Putting the “Studies” in French Studies: Historians and social scientists in departments of French

The eight authors of this article, all historians or social scientists teaching in departments of French at American universities, assess the multidisciplinary field of “French Studies” today. The article elaborates on our experiences teaching and researching French and francophone history, society, politics, and culture. In particular, it addresses pedagogical challenges, study abroad, interdepartmental collaboration, institutional pressures, the impact of globalization, and graduate training. French departments can develop their role by promoting multidisciplinary dialogues about a French and francophone world whose literature, history, and social arrangements remain questions of wide import. These questions include postcolonial identities, territory and identification, multiculturalism and assimilation, the fate of the welfare state, and the future of a rich, idiosyncratic cultural and political tradition in a globalizing world.