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)
Our film festival continues with Gagarine on Thursday, March 30! As always, find more details at our link in bio. #albertinecinémathèque
Next Wednesday in our Film Festival: "Aline," directed by and starring Valérie Lemercier. #albertinecinémathèque
The second film in the French and Francophone Film Festival will be L`Evénement. Learn more at the link in our bio. #albertinecinémathèque
Join us on Wednesday, March 15 for the first film of our French and Francophone Film Festival! Swipe to learn more and check the link in our bio for more information on all of the upcoming films. #albertinecinémathèque
Did you know that @wfu.class has peer tutors for classes in French Studies? Make an appointment at https://class.wfu.edu/academic-success/peer-tutoring/
Mark your calendars, Albertine film festival is coming! #albertinecinémathèque
Supported by Albertine Cinémathèque, a program of FACE Foundation and Villa Albertine, with support from the CNC/Centre national du Cinéma and SACEM/Fonds Culturel Franco-Américain
We loved catching up with the students and faculty who came to our Declaration Celebration event yesterday! Thanks for wishing a warm welcome to our new French Studies majors and minors! @shardaejohn @ian.steffensen
Get ahead in your French classes this Spring with tutoring by FLTA Mélanie. Sign up at the link in our bio!
You`re invited! Let`s celebrate French Studies majors and minors on Wednesday, February 15 from 3:30-4:30 PM in Greene 535. You can also come meet the Student Ambassadors, fellow study abroad students, and French Studies faculty. À bientôt!