The French and Italian language and literature collections at Tulane support the instructional and research needs of undergraduate and graduate students, and the faculty in French and Italian. The Department offers B.A, M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in French, the B.A. in Italian, a minor in Arabic Studies, and is staffed by 13 professors with occasional adjunct appointments. The goals of the Department include a commitment to teaching language, literature, and linguistics through the periodized study of texts, the integrative approach to literature as area studies, particularly Francophone, and the theoretical and diachronic study of languages. Faculty teaching and research incorporates Creole, Cajun and Francophone (especially North African, Sub-Saharan, and Caribbean) literature and linguistics, and involves extensive participation in allied programs such as Africa and African Diaspora, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, Medieval Studies, and Women's Studies. The Junior Year Abroad and Semester Abroad programs are integral parts of the Department's mission of teaching the languages, literatures, cultures, and thought of France and Italy.
Affiliated Program: Italian Studies
The multi-disciplinary Italian Studies Program explores two over-arching themes--"The Family and Its Members" and "The City and Its Citizens"--within an historical scope from the Classical Age to the present. These themes encourage courses focused on such topics as the home, the family and artistic patronage; citizen and polity; city and country in the Middle Ages; marriage in the Renaissance and Reformation; women, parents and children; family-based economics; and individual-family relationships in literature. The Program offers a Major and Minor, is staffed by faculty appointed in Art History, Classics, History, French and Italian, Music, and Political Science, and features an invited, distinguished lecturer each semester. The program is directed by Michael Syrimis, msyrimis@tulane.edu.
Affiliated Program: Arabic Studies
Standard Arabic has an estimated 206 million speakers, while colloquial Arabic is spoken by a total of over 400 million, which makes it the fifth most widely spoken language in the world. Arabic classes at Tulane highlight the richness of Arabic culture and literature, as well as its practical applications in the global political economy. The program is directed by Bouchaib Gadir, bgadir@tulane.edu.
Tom Klingler, Interim Chair 2020-21, klingler@tulane.edu
Michael Syrimis, Department Chair on sabbatical 2020-21
J-G Bidima, Book Chair jbidima@tulane.edu
Department of French and Italian
