Welcome to Department of French and Italian
Known for our particular intellectual atmosphere of exceptional quality and openness, we have long been recognized for our leadership in literary and critical scholarship, teaching excellence, and pedagogical research and training. We have a long tradition of internationalizing our curriculum, from our decades-old study abroad programs in Italy and the French-speaking world to our doctoral-level research exchanges to our professional master's curricula and required internships.
Latest News
June 5, 2017
Congratulations to French Certificate student Tayler Bujnowski, recipient of a $5,000 Henderson-Resnick Internship Scholarship. A double major in Communication Arts and International Studies, Tayler will spend the summer interning at the BMP Film Company in Chicago where she will be involved in media production. Félicitations, Tayler!
May 23, 2017
The Professional French Masters Program announces development of new graduate offerings tailored to K12 teachers of French. The new Masters and Certificate tracks are being designed in collaboration with an Advisory Board of K12 French teachers and administrators from across the state. Expected to launch in 2018, the track will feature online language and pedagogy courses as well as summer sessions in Madison and Aix-en-Provence.
May 11, 2017
Ending the academic year with a bang, FRIT faculty, staff, and students collected 89 articles of school supplies, art supplies, and children's books. All items were donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County. Sincere thanks to everyone who participated!
Outreach & Events
Intellectual Endeavors
L'Esprit (dé)réglé: Literature, Sciences de l’homme, and the Life of the Mind in France, 1700-1900
Co-edited with Florence Vatan, "L'Esprit (dé)réglé: Literature, Sciences de l’homme, and the Life of the Mind in France, 1700-1900,” a special issue of L'Esprit créateur.
As we emphasize in the final note to our introduction, "Several articles in this special issue were initially presented at an international and interdisciplinary conference on “The Life of the Mind” that was held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, April 16–18, 2015. We would like to thank all the participants, colleagues, and students who contributed to the success of the conference, along with the many campus units that supported it: the Anonymous Fund, the Center for European Studies, the School of Music, the Division of International Studies, the Center for the Humanities, the Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies, and the Department of French and Italian. We are also grateful to the UW-Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education for supporting this publication project with a Project Assistantship, and to our Project Assistants, Kelsey Roy and Tessa Sermet, for their careful editing of the articles."