French & Francophone Studies

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French & Francophone Studies

253.879.3186

Chair

Diane Kelley

253-879-3534

dkelley@pugetsound.edu

Administrative Support

Theresa Williams-Chow

253.879.3186

twilliamschow@pugetsound.edu

Program Description

Parlez-vous français? Are you interested in becoming proficient in French and experiencing the culture of France or a Francophone country firsthand? The French & Francophone Studies program at Puget Sound helps students progress from the basics of language learning through senior- level critical coursework in the French language. Our curriculum focuses on the culture and civilization of France and the Francophone world, and promotes oral and written fluency in French through a variety of course offerings, cocurricular activities, and study abroad.

The French & Francophone Studies department offers interdisciplinary majors that allow students to pursue individual academic interests. While studying the French language, culture, and literature, each student can choose a French major that emphasizes or complements their academic interests. A French minor is also offered.

Who You Could Be

English teacher in schools in France
International NGO employee
Researcher/International policy analyst
Lawyer
Journalist
International program coordinator

What You'll Learn

Oral and written fluency in the French language
About the rich cultures of France and Francophone countries
How to read and discuss different forms of literary and nonliterary writing in French
How to make connections between various disciplines using international knowledge and global values

SAMPLE COURSES

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FREN 205 French Current Events

This .25 unit course offers students an opportunity to practice their French language skills as well as keep up with current events from the French perspective. The course meets once per week in a conversation hour format.

Admission to the course will be based on appropriate level of spoken and reading French. This course does not count toward a major or minor in French. This course does not contribute to satisfying the foreign language graduation requirement or the post-intermediate language requirement for study abroad in a francophone country. May be repeated once for credit (.5 units total).

Prerequisites

FREN 202 or equivalent.

FREN 260 Cultures of the Francophone World

This course is a critical examination of key texts and influential figures coming from, focusing on, or relevant to the Francophone world. The course emphasis is mainly on various aspects of cultures of Quebec, Francophone Africa, and the French Caribbean, and ends with an examination of the Francophone postcolonial context.

Code

Artistic and Humanistic PerspectivesKnowledge, Identity, and PowerLanguage

Prerequisites

FREN 202 or equivalent.

FREN 220 French Pop Culture

This course studies how popular French culture, drawing from a rich and complex tradition heavily influenced by mass media, permeates contemporary French society. It is manifest in various cultural artifacts such as gastronomy, clothing, consumption, and entertainment. This course examines the boundaries between high and low culture, the various postmodern approaches that challenge the definitions of French mass culture, and the claims that pop culture trivializes and commercializes values.

Code

Artistic and Humanistic PerspectivesLanguage

Prerequisites

FREN 202 or equivalent.

FREN 381 African Women Writers

This course is for all students interested in African studies, in Francophone writers, and issues related to Gender Studies in Africa. No prerequisite or French language is required. Lectures and all in-class discussions are conducted in English. French Studies majors read and turn in their assignments in French. Other students read and turn in their assignments in English. This class explores African women writers and critics, looking at their theoretical priorities and cultural positions. This course is designed to provide students with specific and a general view of the status, achievements and experiences of African women in fiction. Reading authors from diverse African countries gives students a broad understanding of the challenges African women encounter. The course allows students to decipher the nuances of women's experiences and the diversity of African societies. A contrast is made with Western feminist traditions. Authors include Chimananda Ngozi Adiche (Nigeria), Mariama Ba (Senegal), Assia Djebar (Algeria), Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria) and Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe). The discussion focuses on issues of identity, oppression, tradition, resistance, exile, language, and colonialism.

Code

Artistic and Humanistic PerspectivesKnowledge, Identity, and PowerLanguage

FREN 235 The Paris Connection

Through a contextualized exploration of Paris from historical and/or contemporary perspectives, students develop their language skills through intensive grammar review, vocabulary enhancement, written expression, and conversational fluency. The course aims to prepare students for upper-level French courses and study abroad by improving French written and oral fluency though a project-based approach, focusing on different aspects of Parisian life of interest to students, from artistic movements to fashion and food.

Code

Artistic and Humanistic PerspectivesLanguage

Prerequisites

FREN 202 or equivalent.

FREN 240 French Contemporary Issues

Applications of French in non-literary contexts. Expansion and application of French in the areas of economy, politics, media, and international issues The course may include a multimedia component and a grammar review.

Code

Artistic and Humanistic PerspectivesLanguage

Prerequisites

FREN 202 or equivalent.

French Studies visit to the Tacoma Art Museum — Students in the French studies department are invited to take part in a variety of cultural events, such as this outing from November 2019 to experience the Monet, Renoir, and Degas exhibit at Tacoma Art Museum.

Paris study abroad photo by Brent Barker — This great photo by Brent Barker ’20 during his study abroad in Paris illustrates the type of experiences and cultural locations that students may enjoy.

2019 Puget Sound students in Dijon visiting the European Parliament — Students in the 2019 Dijon program visited the European Parliament.

French Studies faculty and staff — French studies faculty and staff members

Students being inducted into the National French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi. — French studies students being inducted into the National French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi

Experiential Learning

Students gain experience in French in a variety of ways, including:

Studying abroad in France or another French-speaking country, like Leo Rain ’20, Senegal; Sydney Maysmith '24, who extended her time abroad to conduct a comparative study about organic farming in France and the U.S.; or Xavey Bzdek '24, who did research on migration during their time abroad
Living in the International District housing experience
Spend a year teaching in France after graduation through the French Government Teaching Assistantship Program, like Connor May ’19, Ashley Coyne ’19, Nicole Bouche ’19, Sarah Johnson ’19, and Molly Wampler ’19

Stories

Grit

Lael Wilcox pedaled into Deadhorse, a dusty industrial outpost on Alaska’s northern coast, at 6 a.m. on an early July day in 2017. Midsummer in the Arctic, the sun doesn’t set; it just skids along the horizon to the…

Artscapes

She would get to fill two of the vacant storefront windows of the historic F.W. Woolworth building on Broadway with art installations that would be on public view alongside the work of more established artists. Since 2010,…

Alumni

Arches

Running in the Opposite Direction

A riot is raging in a hallway of a New York prison. Barricaded inside the prison’s media center, the jail’s literary magazine editor—an unnamed Sri Lankan…

Where Graduates Work

Where our graduates work:

Middle school in France
United States Senate (deputy scheduler)
Export Enterprises (translator/researcher)
Camp Counselors USA (international program coordinator)
ESCP Europe, a European business school (teaching assistant)

Where Graduates Continue Studying

Where our students continue their studies:

University of Wisconsin, Madison
University of Puget Sound (Master of Arts in Teaching)
University of Washington
University of Denver
Pantheon-Sorbonne University Paris (master's program, archaeology)
NYU

MEET THE FACULTY

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Diane Kelley

Professor and Chair, French & Francophone Studies

dkelley@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Kelley's research focuses on early modern French women writers. She enjoys teaching all levels from her first-year seminar on the French Revolution, to French language classes through senior-level seminars.

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Rokiatou Soumaré

Associate Professor, French Studies

rsoumare@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Soumaré's scholarship and teaching focus on Francophone Literature and Culture, French and Francophone Cinema, as well as 20th-21st-century French literature and culture.

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT

The Michel Rocchi International District in Thomas Hall is part of the university's living-learning residential environment, which includes cultural programs and activities.

DIJON PROGRAM

Managed by the French studies department directly, this immersive study abroad experience provides students a chance to greatly improve their fluency and appreciation of French culture.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

Students often choose to study abroad in France or other French-related programs in places like Senegal, Madagascar, Switzerland, Cameroon, or Morocco.