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One Major, Two Tracks

The Humanities have undergone significant changes in the past decade, and French is no exception.  One of the ways in which our Program has adapted to these changes is to create a dual tract that gives our majors (and double majors) a choice of specialization: French Cultural and Literary Studies or French Studies for the Global Community.

Track I, French Studies for the Global Community, is built on the premise that, in the era of globalization, the role of the economy permeates all aspects of contemporary cultural and political life. It is posited on the notion that as culture becomes more global, it reaches across diverse cultures and languages. This is one of the reasons why translation and the theory of translation are particularly crucial components of this tract, as necessary complement to the studies of business, media and world culture generally.

Track II, French Cultural and Literary Studies, focuses on literature in new ways, in keeping with recent reflection on the way literature actually functions in society. Controversial issues that have shaped the debates in French culture include sexuality, gender, race, the value of popular culture, the role of film, and video, electronic writing, and the paradoxes of globalization, among others. The pleasure of reading and writing about literature is an essential feature of this track, but the understanding of literature is enhanced by viewing it within a larger sociopolitical and cultural context.

The study of French-speaking cultures is present in both tracks, reflecting the general awareness that France exists, both historically and currently, within a large international context issuing in part from her colonial empire. Francophone studies examines the interaction between France and her "Others," looking at developments in the various regions of the world that bear the imprint of French language and culture, such as Canada, the Caribbean, West, Central and North Africa, the Near East, the Near East, the Indian Ocean and Asia, to explore the variety of ways in which French culture continues to interact with local traditions.

Both tracks thus reflect the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to literature and culture within our Program. We encourage the study of  French in conjunction with another language or another field, such as Law, English, Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, European Studies, International Studies, Psychology, etc. Whether or not they are French majors or minors, students at UConn can receive French credit by participating in the interdisciplinary program Linkage Through Language.  LTL students usually have prior knowledge of French from High School or other sources. While taking courses in a variety of disciplines, they chose to do part of the course readings in French and meet for a weekly one-hour discussion in French for one extra credit. They thus become familiar with the French terminology and methodological approach appropriate to a range of intellectual pursuits permitting them to consider a variety of careers involving the use of foreign languages in general, and French in particular.