The Department of French and Italian approved French and Francophone studies as a major Sept. 29. Credit: Christian Harsa | Assistant Photo Editor
The Department of French and Italian is welcoming a new curriculum with the addition of its latest major, French and Francophone studies.
Officially approved Sept. 29, the major will focus on interdisciplinary courses, Jennifer Willging, director of undergraduate studies in the Department of French and Italian, said.
Willging, also an associate professor in the department, said the term Francophone means anything in the French language, whether it’s a country, book, film or culture. She said any country that has French as its primary language can be considered Francophone.
“Since France unfortunately colonized a lot of countries back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they brought their language and culture to these countries,” Willging said.
The International Organization of Francophonie is the organization that grants each country’s membership, and there are currently 54 member states, Maggie Flinn, an associate professor in the Department of French and Italian, said.
For the existing French majors, students take 10 major courses above the required prerequisites, nine of which are taught in French, Willging said. The French and Francophone studies major only requires six courses to be taught in French, and the remaining four can be taught in English in either its department or others within the College of Arts and Sciences.
Willging said students can take courses in history, history of art, political science and comparative studies that teach French or Francophone topics.
“This way we could really let them benefit from the expertise on campus,” Willging said.
To discuss the addition of a new major, Willging said a few years ago she brought together professors from different departments whose courses and research focus on French and Francophone topics. She said the group curated a list of 100 courses from Arts and Sciences that they felt would gain students’ interest in the major.
“I thought, ‘What a wealth of knowledge that we have across campus.’ Graduate students were already taking advantage of courses by these faculty members, but undergraduate students did not have the chance to,” Willging said.
Flinn teaches courses that have to do with film and comic books in film, so almost all of her courses are applicable to the major.
“It’s really to meet what we perceived as a need or opportunity for students,” Flinn said.
The department has about 150 students minoring in French, and Willging said she would often hear from those students about wanting to major in French but being unable to because of their schedules. The French and Francophone studies major offers students a solution to that problem.
If a student with a French minor was majoring in something that was interdisciplinary with the French and Francophone studies major, such as history or political science, they could count up to 12 credits of those same courses for both majors to create a double major, Willging said.
The French and Francophone studies major is now available for students to declare, Willging said.
