\u00a0 They are about examining a topic\u201d (94).\u00a0 Opportunities for expression allow people to share their voices on issues that affect their lives and chats allow relationships to develop.<\/p>\n

Of course, the French are not above deeper discussions either.\u00a0 French schools, unlike some others \u2013 including America\u2019s \u2013 devote a significant portion of their curriculum to the study of philosophy, which allows students to deeply examine ideas with reason. Barlow and Nadeau share the scope of study that trains the French \u201cnot to think about things in simple binary terms (good and evil, black and white, good or bad\u201d but with nuance (95). Students in all fields, even the sciences and technology, study between two to eight hours of the subject a week during the last three years of lyc\u00e9e<\/em> (secondary school); the authors note that it is more than most college students in America get \u2013 save for majors or minors in the field, of course (95). \u00a0In a way, it makes the French bilingue<\/em> (bilingual) within their own language.\u00a0 We see both of these lingual approaches in the French political system.<\/p>\n

For a couple of years, the gilets jaunes<\/a><\/em> (yellow vests) have made their presence known, visibly and verbally. (We unexpectedly ended up observing a demonstration during our day in Nancy, so we can attest personally to their intensity!)\u00a0 Expressing their concerns, initially for rising costs of fuel before later expanding into calls for larger economic reforms, the gilets jaunes have kept these issues in the public eye through these sustained demonstrations; unfortunately, some incidents have resulted in violence.<\/p>\n

And yet, the French political system<\/a> \u2013 a hybrid neither purely parliamentary nor purely presidential \u2013 reflects an intentional element of deliberation akin to their discussion modes.\u00a0 Rather than selecting their president as the candidate who wins the most votes \u2013 most often a plurality when multiple people run \u2013 they ensure that the winner has a majority.\u00a0 If in the first round, no candidate receives 51% of votes, they hold a run-off second round with the top two candidates.\u00a0 This approach ensures that a sufficient portion of the public supports the winner, enhancing the support for the leaders.\u00a0 Each of these elements contributes to the French culture.<\/p>\n

Tocqueville picked up on these differences in verbal habits during his time in the states.\u00a0 Barlow and Nadeau capture a key insight from Alexis\u2019s traveling partner, Gustave de Beaumont, \u201cThey don\u2019t chat in the United States the way they do in France.\u00a0 The American always argues.\u00a0 He has no knowledge of the art of lightly skimming the surface of topics in a large group, where each one puts in a remark, brilliant or dull, heavy or light, where one person finishes a phrase begun by someone else, and where everything is touched on but never in-depth\u201d (93).\u00a0 Tocqueville himself affirms this though in Volume I of Democracy in America<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

To take part in the government of society and to talk about it, that is the greatest business and, so to speak, the only pleasure that an American knows.\u00a0 This is seen even in the smallest habits of his life: women themselves often go to public meetings and divert themselves from the troubles of housework by listening to political speeches.\u00a0 For them, the clubs to a certain extent take the place of theatrical entertainments.\u00a0 An American does not know how to converse, but he debates; he does not talk, he speechifies. (Ch. 5, \u201cActivity That Reigns\u2026\u201d, par. 6)<\/p>\n

In short, the dedication to political passion may sometimes shortchange us on our ability to relate to others.<\/p>\n

As one who is slightly on the introverted side of the spectrum and quiet in conversation with new people \u2013 unless in front of a classroom of students or colleagues – I think we can learn something from this distinction about the art of conversation.\u00a0 Although not as deep in nature, conversation allows us to build connections with others, some of which may bloom into longer-term relationships that we might not anticipate.\u00a0 Larry Alton offers some helpful tips on this art<\/a>; I always find that thinking about the \u201cwhy\u201d behind suggestions for the \u201cwhat we should do\u201d can help us apply them more naturally. (See also Minister Faust’s TED Talk on “How to Engage in Better Small Talk”<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The Bonjour Effect<\/em> provides a great overview and introduction to French culture for many worthy reasons.\u00a0 Its accessibility makes its ideas available to a broad audience.\u00a0 As a scholar, I also particularly value the authors\u2019 use of systematic and reliable research to give context to their personal experiences.\u00a0 (In this strength, it reminds me of other cherished reads like The Year of Living Danishly<\/a> <\/em>\u00a0and Radical Sabbatical<\/a><\/em>.)\u00a0 In addition, it offers a comparative perspective without judging cultural merits that helps the reader relate it to their own experiences. Most importantly, of course, it extends the intellectual capital of Tocqueville!<\/p>\n

This week, Heather and I are gearing up to interview students for our May 2021 course \u2013 hopefully our world will have cleared the pandemic and emerged in a new normal that allows for travel.\u00a0 I look forward to this opportunity to introduce students to this beautiful country, especially Strasbourg with its rich cultural identity<\/a> born from the many shifts in its political control between France and Germany for over a millennium.\u00a0 The most important piece that students had affirmed for them, was the need to always begin any social interaction in France with a \u201cBonjour!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  (What is\u00a0Tocqueville Capital?\u00a0 Read the\u00a0welcome post for the series!) In this edition of Tocqueville Capital, we return to the land of Alexis\u2019s roots.\u00a0 Last May, I traveled with my colleague – and friend – Heather, along with our students on a three-week cross-cultural course to Strasbourg and Paris, France.\u00a0 Our college offers these courses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11814],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tocqueville-capital"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98\/revisions\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.messiah.edu\/politicsinternationalrelations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}