Emmanuelle Saada

I cannot recommend this course highly enough. It made me decide to turn my concentration in history into a second major. While like any history course, it has its fair share of dates to memorize, Professor Saada emphasized overarching themes and questions over factoids, and emphasized primary source reading over a textbook narrative. This span of this class stretches from the French Revolution to the present, so it essentially encompasses everything within the Revolution's legacy, industrialization and urbanization, post-colonialism, Nazi collaboration, the building of the EU, the influx of Arab immigration, etc. Not only was the information in this course incredibly relevant to understanding modern European history, it was very useful for thinking about current events. Professor Saada also screens films for the course; last year, it was Au Revoir les Enfants and the Battle of Algiers. This was by far the best class I've taken in the history department, and possibly one of the best courses I've taken at Columbia. Also, the TA Allison Powers is wonderful; sections with her were the highlight of my day.

Overall, a great class! Prof Saada is hilarious and makes class enjoyable while maintaining a good level of intellectual rigor. She’s not afraid to poke fun at herself and you can tell she’s really passionate about what she’s teaching. Intro to French Civ AKA France: Past and Present was a good class and I learned a ton. Saada is great at engaging the class and also takes time to lecture in order to clarify difficult material. This was a very well structured course and my knowledge of French civ wasn’t the only thing that got better (my writing did too). She grades the papers with a lot of care and even lets you rewrite a paper for a higher grade (so you learn from your mistakes). Overall, a great class with an even greater professor, I recommend taking this class or anything Saada teaches.

Professor Saada is my favorite professor at Columbia. Here’s why: 1. Her energy and enthusiasm for the subject matter as well as her sense of humor makes her very relatable and creates a light class environment where you can feel comfortable participating. 2. Also, this woman knows her stuff. She is a wealth of knowledge and her excitement to teach will make you excited to come to class. This is such a treat since it’s rare to find a professor who can both engage and challenge you intellectually and on a personal level. I decided to take this class just because I like French but over the course of the semester, I became really interested in French history, thought, and philosophy and it helped prepare me for the second semester of CC. I highly recommend this class for anyone exploring the French major or concentration. Saada is also fair in terms of workload and understands that life gets crazy during midterms; she was flexible with setting the due dates for papers to accommodate our schedules.

Emmanuelle Saada's classes are some of the best that I've ever taken at Columbia University. She stands out amongst other professors, because she is so attentive to her students. It's easy to get lost amongst the crowd at such a large university, but Saada is always available to work with undergraduates. Furthermore, she is a historical expert and one of the renowned faculty of the French department. Assigned readings are not only pertinent to the subject, but also connect well with Core Curriculum classes. I didn't find CC particularly useful until I took a class with Saada, who's familiarity with the Core makes for an incredibly enjoyable, engaging and connected class. Her interpretations of difficult readings are inspiring due both to her intellect and diverse background. She exemplifies what Columbia University is about. Run, do not walk to her class. It is an honor for any student to be able to take a class with her. I learned more in one class with Saada then in 2 years at Columbia. Expect fascinating lectures and a reasonable workload.

Professor Saada was engaging and had an excellent grasp of the readings. Her explanations were thorough, although sometimes she focused a bit too much on the historical aspects of the authors. Assigns lighter readings than most other classes and is very understanding of students' other obligations. Great personality and fun class.

Emmanuelle is a great teacher, and I'm very glad that I took this class with her. She knows everything there is to know about French colonialism, and the class itself can be entertaining. I believe she graded fairly and is not one of those professors who refuses to give As on first drafts. Just be sure to do the readings as she will sometimes single a person out to have him/her participate.

I gained a lot of knowledge about French and Francophone history and improved my French writing skills.

It is interesting to hear about different topics discussed by different intellectuals and professors about the francophone world.

This course improved my skills at writing in French and greatly expanded my understanding of the asylum seeking process.

This course helped me revise and refine the argument and structure of my dissertation chapter, as well as practice reading and giving feedback to colleagues.