French, Francophone, and Italian Studies

Academic Department Introduction

Courses in the Department of French, Francophone, and Italian Studies open doors to cultures that are rich in tradition and deeply significant in today’s diversifying world. With few exceptions, our courses are taught in French or Italian. The subjects span 10 centuries, from the Middle Ages to the present. Our courses are designed to help students develop a number of critical life skills—linguistic, analytical, interpretive, expressive, creative. We offer opportunities to study abroad for the three-week Wintersession, a semester, or a year.

To move among multiple frames of cultural reference, to inhabit the alternate personae that come with mastery of another tongue, to know the sounds, songs, and idioms of French or Italian—these are deep intellectual pleasures. They are also highly useful tools in the real world.

Learning goals

Speak, write, read, and understand French or Italian at the advanced level.
Develop advanced knowledge of the major authors and works from a variety of genres—poetry, prose, theater, cinema—that form, but also contest, French or Italian literary traditions and cultural heritages.
Acquire the critical thinking skills and the methodological and theoretical grounding needed to pursue studies at the graduate school level.

Programs of study

French major and minor

Students acquire analytical and critical skills in speaking and writing through exposure to French literature, film, history, social and political movements, and legal questions.

Major requirements

Minor requirements

French cultural studies major

Students whose interests in the French and Francophone world are primarily cultural and historical take courses in the department of French as well as in Africana studies, art, history, music, and/or political science.

Major requirements

Italian major and minor

Students develop advanced knowledge of the major authors and works from a variety of genres—poetry, prose, theater, cinema—that form, but also contest, Italy’s literary tradition and cultural heritage, and understand the crucial moments and events of Italian history and culture, from the Middle Ages to the present.

Major requirements

Minor requirements

Course highlights

Occupation and Resistance: The French Memory and Experience of World War II

FREN232

Few experiences in recent French history have marked French collective memory as profoundly as World War II. During these years, the French dealt not only with the trauma of defeat and the German Occupation, but also with the divisive legacy of the collaborationist Vichy regime, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, a revered World War I hero. Memories of the war have continued to mark the public imagination to the present day, manifesting themselves in the various arenas of French national life. This course examines the history and memory of the French experience of World War II through historical documents, memoirs, films, literature, and songs.

More Info

Seminar: Francophone Boston

FREN309

Comment dit-on ‘Boston’ en français? This course examines the historical, cultural, and literary ties between the city of Boston and francophone individuals and communities, past and present. We will consider such topics as French, Quebecois, and Haitian immigrations in the 17th, 19th, and 20th centuries; local French-language newspapers and publishing houses committed to printing French books; French immersion programs in Boston-area schools; depictions of Boston's high society and college campuses by major francophone writers (Beauvoir, Sarraute, Tocqueville, and others); and the influence of Julia Child’s Boston-based cooking show The French Chef on French avant-garde theater. Combining a range of readings with site visits and field projects, this course will expose students to local resources for French speakers as well as francophone community leaders. The course will culminate in a research project on a topic that students wish to explore further.

Explore all courses

Places and spaces

Study abroad in France

The Wellesley-in-Aix program in southern France provides a unique opportunity to experience French student culture and daily life through direct enrollment in French institutions, homestays, volunteer opportunities, and other activities.

Learn more about Wellesley-in-Aix

Study abroad in Italy

Students can experience a full cultural immersion through Wintersession in Rome, a language-intensive three-week program. Or they can spend a semester or year at the University of Bologna, through ECCO, a program jointly run by Vassar College, Wesleyan University, and Wellesley College. Bologna is home to several preeminent institutions engaged in human rights, women’s history, gender studies, and social justice.

Learn about the ECCO program

Research highlights

Professor Sergio Parussa’s annotated edition of Giorgio Bassani’s novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is forthcoming from the Italian publisher Feltrinelli. Students helped Parussa and the Fondazione Giorgio Bassani collect, digitize, and catalog archival material, such as the novel’s manuscript and typescript, on which the annotated edition is based.
With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Professor Hélène Bilis developed a digital pedagogical edition and new translation of Lafayette’s La Princesse de Clèves with three colleagues from liberal arts colleges.
Senior Lecturer Flavia Laviosa is the founder and editor of the book series Trajectories of Italian Cinema and Media and of the Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies, both published by Intellect Ltd. Her research examines representations of violence against women in world cinema and media.
Senior Lecturer Daniela Bartalesi-Graf designed two Open Education Resources (OERs) to research, study and teach Italian contemporary culture: Caleidoscopio and Voci dal sud. In collaboration with colleagues from three universities, Bartalesi-Graf built a website that curates the best Italian Studies OERs. On edX, Bartalesi-Graf created a free program to teach and learn Italian; the program is used in Wellesley’s beginner and intermediate Italian courses.

Opportunities

La Maison Française

The maison offers an immersive residential experience. Fourteen Wellesley students and two students from Aix Marseille Université together cook their meals and host events, speaking only French. A cultural center for the Francophone communities of Wellesley and the greater Boston area, la Maison Française sponsors game nights, flower-planting, conferences, and lectures featuring an impressive list of notable guests.
Summer internships in French-speaking countries

The Michèle Respaut French House Fellows Program provides students with stipends to pursue summer internships in France or other French-speaking countries.
Summer internships in Italy

We offer internships with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection museum in Venice, Kitchenfilm in Turin, and Libera in southern Italy.

Beyond Wellesley

French, Francophone, and Italian studies graduates distinguish themselves in a variety of professional fields. These include education (including higher education), medicine, law, business, and finance. Recent employers include Partners in Health, Johnson & Johnson, and the French government’s Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sports.

Recent Employers

See what recent graduates are doing next

Alum highlights

Jordan Stephens-Moseley ’16

Jordan Stephens-Moseley ’16, who double majored in Italian studies and women’s and gender studies, earned a master’s in public health with a focus on maternal and child health from Tulane University. A public health research analyst, Stephens-Moseley strives to improve global health systems through policy change.
Folake Akinola-Pinard ’93

Folake Akinola-Pinard ’93 double majored in French studies and Africana studies and spent her junior year in France with Wellesley-in-Aix. After earning her master’s degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University, Akinola-Pinard taught elementary school and filled a variety of leadership roles. She is currently the principal of Brooklyn Prospect Downtown Elementary.