Department: French and Italian

Contacts

Office: Building 260, Rooms 127-128
Mail Code: 94305-2010
Phone: (650) 723-4183, Fax: (650) 723-0482
Email: fren-ital@stanford.edu
Web Site: https://dlcl.stanford.edu/departments/french-and-italian/about

Courses offered by the Department of French and Italian are listed on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site under the subject codes FRENCH (French General and Literature) and ITALIAN (Italian General and Literature).  For courses in French or Italian language instruction with the subject code FRENLANG or ITALLANG, see the Language Center section of this bulletin.

The department is a part of the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages.

French Section

The French section provides students with the opportunity to pursue course work at all levels in French language, literature, cultural and intellectual history, theory, film, and Francophone studies. It understands the domain of French Studies as encompassing the complex of cultural, political, social, scientific, commercial, and intellectual phenomena associated with French-speaking parts of the world, from France and Belgium to Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Three degree programs are available in French: a B.A., an M.A., and a Ph.D. A Ph.D. in French and Italian is also available.

Visiting faculty and instructors contribute regularly to the life of the French section. The section maintains contacts with the Ecole Normale Supérieure, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, and the Ecole Polytechnique.

A curator for Romance languages oversees the extensive French collection at Green Library. The Hoover Institute on War, Revolution, and Peace also includes materials on 20th-century France and French social and political movements.

Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies

The Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, founded in partnership with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to bridge the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, business, and law, to address historical and contemporary issues. Its programs bring faculty and students from across Stanford's departments and schools in contact with colleagues in France to explore issues of common intellectual concern. The center invites French-speaking scholars to offer courses or give lectures or seminars on campus. It facilitates internships for Stanford students in computer science and engineering in Sophia-Antipolis, France's new high-tech center near Nice.

Stanford in Paris

The Bing Overseas Studies Program in Paris offers undergraduates the opportunity to study in France during Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters. It provides a wide range of academic options, including course work at the Stanford center and at the University of Paris, independent study projects, and internships. In addition, the program promotes interaction with the local community through volunteer employment, homestays, and internships. The minimum language requirement for admission into Stanford in Paris is one year of French at the college level.

Courses offered in Paris may count toward fulfillment of the requirements of the French major or minor. Students should consult with the Chair of Undergraduate Studies before and after attending the program, in order to ensure that course work and skills acquired abroad can be coordinated appropriately with their degree program. Detailed information, including program requirements and curricular offerings, may be obtained from the "Overseas Studies" section of this bulletin, the Stanford in Paris web site, or the Overseas Studies Program Office in Sweet Hall.

La Maison Française

La Maison Française, 610 Mayfield, is an undergraduate residence that serves as a campus French cultural center, hosting in-house seminars as well as social events, film series, readings, and lectures by distinguished representatives of French and Francophone intellectual, artistic, and political life. Assignment is made through the regular housing draw.

Mission of the Undergraduate Program in French

The mission of the undergraduate in French is to expose students to a variety of perspectives in French language, culture, and history by providing majors and minors with training in writing and communication as well cultural, textual, and historical analysis.  Through such skills, students develop into critical and global thinkers prepared for careers in business, social service, journalism, and government, or for graduate study in French.

Italian Section

The Italian section offers graduate and undergraduate programs in Italian language, literature, culture, and intellectual history. Course offerings range from small, specialized graduate seminars to general courses open to all students on authors such as Dante, Boccaccio, and Machiavelli.

Three degree programs are available in Italian: a B.A., a Ph.D., and Ph.D. in French and Italian. An Italian minor program is available to undergraduates.  

Collections in Green Research Library are strong in the medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary periods; the Italian section is one of the larger constituents of the western European collection at the Hoover Institution for the Study of War, Revolution, and Peace; and the Music Library has excellent holdings in Italian opera.

La Casa Italiana

La Casa Italiana, 562 Mayfield, is an undergraduate residence devoted to developing an awareness of Italian language and culture. It works closely with the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco and with other local cultural organizations. It hosts visiting representatives of Italian intellectual, artistic, and political life. A number of departmental courses are taught at the Casa, which also offers in-house seminars. Assignment is made through the regular undergraduate housing draw.

Stanford in Florence

The Bing Overseas Studies Program in Florence affords undergraduates with at least three quarters of Italian language the opportunity to take advantage of the unique intellectual and visual resources of the city and to focus on two areas: Renaissance history and art, and contemporary Italian and European studies. The program is structured to help integrate students into Italian culture through homestays, Florence University courses, the Language Partners Program, research, internship and public service opportunities, and by conducting some of the program's classes in Italian. Many courses offered in Florence may count toward the fulfillment of requirements for the Italian major or minor. Students are encouraged to consult with the Italian undergraduate adviser before and after a sojourn in Florence to ensure that their course selections meet Italian section requirements. Information on the Florence program is available in the "Overseas Studies" section of this bulletin, the Stanford in Florence web site, or at the Overseas Studies office in Sweet Hall.

Mission of the Undergraduate Program in Italian

The mission of the undergraduate program in Italian is to expose students to a variety of perspectives in Italian language, culture, and history by providing majors with training in writing and communication as well as cultural, textual, and historical analysis in order to develop students into critical and global thinkers prepared for careers in business, social service, and government, or for graduate study in Italian.

Graduate Programs in French and Italian

The department offers a Ph.D. and terminal M.A. in French, a Ph.D. in Italian, and a Ph.D. in French and Italian.

Faculty in French and Italian

Director: Laura Wittman

Chair of Graduate Studies: Cécile Alduy (French), Laura Wittman (Italian)

Chairs of Undergraduate Studies: Dan Edelstein (French - Autumn), Fatoumata Seck (French - Winter/ Spring), Sarah Prodan (Italian - Autumn, Spring), Laura Wittman (Italian - Winter)

Professors: Cécile Alduy, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Dan Edelstein, Marisa Galvez, Joshua Landy (also Comparative Literature), Robert Harrison (on leave Spring)

Associate Professors: Laura Wittman

Assistant Professors: Sarah Prodan, Fatoumata Seck

Lecturers: Anna Ilievska (Mellon Fellow), Andrei Pesic

Courtesy Professors: Keith Baker, Margaret Cohen, Paula Findlen

Courtesy Associate Professor: James P. Daughton

Emeriti: (Professors) Jean-Marie Apostolidès (also Theater and Performance Studies), John G. Barson, Robert G. Cohn, John Freccero (also Comparative Literature), Hans U. Gumbrecht (also Comparative Literature), Elisabeth Mudimbe-Boyi (also Comparative Literature), Carolyn Springer