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 first film in our Fall 2023 French and Francophone Film Series, Cédric Klapisch`s 2017 film Ce Qui Nous Lie (Back to Burgundy). This film is "the tale of three thirty-something siblings reunited in the family vineyard where they grew up. As four seasons and two harvests unfold, emotional and work-related conflicts erupt which will force the siblings to reinvent their relationships and their own life choices if they are to survive as a family and a business. Shot on location in several Burgundy vineyards, Back to Burgun-dy provides a fascinating glimpse into the winemaking process rarely depicted on screen as authentically." (musicboxfilms.com) Runtime: 1h53
The @wfustudyabroad programs in France are the perfect choice for students currently studying French, from those in French 111 and 113 to prospective and current majors and minors! Stop by our table at the study abroad fair to learn more about summer in Tours and fall in Dijon, chat with 2024 faculty directors, and hear from student ambassadors from both programs!
Can’t make the fair? See our link in bio for more information, or contact Tours 2024 faculty director Professor Anthony, Dijon 2024 faculty director Professor Tarte, or Dijon program director Professor Murphy!
#deacsabroad #wfu27 #wfu26 #wfu24
Need help with pronunciation or tricky verb forms!? Meet with our Fulbright FLTA for free French tutoring! Mondays 10-11, Wednesdays 4-5, and Thursdays 11-12. Make an appointment at the link in our bio! Bon courage! #wfufrenchstudies #wfu #godeacs
It’s time to check in on our fall #wfudijon @wfustudyabroad program! Students have been settling into their host families, getting to know Dijon and busy with their civilization course – They’ve already had two long weekend excursions, to Provence and around Burgundy. Enjoy these postcards, and stay tuned for more posts! And follow current #wfudijon student @alexandragoesabroad for lots of program highlights!
If you’re a current student who is considering study abroad for next fall, please stop by our table at the Study Abroad Fair on Tuesday 19 September between 12 and 4 pm in Benson 401! You can also contact fall 2024 resident faculty Dr. Kendall Tarte or Dijon program director Dr. Stephen Murphy! See our link in bio to check out the fall 2024 application!
#deacsabroad #francestudyabroad #jaimedijon
Join us in welcoming our 2023-2024 Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Anaïs Chapuis! We are so excited to have Anaïs working with us in French Studies! In addition to teaching, Anaïs will be available for tutoring soon! Bienvenue, Anaïs! #wfu #wfufrenchstudies #fulbright
Join us for our French Studies open house! Wednesday, Aug. 30, 6:00-7:00 PM in Greene 535 (the Faculty Lounge). Meet French Studies faculty members, our majors and minors, and other interested students! #wfufrenchstudies #wfu27 #godeacs
Bienvenue, welcome, and welcome back to our #wfufrenchstudies students!
From the first day to the last, our @wfustudyabroad summer program in Tours, France was filled with wonderful and unforgettable sights, experiences, and friends. Students lived French culture every day, developed their French language skills in classes and with host families, visited amazing places including Loire Valley châteaux, Mont Saint-Michel, Claude Monet’s home at Giverny, and (of course!) Paris! 🏰🪷🥐 Most importantly, they got to know and love the amazing city of Tours. 😍
{If you’re a WFU student – or prospective student – interested in studying abroad in France, see our link in bio for information about our programs in Tours and Dijon!}
Au revoir, Tours, et à la prochaine ! #deacsabroad 🇫🇷
As the month of June – and our @wfustudyabroad program in Tours – draws to a close, here are a few photos from the group’s excursions to the chateaux 🏰 of Amboise and Clos Lucé, and a glimpse of our trip to Paris! 🏰🚆😍
#deacsabroad 🇫🇷