With over 220 million speakers in 29 countries on five continents, French plays a significant role in the global economy and culture, and in the sciences. Our French and Francophone Studies classes prepare students for a broad range of international engagements, including participation in programs such as MISTI France, Belgium and Switzerland, MIT-Africa, MIT-Middle East and January Scholars in France.
The French and Francophone Studies curriculum offers opportunities to all students from the elementary level to the most advanced courses, spanning language, literature, intercultural studies, critical theory, French politics and society, gender and queer studies, French history, film studies, visual culture, Francophone African Studies, and cultural anthropology. The diversity of course offerings and the personal attention in small group classes create engaging and rewarding experiences for each student.
Subjects in French Studies may be applied to the French major, minor, or Concentration. Learn more about the French program requirements at the Academic Programs page. Advisors for these programs are below. Students uncertain what level of French language to take should refer to placement information. Information on transfer credit is available here.
French Minor/Major: Eva Dessein
French Concentration: Eva Dessein
Global Languages French Studies group: Cathy Culot | Leanna Rezvani | Isadora Nicholas | Eva Dessein
Spring 2026
| 21G.061 | Literature and Existentialism |
| 21G.301/351 | French I |
| 21G.302/352 | French II |
| 21G.303/333 | French III |
| 21G.304/334 | French IV |
| 21G.310 | French Conversation: Intensive Practice |
| 21G.316 | Marseille Unveiled: Digital Stories and Intercultural Encounters |
| 21G.341 | Contemporary French Film and Social Issues |
| 21G.346 | Topics in Modern French Literature and Culture |
21G.341 Contemporary French Film and Social Issues: Resistance in French & Francophone Cinemas
This course will focus on the issue of resistance in French and Francophone cinemas. It will explore departures from the Golden Age of French Cinema (J. Renoir’s The Rules of the Game) to the technical and technological resistance and innovation of the French New Wave (J-L. Godard’s Breathless. Beyond France, films made in the wake of the New Wave, without being necessarily influenced by them, exhibit political resistance to the colonial order (Sembène’s Le camp de Thiaroye). In nearby Québec, the split between a nascent cinema consciousness and the Canadian Film Board went hand in hand with a cultural identity crisis (Arcand’s The Decline of the American Empire). Readings will include texts on the techniques of cinema and how to read a film. Films will be shown with English subtitles. Taught in French.
21G.346 Topics in Modern French Literature and Culture: French Mediterranean
Analyzes the Mediterranean as a site of migration, circulation, and cultural encounter, focusing on how French and Francophone writers and artists have narrated and visualized its histories. Considers literature, film, photography, painting, and music that represent the Mediterranean as a site of memory, identity, exchange, and conflict. Topics include colonialism and counter-memory, diaspora and exile, cosmopolitan cities, gender and representation, and food and everyday life. Emphasizes French as a language for cultural inquiry and creative practice across media. Taught in French.
A note regarding the enrollment policy of the Global Languages: Enrollment limited to 18 for pedagogical reasons. Preference will be given to pre-registered students, including pre-registered undergraduates who were cut from the same class the previous semester due to the enrollment cap. Please note that you have to attend the first day of class to maintain your preference level. In case of over-enrollment, preference will be given in the following order: declared majors, declared minors, declared concentrators, first-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students.