We are on winter break until January 13. In the meantime, check out our Spring 2025 course offerings!
French & Italian News
Minority Identities in Film and Culture: The Italian American and African American Experience
Were Italian Americans white? What is whiteness? How does identity politics define the relation between minority groups? To answer these questions, this course explores films by Italian American and African American directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Spike Lee, as well as short stories and essays by authors such as John Fante and Thomas J. Ferraro. This class will also welcome guest lectures. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Cultural Studies - US Minority
French in US Minority Cultures
8-week online March 17-May 5, 2025 Introduction to the history of French as a heritage language in African American, Native American, and Cajun American communities in North America from early colonial to late modern times. Focus on the lived experiences and lasting heritage of contact and segregation between colonizers, farmers, refugees, and free and enslaved populations in the American Midwest and South. Taught in English. Online, one synchronous session with the instructor available for discussions on selected Thursday evenings at selected times. This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Cultural Studies - US Minority
Modern Italian Novel
SP25, TR, 2-3:20 pm G46 Literatures, Cultures, & Ling In July 2024, the New York Times Book Review published the list of the most significant books of the 21st century. In the first place of this special list is Elena Ferrante’s novel My Brilliant Friend. This course investigates the evolution of the Italian novel from Primo Levi to Elena Ferrante, by focusing on novels and nonfiction books translated by Ann Goldstein, whose intense intellectual activity created the conditions for the gradual emergence of a new Italian canon. This class will also welcome guest lectures.
Contemporary Literature in French: Choix Goncourt US 2025
SP25, MW 11-11:50 - 207 Gregory Hall, F - online asynchronous “Contemporary Literature in French: Choix Goncourt US 2025” Come and decide who will be the next winner of the Choix Goncourt US! The Prix Goncourt is one of the most prestigious francophone literary prizes, awarded each year since 1903 by the ten members of the Académie Goncourt in Paris. With the Choix Goncourt, students on campuses across the globe have the opportunity to participate in this competition. This year, our university was selected to be one of ten participating institutions across the US. This is a unique opportunity to practice your analytic and interpretive skills in a collaborative experiential context where you will be a direct contributor to the literary scene – and to the making of francophone culture. In class, we will read the four nominated novels, discuss the role of literary prizes and cultural diplomacy in the creation of cultural value, reflect on best practices as a selection committee, and choose our winner. We will then elect a delegate who will travel to New York City in April to defend our choice, deliberate with the delegates of the other nine participating universities, and vote on the next “Choix Goncourt US”.