French and Italian

Academic Year: 
2021-22
Address: 
East Pyne
Phone: 
609-258-4670
Website: 
Department of French and Italian
Program offerings: 
Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies
André Benhaïm
Graduate Program Administrator
Leslie Savadge

Overview

The aim of the Department of French and Italian is to train students to become effective teachers and scholars of French language and literature. (The department does not offer a graduate program in Italian; it does, however, teach graduate-level courses in Italian literature for suitably qualified students in this and other departments.) Instruction and supervision are so arranged as to ensure that students acquire a broad understanding of the whole field of French studies as well as a specialized grasp of its sub-fields, and are well-prepared to develop independently as scholars.

The program combines courses (or seminars) with independent study and research, and is punctuated by periodic examinations. It is hoped that students will proceed to the defense of the dissertation at the end of the fifth year.

Applying

Application Deadline: 
December 15, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Program Length: 
5 years
Application Fee: 
$75
Application Requirements: 
Statement of Academic Purpose
Resume/Curriculum Vitae
Recommendation Letters
Transcripts
Fall Semester Grades
English Language Tests
GRE : 
General Test not accepted
Additional Departmental Requirements: 

Sample of written work including material in French.

Ph.D.

Ph.D. Requirements: 
Courses:

The first two years are primarily devoted to taking courses (normally, a total of 12, distributed as broadly as possible), satisfying language requirements, and preparing and taking the general examination. At the end of the second year, students are expected to specialize. Normally, by the end of their fifth term of study, students should have taken a total of 15 courses or seminars.  In their third year, students will continue to take a limited number of courses as they prepare their dissertation proposal.

Language(s):

Students are normally required to demonstrate a reading proficiency in one language additional to French and English before beginning the fall semester of the third year and before taking the second part of the General Examination. Following discussion with the Director of Graduate Studies, students should select a language relevant to their research interests (e.g., Latin for medievalists and students specializing in the Renaissance, or German for 19th-century studies, etc.). 

Pre-Generals Requirement(s):

Oral Presentation
The oral presentation, required of all first-year students at the end of the first term, consists of a brief critical reading of a literary text in French, followed by questioning related to the text. Students are allowed a choice from three texts. The presentation is given in French. Answers are to be given in the language in which they are asked.

General Exam:

The purpose of the examination is to test students’ knowledge and capacity to conduct research across the six periods taught in the department: Middle Ages, Renaissance, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th-21st centuries, as well as “Francophonie.”

Generals I
Students will study a common list of about 50 literary works, selected from the periods taught in the department and reflecting a broad range of genres. The list will include a selection of key theoretical works. A written exam will test students’ familiarity with the material. It will take place at the end of the third semester, during the January Reading Period of the second year, over a period of five days, and will take the form of two essay questions.  These essays must not exceed 2,500 words each; one must be written in French, the other in English. The exam will be graded by the department’s Graduate Studies Committee.

Generals II
In consultation with the director of graduate studies (DGS) and with the assistance of faculty in the relevant fields, students will formulate an individual topic and develop an accompanying reading list that will form the basis of the examination. The topic is broadly conceived and could center on a specific author, period, genre, problem, or movement. The reading list, featuring approximately 70 items, should be divided into three components: (i) primary literary works; (ii) relevant scholarship providing context (historical, literary, or cultural); and (iii) theoretical apparatus (literary theory, critical theory, philosophy…).  A statement accompanying the list (1-2 pages) should describe the topic, justify the corpus selected, and articulate the importance of the contextual and theoretical frames for approaching the primary list. The written exam, usually taken at the beginning of the fifth semester (early in the fall of the third year), extends over a period of five days, during which the student will answer two questions (one in French, one in English, not to exceed 2,500 words each) bringing the context and theory to bear on the primary list. The oral examination will usually take place two days after the submission of the written part, and will consist of a discussion pertaining to the written exam that may be extended to the rest of the list. The exam will be graded by a committee composed of faculty members chosen by the student in consultation with the DGS.

Qualifying for the M.A.:

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is normally an incidental degree on the way to full Ph.D. candidacy and is earned after a student successfully passes the first-year oral presentation and Generals I and II and meets course work and language requirements.  It may also be awarded to students who, for various reasons, leave the Ph.D. program, provided that these requirements have been met.

Teaching:

As a matter of policy, the department requires its graduate students to gain experience in undergraduate teaching. Most students are appointed as part-time teaching assistants each year they are in residence, starting in the second year. In the spring of their first year, students are trained to teach the French language; in the fall of their second year, they teach one language course. In the third, fourth, and fifth years, they normally teach one course per semester, although schedules vary depending on student or departmental needs and on fellowships that provide relief from teaching duties. Normally, students do not teach during their first term of residence or in their fourth term, when they are preparing for the general examination. Opportunities to teach in literature courses sometimes arise. This teaching is guided and supervised by a faculty member who confers with the student and reports to the department chair on his or her classroom performance.

Dissertation and FPO:

The third through fifth years are devoted to the conceptualization and writing of the dissertation. It is not uncommon for students to spend the fourth year conducting research abroad, for example in Paris where we have guaranteed studentships at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. The dissertation is in the chosen field. Students may, however, choose to bridge fields in selecting a dissertation topic.

Oral Examination on the Dissertation Proposal
Taken no later than February of the third year, the oral examination on the dissertation proposal consists of a 60-minute exercise comprising (1) a 20-minute presentation in French of the student’s dissertation proposal and (2) comprehensive questioning dealing with the implications of the proposal and the student’s general program of study. The questions focus on matters such as literary history and bibliography as well as on critical methods. In order to be admitted to this oral examination, students are required to submit, no later than one week prior to the exercise, a written text of the proposal outlining the issues they propose to explore, the methods of analysis they propose to adopt, and the bibliography of the topic. Students may not sustain the oral examination on the dissertation proposal until they have successfully passed the special field examination. The faculty will make suggestions concerning the proposal, and can approve it, recommend that it be revised and resubmitted, or, in accordance with University regulations, recommend that the candidate be awarded a terminal master’s degree.

In the event of failure to sustain the oral examination, students may present themselves on one further occasion, within a time period determined by the director of graduate studies. Departmental recommendation of graduate students for a fourth year of study is contingent on their having sustained the oral examination on the dissertation proposal.

Especially well-qualified students who have completed the language prerequisites may, upon successful application to the department’s Committee on Graduate Studies, be authorized to present themselves early for the general examination and the oral examination on the dissertation proposal.

Final Public Oral Examination
The Ph.D. is awarded after the candidate’s doctoral dissertation has been accepted and the final public oral examination sustained.

Faculty

Chair

  • Thomas A. Trezise

Associate Chair

  • Pietro Frassica

Director of Graduate Studies

  • André Benhaïm

Director of Undergraduate Studies

  • Christy N. Wampole

Professor

  • David M. Bellos
  • André Benhaïm
  • Göran Magnus Blix
  • Pietro Frassica
  • Gaetana Marrone-Puglia
  • F. Nick Nesbitt
  • Efthymia Rentzou
  • Thomas A. Trezise

Associate Professor

  • Katie Chenoweth
  • Simone Marchesi
  • Volker Schröder
  • Christy N. Wampole

Assistant Professor

  • Flora Champy

Associated Faculty

  • April Alliston, Comparative Literature
  • Bridget A. Alsdorf, Art and Archaeology
  • David A. Bell, History
  • M. Christine Boyer, Architecture
  • Jeff Dolven, English
  • Wendy Heller, Music
  • Daniel Heller-Roazen, Comparative Literature
  • Jhumpa Lahiri, Lewis Center for the Arts
  • Pedro Meira Monteiro, Spanish & Portuguese

University Lecturer

  • Christine M. Sagnier

Senior Lecturer

  • Anna Cellinese
  • Florent Masse

Lecturer

  • Sandie P. Blaise
  • Daniele De Feo
  • Elisa Dossena
  • Susan L. Kenney
  • Johnny Laforêt
  • Murielle M. Perrier
  • Raphael J. Piguet
  • Sara Teardo
  • Carole Marithe Trévise

Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts

  • Celia L. Abele
For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

Courses

Permanent Courses

Courses listed below are graduate-level courses that have been approved by the program’s faculty as well as the Curriculum Subcommittee of the Faculty Committee on the Graduate School as permanent course offerings. Permanent courses may be offered by the department or program on an ongoing basis, depending on curricular needs, scheduling requirements, and student interest. Not listed below are undergraduate courses and one-time-only graduate courses, which may be found for a specific term through the Registrar’s website. Also not listed are graduate-level independent reading and research courses, which may be approved by the Graduate School for individual students.

FRE 500 Second Language Acquisition Research and Language Teaching Methodology Practical and theoretical preparation for teachers of French. Sessions may be held in common with other language programs.
FRE 502 Language and Style History, theory, and practice of literary translation.
FRE 504 Slavery and Capitalism (also
LAS 504
/
AAS 503
) This class initiates a reading of Marx's classic critique of political economy, Capital, along with a selection of the principal philosophical readings of the mature Marx since the 1960s: Louis Althusser's Reading Capital, Michel Henry's Marx, and Moishe Postone's Time, Labor, and Social Domination. Emphasis is placed upon developing a categorial understanding of Marx's conceptual apparatus adequate to the contemporary context, in the wake of the collapse of actually-existing Socialism, industrialization, and the crisis of valorization in the Twenty-First century.
FRE 510 Seminar in Medieval French Literature (also
MED 510
) To suit the particular interests of the students and the instructor, a subject for intensive study is selected from special topics such as chansons de geste, roman courtois, paleography and textual criticism, rhetorical theory, lyric poetry, the chronicles, and Provençal materials.
FRE 513 Seminar in French Literature of the Renaissance To suit the particular interests of the students and the instructor, a subject for intensive study is selected from topics such as the forms of narrative prose, poetics and logic, chamber theater and fête, Reformation and Counter-Reformation writings, travel literature, and the critical spirit.
FRE 515 The Classical Tradition Satirical writing is a fundamental mode of literature in the age of Louis XIV. Many major authors of the time - poets, playwrights, novelists, moralists - use their works to mock and denigrate a wide variety of individuals and groups, e.g., lawyers and litigants, bad writers and jealous husbands. What allows satire to be a legitimate part of the classical canon?
FRE 516 Seminar in 17th-Century French Literature Usually a treatment of an aspect of the "other" or nonofficial culture of the 17th century; préciosité, parody, and burlesque; correspondence; personal memoirs; and others.
FRE 518 The Literature of Enlightenment The relation of aesthetic form, genre conventions, and ideology is examined through the work of one of the major 18th-century writers or through one or more of the paraliterary forms often preferred by 18th-century writers: the familiar letter, the anecdote, the scientific or critical essay, the commentary, historiography, or natural history.
FRE 521 Romanticism The ideological and formal problems raised by the break with classical ideals are studied in a variety of texts, documentary as well as literary. Topics include the conception of the literary work as a personal, original production; the struggle of the author for the creation of a style; and the writer's assumption of his relation to history.
FRE 524 20th-Century French Narrative Prose (also
HUM 524
) Development of the French novel and short story. Particular emphasis is given to Proust, Gide, Malraux, Sartre, Camus, Butor, and Robbe-Grillet. Topics such as the roman fleuve, the poetic novel, the anti-novel, and the nouveau roman are also considered.
FRE 525 20th-Century French Poetry or Theater The aesthetic theories and practices of dramatists or poets who have helped to form our idea of modernism, including Apollinaire, Artaud, Breton, Claudel, Cocteau, Genet, Ponge, Reverdy, and Valéry.
FRE 526 Seminar in 19th- and 20th-Century French Literature (also
COM 525
) Treatment of either the works of an individual writer or a broad topic, such as the impact on literature of other forms of intellectual or artistic activity, including philosophy, the visual arts, history, and psychology.
FRE 527 Seminar in French Civilization The role of political, legal, and economic institutions in the development of French society of the 19th and 20th centuries. The course studies writers actively involved in the political life of the country.
FRE 528 Francophone Literature and Culture Outside of France According to faculty availability, treatment of either francophone literature and culture of a given geographical area (such as Canada, the Caribbean, North or Sub-Saharan Africa, Belgium), the literary and cultural problems common to several geographical areas, or the work of one or more Francophone writers.
FRE 532 Charles Baudelaire (also
COM 576
) This course discusses Charles Baudelaire's poetry, prose, art and literary criticism, autobiographical texts, and translations, and their pivotal role for perceptions of modernity. Baudelaire's oeuvre is approached through different perspectives, ranging from poetics, aesthetics, literary history, the political and social context of his time, sexuality and gender, popular culture, reception history, trauma studies, etc. We take into consideration influential readings of Baudelaire's work, while particular emphasis is given to Baudelaire's relevance for the 21st century and specifically in contemporary literature and art.
FRE 583 Seminar in Romance Linguistics and/or Literary Theory (also
COM 583
) An examination of either the intersection of linguistic and literary analysis as illustrated by the Romance languages or the theoretical foundations of literary study.
FRE 587 Topics in French and Francophone Critical Theory Course provides an introduction to key topics and thinkers in the modern and contemporary field of French and Francophone Critical Theory. Topics may include Deconstruction, Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, Phenomenology, or French Marxist theory. Thinkers include figures such as Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida, Kristeva, Glissant, Levinas, Althusser, Badiou, Ranciere, Fanon, and Balibar.
ITA 554 Literature of the Italian Renaissance Currents of Italian thought and literary expression from 1321 to 1600.