French
The French Section offers courses in French language and culture to students who must fulfill the College′s language requirement at the introductory and intermediate levels, with emphasis on cultural and linguistic proficiency and insight. To this end, internet technology and interactive materials are incorporated whenever possible. Upper-level courses lead our minors and majors to explore literary texts, films, theatrical performances, political discourse and journalistic reporting, while in the process, developing interpretative skills. Throughout our program, we focus on developing critical thinking and analysis (both in writing and orally) and on encouraging creativity.
The French section seeks ways to help students establish connections between the professional activities they hope to pursue after their undergraduate education and their studies of and in different cultures. We encourage students to build bridges between the various disciplines offered at Rhodes. Many of our upper-level students are double majors or interdisciplinary majors.
The French section offers students a spectrum of opportunities for study abroad, through Rhodes-sponsored summer programs in France, Rhodes-sponsored exchanges, and through other institutions’ programs for one semester or for a year. French majors and minors are strongly encouraged to study abroad for at least one academic term.
All members of the French section are actively committed to academic scholarship. We have established a substantial record of published works and present numerous conference papers yearly. Our scholarly efforts encompass a variety of topics and approaches which inform our teaching: issues of sincerity in medieval romance, Francophone women writers, the theater of George Sand, previously unpublished works by Maurice de Guerin, and complementary thematic elements in the cinema of Francois Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock. Several student researchers participate with faculty members in their on-going scholarly projects.
