University of Rennes 2 - Upper Brittany
Encyclopedia
The University of Rennes 2 (Université Rennes 2, UR2) is a French university in Upper Brittany
, one of four in the Academy of Rennes.
The main campus is situated in the northwest section of Rennes
in the Villejean neighborhood not far from the other campus, located at La Harpe.
in 1460 . It taught arts, medicine, law, and theology.
In 1728, the mayor of Nantes, Gérard Mellier, asked that the university be moved to Rennes, Nantes being more trade oriented. The Law school was thus moved the Rennes
in 1730. This city already had the Parliament of Brittany, it was thus more suited to have this School. In 1793 the French Revolution
closed all universities. It is not before 1806 that the Law school reopened in Rennes
.
In 1808, Napoleon I
reorganized the universities in France, creating the University of France
. From the 2 original cities housing the University of Brittany, only Rennes
was included in this University. Nantes
had to wait until 1970 to have its university
again. In 1810 a faculty of letters opened, which gathered in 1835 five schools (French literature, foreign literature, antic literature, history, and philosophy). The science faculty opened still in Rennes in 1840. Those 3 faculties remained without clear boundaries between them until 1885 with the creation of a "Conseil des facultés" which took in 1896 the name of University of Rennes. In the middle of the 19th century, they were gathered in the Palais Universitaire, located currently in the Quai Émile Zola, but were then scattered downtown. The Faculty of Letters was thus relocated in 1909 to the Séminaire, located currently in the Place Hoche.
In 1967, the Villejean campus opened, dedicated to Arts, Letters, and Human Sciences.
In 1969, in order to enforce the growth of French universities, a law was passed, splitting the University of Rennes into two new entities. This new university took the name of 'University of Upper Brittany'. The Villejean neighborhood was then still in development, building housing facilities for students, along with other university facilities.
In the east of the city, Beaulieu includes sciences and philosophy. In the west, Villejean includes Schools of Foreign Languages, Arts, Human Sciences and Social Sciences. Rennes I University's School of Medicine, is located on the edge of Villejean campus, but also on Brittany's largest hospital center, Pontchaillou.
Since March 2002, Villejean campus can be reached with the VAL subway, via the station 'Villejean-Université', making the university only 5 minutes away from the inner city.
The two universities are currently working on their unification. If this project were to be accomplished, the brand new university, with its 40,000 students, would be the largest in France.
The University is structured around 5 UFRs, or Units of teaching and research. This organization based on UFR is common to all public universities in France.
(2003) by Doug Headline, the story is set on campus, even if the only recognizable element is the 2001-2002 orange student ID card.
Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany is a term used to describe the eastern part of Brittany which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to Lower Brittany, the western part of the ancient province and present-day region, where the Breton language...
, one of four in the Academy of Rennes.
The main campus is situated in the northwest section of Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
in the Villejean neighborhood not far from the other campus, located at La Harpe.
Creation of the University of Brittany
Asked by Francis II, Duke of Brittany, the Pope created the first university of Brittany in NantesNantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
in 1460 . It taught arts, medicine, law, and theology.
In 1728, the mayor of Nantes, Gérard Mellier, asked that the university be moved to Rennes, Nantes being more trade oriented. The Law school was thus moved the Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
in 1730. This city already had the Parliament of Brittany, it was thus more suited to have this School. In 1793 the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
closed all universities. It is not before 1806 that the Law school reopened in Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
.
Development of the faculties in Rennes
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
reorganized the universities in France, creating the University of France
University of France
The University of France was a highly centralized educational state organization founded by Napoleon I in 1808 and given authority not only over the individual, previously independent, universities, but also over primary and secondary education. The former individual universities were henceforth...
. From the 2 original cities housing the University of Brittany, only Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
was included in this University. Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
had to wait until 1970 to have its university
University of Nantes
The University of Nantes is a well-known French university, located in the city of Nantes. Currently, it is attended by approximately 34,000 students. 10% of them are international students coming from 110 countries.-History:...
again. In 1810 a faculty of letters opened, which gathered in 1835 five schools (French literature, foreign literature, antic literature, history, and philosophy). The science faculty opened still in Rennes in 1840. Those 3 faculties remained without clear boundaries between them until 1885 with the creation of a "Conseil des facultés" which took in 1896 the name of University of Rennes. In the middle of the 19th century, they were gathered in the Palais Universitaire, located currently in the Quai Émile Zola, but were then scattered downtown. The Faculty of Letters was thus relocated in 1909 to the Séminaire, located currently in the Place Hoche.
Creation of the University of Rennes 2
In 1969, in order to enforce the growth of French universities, a law was passed, splitting the University of Rennes into two new entities. This new university took the name of 'University of Upper Brittany'. The Villejean neighborhood was then still in development, building housing facilities for students, along with other university facilities.
In the east of the city, Beaulieu includes sciences and philosophy. In the west, Villejean includes Schools of Foreign Languages, Arts, Human Sciences and Social Sciences. Rennes I University's School of Medicine, is located on the edge of Villejean campus, but also on Brittany's largest hospital center, Pontchaillou.
Since March 2002, Villejean campus can be reached with the VAL subway, via the station 'Villejean-Université', making the university only 5 minutes away from the inner city.
The two universities are currently working on their unification. If this project were to be accomplished, the brand new university, with its 40,000 students, would be the largest in France.
List of former presidents
| year | name |
|---|---|
| since January 2006 | Marc Gontard |
| 2001–2006 | François Mouret |
| 1996–2001 | Jean Brihault |
| 1991–1996 | André Lespagnol |
| 1986–1991 | Jean Mounier |
| 1982–1986 | Jean François Botrel |
| 1976–1980 | Michel Denis |
Academic programs
- The UFR of Sports (APS), ;
- 1 department: STAPS
- 1 research unit.
- The UFR of Arts, Letters, Communication (ALC):
- 5 departments (Plastic arts, Performing artsPerforming artsThe performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, History of artHistory of artThe History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
, Literature and Music) ; - 4 research units.
- 5 departments (Plastic arts, Performing arts
- The UFR of foreign Languages
- 11 departments: German, English, Arabic, BretonBreton languageBreton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
and Celtic languagesCeltic languagesThe Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
, Chinese, Spanish, ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, LEA (translation), Multi-langues, PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. 21 different foreign languages are being taught in those departements, from beginner to advanced level. - 4 research units, including one belonging to the CNRS,
- 1 Center for non-student teachings: Le Centre de Langues,
- 1 institut: L'Institut des Amériques de Rennes (IDA), the American Studies institut.
- 11 departments: German, English, Arabic, Breton
- The UFR of Human ScienceHuman ScienceHuman science refers to the investigation of human life and activities via a phenomenological methodology that acknowledges the validity of both sensory and psychological experience...
:- 3 departments: PsychologyPsychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
/ Teaching Sciences / SociologySociologySociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, $2anguage and Communication, - 4 research units.
- 1 formation center : Cefocop
- 1 institute: Institut de criminologie et Sciences Humaines (ICSH)
- 3 departments: Psychology
- The UFR of Social sciencesSocial sciencesSocial science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
:- 4 departments: Administration économique et sociale (AES), GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
space amenagement, History, and MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
applied to Social sciences (MASS), - 6 research units, including 5 belonging to the CNRS.
- 2 institutes: L'Institut des Amériques de Rennes (IDA), the American Studies institut, and the "Institut de formation et de recherche sur l'administration territoriale" (IFRAT)
- 4 departments: Administration économique et sociale (AES), Geography
Campus life
Student organizations
With its 50 or so student circles, Rennes 2 University has the highest rate of organizations per student among French universities. There is a radio station, Radio Campus Rennes, for which the EREVE was built in 2005. Most of the organizations are located throughout different buildings on campus.Festivals
Different festivals are organized by the students, some of them were large enough to enlarge their fields to the city itself. Among them:- "K-barré"", focusing on performing arts
- "Roulements de tambour", focusing on music
- "Travelling", focusing on cinema, now a City wide festival.
- "Tubas d'or", focusing on short movies
Alumni
- Jean-Pierre Bayard (1920), writer
- Bernard BonnejeanBernard Bonnejean(born 10 June 1950 in Ernée (Mayenne), on June 10, 1950, is a French author, specialist of catholic French poetry of 19th and 20th centuries.-Youth:...
(1950), writer - Étienne DahoÉtienne DahoÉtienne Daho is a French singer, songwriter and record producer who has released a number of synth-driven and rock-surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981.- Career :...
(1957), singer - Hélène Delavault
- Muriel Laporte (1963), lead singer of Niagara, rock band
- Louis Le PensecLouis Le PensecLouis Le Pensec is a French politician. He is a member of the Socialist Party. Between 1973 and 1997, he was a member of the Parliament.Since 27 September 1998, he is a Senator of Finistère....
(1937), cabinet member, Senator, Member of ParlementParliament of FranceThe French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly . Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a separate location in Paris: the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate, the Palais Bourbon for the National Assembly.Each... - Gustave Parking (1955),
- Christophe HonoréChristophe HonoréChristophe Honoré is a French writer and film director born in Carhaix, Finistère in 1970.After moving to Paris in 1995, he wrote articles in "Les Cahiers du Cinéma." He started writing soon-after. His 1996 book Tout contre Léo talks about HIV and is aimed at young adults; he made it into a movie...
(1992), movie maker, movie writer, writer - Gaël Roblin (2006),
Faculty
- Anne F. Garréta (1962), writer, prix MédicisPrix MédicisThe Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."...
2002 - Jean DelumeauJean DelumeauJean Delumeau is a French historian specializing in the Catholic church history and author of several books regarding the subject...
(1923), historian, elected to the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, September 27, 1989. - Dominique FernandezDominique FernandezDominique Fernandez is an openly homosexual French novelist and member of the Académie française...
(1929), writer, prix MédicisPrix MédicisThe Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."...
1974, Prix GoncourtPrix GoncourtThe Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
1982, elected to the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, March 8, 2007. - Henri FrévilleHenri FrévilleHenri Fréville was a French history professor, resistor, writer and politician.-Life:...
, Senator, Member of Parlement, Mayor of Rennes - Milan KunderaMilan KunderaMilan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
(1929), writer, prix MédicisPrix MédicisThe Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."...
1973 - Jean-Yves Le DrianJean-Yves Le DrianJean-Yves Le Drian is a socialist French politician born in Lorient, Morbihan.Le Drian is a member of the Socialist Party of France. He was a member of the French National Assembly for Morbihan from 1978 to 1993 and again from 1997 until June 2007...
(1947), Member of Parlement, Governor of the Brittany Region - Robert MerleRobert MerleRobert Merle was a French novelist.-Biography:Born in Tébessa in French Algeria, he moved to France in 1918. A professor of English Literature at several universities, during World War II Merle was conscripted in the French army and assigned as an interpreter to the British Expeditionary Force...
(1908), writer, prix GoncourtPrix GoncourtThe Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
1949 - Juan José SaerJuan José SaerJuan José Saer was one of the most important Argentine novelists of the last fifty years.Born to Syrian immigrants in Serodino, a small town in the Santa Fe Province, he studied law and philosophy at the National University of the Littoral, where he taught History of Cinematography. Thanks to a...
(1937), writer, Premio NadalPremio NadalPremio Nadal is a Spanish literary prize awarded annually by the publishing house Ediciones Destino, part of Planeta. It has been awarded every year on January 6 since 1944...
1986 - Mário SoaresMário SoaresMário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL, KE , Portuguese politician, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.-Family:...
(1924), President of Portugal.
The University of Rennes 2 in fiction
In the film BrocéliandeBrocéliande
Brocéliande is the name of a legendary forest that first appears in literature in 1160, in the Roman de Rou, a verse chronicle written by Wace....
(2003) by Doug Headline, the story is set on campus, even if the only recognizable element is the 2001-2002 orange student ID card.
See also
- List of public universities in France by academy