Welcome to French and Francophone Studies at Brown!

Located in beautiful Rochambeau House on Prospect Street, the Department of French and Francophone Studies is the center for faculty and students interested in the intellectual, linguistic and cultural contributions of French-speaking regions of the world. Our faculty are leading scholars with specialties in periods from the 16th to the 21st centuries and with interests in anthropology, creative writing, cultural studies, the history of ideas, gender and sexuality studies, film, postcolonial studies, poststructuralist thought, second language acquisition, and translation. 

At all levels, the department aims to create a dynamic learning environment where students gain new insights on themselves and the world through the study of French-speaking cultures. At the undergraduate level, we offer a full range of rigorous and innovative language classes and a wide selection of advanced courses in literature and culture.  At the graduate level, our curriculum covers fields in French and Francophone literature from the Ancien Régime to the present and from a variety of theoretical perspectives. 

The Department regularly sponsors lectures, mini-seminars and conferences, including Equinoxes, the annual Graduate Student Conference. It also organizes the annual Providence French and Francophone Film Festival.  Through all its endeavors, the Department of French and Francophone Studies provides a venue for exploring the place of linguistic and cultural differences in our increasingly interconnected world.