The Wake Forest University Department of French Studies is committed to innovative, engaged teaching and to excellence in research. Our faculty represent scholarly areas of specialization in French and Francophone literature and cultural studies, in film, and in linguistics. Our department has a major and a minor, a concentration in French for Business, and well-established faculty-led study abroad programs in Tours and Dijon.
The French Studies faculty are dedicated teachers and mentors who are invested in the success of our students. In our department, all faculty – from the most senior professors to the junior faculty who joined our department most recently – teach courses at all levels, from elementary French to our major/minor core courses and seminars. The success of beginning French students is as crucial to our departmental identity as that of students in our capstone seminars. Student engagement and mentoring are at the heart of our vision for the department.
We firmly believe that the study of global languages and cultures is a hallmark of a quality liberal arts education. Knowing another language is key to understanding social, historical, and political events in their contexts. In particular, our program aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop the linguistic and intercultural skills that enable exploration of the French and Francophone world, to engage in critical thinking, and to hone their analytical skills.
The department has a wonderful sense of community. I made friends with my fellow students and found important mentors in French Studies professors.
Julia Mroz, French Studies minor (’20)
Statement of Inclusive Excellence
The Department of French Studies is committed to an inclusive environment in our department for all faculty, staff, and students, and to the representation of diverse perspectives in our curriculum and scholarship. Diversity is inherent to the field of French Studies. The French-speaking world is vast, multiethnic, and culturally and economically varied. The WFU French Studies faculty is a diverse group, and our research specializations and teaching interests represent the diversity of the Francophone world, geographically and temporally. We aim to engage students at all levels of French study and from all backgrounds with those rich and varied perspectives. More broadly, we share a common understanding of and a strong commitment to the importance of diversity and inclusion to our teaching and research.
I gained an understanding of the way that learning another language is learning another culture. This minor has meant the opportunity to step outside of my national context into a truly global one. It has provided me with the opportunity to transform not only my perspective on the francophone world, but on the entire world.
Alexander Holt, French Studies minor (’20)
Join us for the last film in our series, Frantz! Directed by François Ozon, the film tells the story of a young German woman who, grieving the death of her fiancé in France, meets a mysterious Frenchman who visits the fiancé`s grave to lay flowers…
Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 7:00pm in ZSR Auditorium. Students, please sign up on The Link via the QR code. #wfu #wfufrenchstudies
@WFU students, do you still need a course that fulfills your Division II requirements? French Studies will offer FRT 210, "Culture on the Move in Global Francophone Cities," this spring! Taught in English, the course will explore intersections of culture and movement in francophone cities around the planet. Engaging primarily with films and literary texts—accompanied by other media like photographs and graphic novels—, we will navigate cities such as Montreal, Port-au-Prince, Paris, Dakar and Hanoi, among others. Please email Prof. Tierney with questions! #wfu #wfustudents #wfufrenchstudies
👋🏻 Un petit coucou de Dijon ! In addition to traveling throughout much of France 🇫🇷as part of the program, our fall semester @wfustudyabroad students have the opportunity to discover the amazing city of Dijon, the capital of the region of Burgundy!
Here are a few highlights from the fall thus far! Our students have:
✅ climbed a medieval tower and admired the panorama of the city
✅ competed in a local 10k 🏃🏻♀️
✅ enjoyed a wine tasting workshop 🍷@dijon_citegastronomie
✅ attended the mayor’s welcome event for international students at the Hôtel de Ville
✅ picnicked in the park
✅ taken photos in some of Dijon’s iconic spots
#wfudijon #deacsabroad
The French Studies Department is pleased to share the news of a recent publication by one of our faculty members. Félicitations !
Professor Ryan Schroth: “An aesthetics of intranquillité: fear and anxiety in Le fil and L’intranquille" in Contemporary French Civilization, Volume 49, Number 2
#wfu #wfufrenchstudies
During their week in Paris last month, the #WFUDijon group had the opportunity to get together with three @wfuniversity alums, former French Studies majors who now live in Paris. As undergraduates, all three also participated in the @wfustudyabroad program in Dijon.
Thanks to these young professionals for connecting with current students to talk about their career trajectories, and for sharing some of their favorite spots in Paris: Adam Dingman (2018), who just earned his Master’s in International Relations and Economic Diplomacy at HEIP-Paris (Hautes Études Internationales & Politiques) @heip_politics; Sarah Dancy Blackburn (2020), who works at Insigniam as a consultant; and Christopher Williams (2021), who is an account executive at PlayPlay. Merci beaucoup !!
#deacsabroad 🇫🇷 #lifeafterwake
Join us this week for two public film screenings of Marinette, on Tuesday, October 8 and Wednesday, October 9 at 7:00 PM in ZSR Auditorium.
Students: sign up on The Link (link in bio)
This movie is based on the real-life story of Marinette Pichon, "one of the world`s greatest stars of football, having held for almost two decades the record for the number of goals and caps for the French team (men/women combined) before becoming a FIFA legend by being the first French player to have a career in the US. The film follows her fight to spread awareness on women`s rights in sport."
Director: Virginie Verrier, France, 2023 (95 min)
This film is a part of Young French Cinema, a program of Unifrance and Villa Albertine.
#wfu #wfufrenchstudies
Join us for a presentation by Fulbright FLTA Enzo Chopin! He will explore the intercultural dimensions of Franco-American culinary diplomacy, drawing on his MA thesis research on White House state dinners during the Cold War era. Come learn about this fascinating topic! Thursday, October 3, at 4:00pm in Greene 311. #wfu #wfufrenchstudies
Interested in one of our amazing study abroad programs? Come to this information session to hear more about our programs in Dijon (fall) and Tours (summer). Former participants and faculty leaders will be there to answer your questions! Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 4pm in Greene 320. #wfu #wfufrenchstudies #wfudijon #wfutours
Un petit coucou de Dijon ! 🇫🇷 We thought it was about time we checked in with the fall semester @wfustudyabroad students! The group has been spending the first month of the program immersed in French history and culture, including lots of travel. We thought you’d like to see a few postcards from our excursions in Provence, Burgundy, Normandy, and the Loire Valley. On a déjà bien voyagé ! #deacsabroad #wfudijon