French & Francophone Studies

Courses in French and Francophone studies teach basic communication skills in French, appreciation for other cultures through language, and develop skills beyond the study of language focusing on critical thinking, communication, and equity and inclusion. Texts and films are analyzed closely from a contemporary critical perspective with attention to their cultural and historical context. All courses are taught in French, except in the case of some courses cross-listed with other departments or programs, which may be taught in other languages.

The department’s name, French and Francophone studies, reflects a capacious approach to the reach that literature and cultural production in the French language has in the world beyond metropolitan France. Students explore a diversity of experience in Francophone cultures while offering continuous training in the use of the language through analytical and creative work. The department provides effective preparation for graduate work but also a range of competencies that have proven valuable for a diverse range of professions. The significance of French is highlighted by the College’s proximity to Quebec and by the large number of Franco-Americans and new Mainers from African countries who live and work in Maine. Courses study the histories and cultures of North Africa, Europe, West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, and Québec that have produced writers and artists who have influenced the world broadly, making French and Francophone cultural production a truly rich and provocative platform to explore gender, sexuality, race, religion, nationality, immigration and decolonization.

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