French and Francophone Studies (BA in French and Francophone Studies)

The French and Francophone Studies Program

The French & Francophone program at the College of William & Mary provides students with a critical understanding of the rich and varied cultures of the French-speaking world. It exposes them to a life-changing experience through the intellectual and personal challenges of learning a different way of living and thinking. Solid linguistic competency in French and a critical understanding of Francophone cultures are indispensable for anyone who wishes to study the French-speaking world.  In class and in our research, we analyze varied forms of  cultural production and the ways in which they represent  real-world struggles related to nation, gender, race, class, the environment, etc. Our courses prepare students to work in fields as diverse as international relation, medicine, business, law, journalism, finance, education, and the arts.

Thanks to the diversity of our faculty, their backgrounds and specializations, the French & Francophone Studies program offers a wide selection of courses that examine different periods and aspects of Francophone culture and literature from France, the Indian Ocean, Africa, Vietnam, the Caribbean and North America. To foster an awareness of these different cultures, courses are taught in French and are interdisciplinary in approach.

Most students who major in French & Francophone Studies have a double major, such as International Relations, History, Government, English, Economics, or even Biology or Chemistry. In order to support students’ interests and career goals, the French & Francophone Studies program works in close collaboration with faculty from other departments or programs- Africana Studies, Gender Sexuality and Women’s Studies, Art History, Anthropology, Film Studies, European Studies, Literary and Cultural Studies among others. Courses in other departments relating to French & Francophone issues can count towards a major in French & Francophone Studies.

¹

Note:  FREN 305 Discovery Seminar in French & Francophone Studies, FREN 314 Uncertain Identities: Introduction to French Cultural Studies, FREN 315 Provocative Texts: French Literature in its Cultural Contexts, and FREN 450 Advanced Seminar in French & Francophone Studies must be taken on the WM campus. 

²

Capstone course for the Major that satisfies the Major Writing Requirement, the Major Computing Requirement, and the COLL 400 Requirement

³

but only a maximum of 4 credits from among FREN 210 From Word to Text: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, FREN 212 Cross-cultural Perspectives on the Francophone World, and FREN 299 French Studies Abroad at the Upper Intermediate Level

⁴

including either FREN 314 Uncertain Identities: Introduction to French Cultural Studies or FREN 315 Provocative Texts: French Literature in its Cultural Contexts

⁵

(Except for FREN 305 Discovery Seminar in French & Francophone Studies, which may NOT be repeated, students may repeat a FREN topics course for major credit if the topic is different. This includes FREN 450 Advanced Seminar in French & Francophone Studies, which may be taken for major credit twice.)

(Students cannot enroll in FREN 303 Themes and Issues in the French/ Francophone World after they have completed 305 OR any other higher level FREN course.)

Additional Information

All majors in French are strongly encouraged to include study abroad in a French-speaking location at some point in their undergraduate experience. However, no more than 12 FREN transfer credits from a given semester of study abroad may be counted for major credit without the approval of the French and Francophone Studies Program.    

Students will choose their faculty advisor from among the French faculty when declaring their major in French. The French section actively supports faculty-mentored independent student research and strongly encourages qualified students to consider writing an honors thesis.