Graduate Program

The graduate program in French Studies, offering degrees both at the Masters and Ph.D. level, is distinctive for the strength of its faculty, the close attention it offers to each of its students, and its rich, interdisciplinary approach. It strives to meet the needs of candidates interested in all fields of French literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the present, but with faculty including literary theorists, philosophers, historians, linguists, and cultural critics, it is a program intended to situate French culture within the broadest possible context of European and World history. Courses range quite broadly from the chanson de geste to French feminism, postcolonialism, and contemporary philosophical postmodernity.

The interdisciplinary approaches embodied in our program are facilitated by ongoing workshops on campus sponsored by the Center for the Study of Cultures, an interdepartmental organization that bridges the research interests of faculty members and graduate students in the humanities and social sciences. For second language instruction and research, the Center for the Study of Languages provides a framework of pedagogical, scholarly, and cultural support. Finally, distinguished scholars from both the United States and Europe are often invited for public lectures. Past visitors have included: Marc Augé, Jean Baudrillard, Leo Bersani, Cornélius Castoriadis, Jacques Derrida, Gérard Genette, René Girard, Edouard Glissant, Maurice Godelier, Richard Howard, Jean-François Lyotard, Naomi Schor, and Joan Scott.

Holders of the B.A. degree, the M.A., or their equivalents from accredited institutions are eligible to apply.