Center Structure
The Center is administered by the Department of French and Italian, located within the College of Arts and Sciences.It primarily involves FRIT faculty members while fostering long-standing ties with other campus departments, such as the Department of African American and African Studies, the Department of Classics, the Department of Comparative Studies, the Department of History, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, the Department of Philosophy, and the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Members of the FRIT community (Faculty, Associated Faculty, Affiliated Faculty in French and Francophone Studies, Undergraduate and Graduate Students) are invited to contribute project proposals aligned with the Center’s goals and main Research themes.
Key Personnel
- Sarah-Grace Heller, Associate Professor and Chair (heller.64@osu.edu)
- Kellie Giordano, Graduate Student in French and Assistant to the Director of the Center of Excellence (giordano.72@osu.edu)
- Benjamin Hoffmann, Associate Professor and Director of the Center of Excellence (hoffmann.312@osu.edu)
- Elizabeth Wigal, Academic Program Coordinator (wigal.15@osu.edu)
- Jennifer Willging, Associate Professor (willging.1@osu.edu)
Profile
The Center for Excellence aims to promote French and Francophone Literature and Culture in the Midwest. Currently, its main goal consists in fostering a writing residency for French-speaking novelists named “The Jules Verne Writing Residency at Ohio State”. Writers selected for the residency will spend a period of two weeks to a month in Columbus, during which they will work on a literary project while contributing to classes at Ohio State and giving lectures to the OSU and Columbus communities.
In addition, the Center of Excellence invites ambitious project proposals relating to France and the Francophone World. We are especially interested in projects about contemporary French and Francophone Literature. We also encourage projects focused on student enrolment in French studies or mobility to France; as well as interdisciplinary projects on the dissemination of French/Francophone scholarship in the United States. Finally, we welcome the creation of joint research endeavors between Ohio State and French Academic institutions. Please contact the director for more information on how to submit a proposal.
Main Research Themes
- Contemporary French and Francophone Literature
- Mediterranean Studies
- Film and Media Studies
- Comparative Literature and History
- Dance Studies
- History of Art
- History of Fashion
- Québec Studies
- Theater Studies
- Music
- Political Science
- Sociology
- Anthropology
- Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
