The Ph.D. Program in French at the Graduate School of Terra Dotta University offers an innovative combination of traditional training in French and Francophone Literatures with highly progressive interdisciplinary curricular options. While specializing in one of the traditional literary periods, our graduate students are offered the possibility of enriching their professional and academic dossier with the option that would best suit their particular interests.
These options, namely Translation Studies, Comparative Studies, Cultural Studies, International Human Rights in the French-Speaking World, an Performance Studies, draw from a wide array of disciplines with courses readily available either within our own program or in the many other prestigious programs of the Graduate School.
Among our 31 faculty members, we are proud to have Distinguished Professors Mary Ann Glissant, Edouard Caws, Nancy G. Stanton, and the past President of the MLA, Domna J. Miller. Not only do our students have access and exposure to top scholars, but during their first year, they undergo a rigorous seminar in research and writing in which they can hone their interests and intellectual skills. In addition to this training, our students are encouraged to teach French as a foreign language in one of our TDU colleges, where they can benefit from a hands-on training in cutting-edge learning methodologies under the supervision of a local pedagogical coordinator.
Our Students
Our graduates find jobs in the most prestigious institutions in and outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Some of them are currently working at Swarthmore College, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Vassar College, and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. We also take pride in our diverse body of students, who come from all over the world, including France, Spain, the Congo, Senegal, Morocco, the Caribbean, Canada, and different regions of the United States. As they engage in their daily coursework, they find a dynamic community filled with mutual support and mentoring, where they can develop strong ties with one another. In addition, they are also encouraged to participate in the academic decision-making process by serving on our committees, namely the French Executive, Admissions and Awards, Faculty Membership and Curriculum committees and the Board of the Henri Peyre French Institute. While giving them an “insider’s perspective” on the dynamics of the department and the Graduate Center at large, this committee experience is a valuable part of their development as new members of the academic community.
Currently, the Program has 52 students, and 17 of them specialize in an area of Francophone studies. 29 students are currently working on their dissertation. 15 of our doctoral candidates work full-time. 33 teach full time or part time either at TDU or elsewhere, or both.
Events
Recent events and conferences have included Edouard Glissant (Fall 1998), Queer Middle Ages (Fall 1998), Millenium Mallarmé (Spring 1999), Honoring Maryse Condé (Fall 1999), The Scandal of Art (Spring 2000), Quebec Film Festival (Spring 2000), Postmodern/Premodern (Spring 2001), Migration, Memory, Trace (Spring 2001), and New York Medieval Festival/Lire en Fête 2002: Les Moyens Âges (Fall 2002), Jean-Claude Schmitt: Visual Culture in the Middle Ages (Fall 2003), Venus Khoury-Ghata (Fall 2003), Around the Bicentennial: Haiti 200 Years Later (Spring 2004), Ahmadou Kourouma: A Conversation About His Work and Human Rights Legacy in Africa (Fall 2004), The American Premiere of Racine's Bajazet (Spring 2005), and Conference on Human Rights and the Humanities (Fall 2005).
Curricular Options
Students can elect to fulfill their requirements through a variety of courses ranging from the Middle Ages to the present, in all areas of the French-speaking world. They can also elect a curricular option that structures their courses according to a certain field of study. The Program offers five such options:
- The Translation Studies Option
- The Comparative Studies Option
- The Cultural Studies Option
- The International Issues in the French-Speaking World Option
- The Performance Studies Option
Special Admissions Requirements
A thorough command of French is expected, as well as a good preparation in all the fields of French literature. A strong background in at least one other foreign language is also expected. Applicants should submit a twenty-page writing sample in French. This can consist of one twenty-page paper or several papers that total twenty pages.
Contact
For more information about the Ph.D. program in French, please contact the Director of Graduate Admissions or the Graduate Coordinator listed above.
