Home
In the Spotlight
Why Study French & Italian?
The Department of French and Italian provides instruction in the languages, literatures, cinema, and cultures of France, Italy, and other areas where these languages are spoken.
We offer a wide selection of undergraduate courses, covering topics ranging from the Middle Ages to Italian-American culture and the Francophone literature of Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
Our MA and PhD graduate programs in French are among the national leaders in successfully placing students in academic positions, and the highly productive research faculty provide expertise in all areas of French and Italian literature.
Featured Courses - Fall 2024
Taught W 3:35pm - 6:05pm
Why did love become such a major, and pan-European, cultural phenomenon? Are medieval and modern desire fundamentally different? This course will take a comparative approach to medieval literature, looking to some of the greatest works of Occitan poetry, Middle High German and Old French romance, and Italian literature. Alongside primary texts, we will read modern psychoanalytic work about desire. There are no prerequisites for this class.
TAUGHT IN ENGLISH!
Taught MWF 11:15am - 12:05pm
Did you know that the Italian Cinderella murdered her stepmother? Or that Sleeping Beauty had twins before marrying the prince? Or that the cats in Italian Puss-in-Boots stories were female? While Walt Disney鈥檚 animated fairy tales are familiar to most American children and adults, few people realize that Disney鈥檚 most beloved characters descend from an Italian and French fairy tale tradition that dates back to the 16th century. In this class, you will study how fairy tales have changed through time and across cultures.
TAUGHT IN ENGLISH
Taught TuTh 12:30pm-1:45pm
Discusses the emergence of the zombie figure in the Caribbean and its evolution from colonial Haiti to present-day popular culture having passed through Hollywood. Through movies and literary, historical, and scientific documents, students will study critically how this mass-media icon came to represent deep-rooted anxieties about the modern world.
TAUGHT IN ENGLISH!