Courses

Our curriculum

From medieval classics to contemporary films, our undergraduate courses offer a broad range of topics to deepen your understanding of the cultures of Italy, France, and French-speaking regions of the world, both in English and in French or Italian. We look at literature and cultural production in a broad context, considering comparisons with and influences on contemporary culture in the U.S. Exploring film, literature, history, linguistic study, and cultural phenomena in French or Italian presents an immersive experience that leads you to greater fluency and language comprehension.

Spring 2020 courses

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Highlighted courses

Scenes from the South of France

This course explores the rich cultural life and history of the south of France, with particular focus on Provence. We will consider how cultural artifacts depict Provençal landscapes, traditions, and perspectives. Our emphasis on a specific region within metropolitan France will allow us to reflect on French regionalism and the way Provençal identity has been shaped by political, religious, and linguistic conflict in addition to its celebrated literary and artistic heritage.

Fiction and Poetry: Exile and Exoticism

The fascination for the unknown place has always played a prominent role in literature. At least since Ulysses’ peregrinations in his attempt to go back to Ithaca, as they are recounted by Homer in the Odyssey, the remote place has never ceased to provide writers with themes to unfold in their works.

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Thèmes Littéraires et Culturels: No Word for God

This course examines the European encounter with non-European cultures and religions through French travel accounts to the New World from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

Italian Short Fiction: Tradition, Transformation, Subversion

This course will explore the wide world of Italian short stories, from their medieval origins to contemporary authors that continue to find new ways of engaging with this quintessential Italian literary genre.

Italian film and culture: Women in the Mafia

Students will study women’s roles and representations in mafia stories on screen, from the time of the Italian Unification to the present. Through various socio-historical and psychological lenses, students will evaluate filmmakers’ ideological perspectives as well as the crucial roles women have played in the largely patriarchal and male dominant framework of mafia (and anti-mafia) activities.

Journeys in Contemporary Italy

In this course, we will explore different kinds of travel in Italian art, music, literature, comic books, and films, focusing on Italian society and culture from the 1960’s to the present. We will discover what Italian literature and culture have in common with Jack Kerouac and the ways in which Italians have been trying to escape the labyrinth of contemporary reality.

Online courses

We offer beginning and intermediate language courses online.

Learn more about online classes

Course permissions

Permission is required before you can register for the accelerated French language classes, the X490 individual readings class, or in our online language classes.

French accelerated + online courses

Please complete the online French Course Authorization Form for permission to register for the following:

French online language courses (F100; F150; F200; F250)
F115 and F265 Accelerated French

Italian accelerated + online courses

For permission to enroll in online Italian language courses, please email Dr. Karolina Serafin. You do not need permission to register for the Italian M100 online course. No permission is needed for M110, M115, or M215 Accelerated Italian courses.

Individual Readings courses

Please download and complete the Permission for Individual Readings Form for permission to register for the following:

X490 French Individual Readings
X492 Italian Individual Readings
F399/499 Readings for Honors

Online permission is required before you can register in the accelerated French language classes, in the X490 individual readings class, or in our online language classes.

Learn about language placement + special credit

Department of French and Italian

Courses

Our curriculum

Highlighted courses

Scenes from the South of France

Fiction and Poetry: Exile and Exoticism

Thèmes Littéraires et Culturels: No Word for God

Italian Short Fiction: Tradition, Transformation, Subversion

Italian film and culture: Women in the Mafia

Journeys in Contemporary Italy

Online courses

Course permissions

French accelerated + online courses

Italian accelerated + online courses

Individual Readings courses

The College of Arts & Sciences

Courses

Our curriculum

Highlighted courses

Online courses

Course permissions

French accelerated + online courses

Italian accelerated + online courses

Individual Readings courses

Department of French and Italian social media channels