Bienvenue! Welcome!

This blog is designed to raise awareness of the Francophone (French-Speaking) world for my college French students and our greater university community. As a “francophoniste” (a specialist in Francophone Studies), I am constantly sharing bits and pieces of the information you’ll see here, but I wanted to put it together in one central, easily accessible location.

Before creating this blog I searched for others about Francophone Studies, but found very few. Hopefully my blog will benefit my students, colleagues, and others out there looking for ideas about this exciting field.


Those of you unfamiliar with Francophone Studies may wonder about the name “Francophone-itude.” This is a nod to the founders of the Négritude movement that started in Paris in the 1930s, Césaire, Senghor and Damas. These three men from France’s (then) colonies sought to recognize and celebrate the literary, musical, creative and intellectual contributions of people of color in France. 

Paris Exposition 1900

Although the term Négritude has since been critiqued and contested and other terms have been proposed, it was an important moment for minorities in France, for France’s colonial subjects beyond the borders of France, and for the field that eventually became Francophone Studies. (Note that the term “Francophone” also has its critics but that’s a topic for another post…)

The term Négritude” inspired a contemporary attempt to draw attention to migrants, another misunderstood but large group of people. The idea of “Migritude,” coined by Shailja Patel, combines the idea of Négritude and migrant attitude. Today you’ll find authors across the globe who identify with this concept, including those in France.

In a time when foreign language programs in the U.S. are being cut, the relevance of courses in the humanities is questioned, and Americans are increasingly perceived as culturally insensitive to the world around them, I’m attempting my own kind of recognition and celebration of the field I’m passionate about.

You can expect posts on the following topics here:

• Current events in the Francophone world
• Reviews of books, articles and resources
• Essays on issues like gender, race, class and language
• Resources for learning French  
• Reasons to study French (and other languages)
• How the French language and knowledge of Francophone cultures are relevant beyond the classroom
• Guest posts by other members of the Francophone Studies community (including, hopefully, my own students!)

I will plan to post a new entry about every week so be sure to check back for updates. I welcome your suggestions, comments and feedback.