The Department of French & Italian is lucky to have world-class minds teaching, researching, and studying. Each of our faculty and graduate students are dedicated to learning and demonstrating their love for language, culture, literature, film, performance, theory, gender, justice, and so much more. They take this love and put it into everything they do. We know our faculty take great care in their approach to working with undergraduate and graduate students. Our matchless graduate students likewise are on the front lines teaching language and culture to the next generation of learners. All FRIT stakeholders know the value and importance of second language acquisition, intercultural competence, and a general respect for others. We are proud to have such friends working at Ohio State.
Graduate Student Spotlights
Please join us in congratulating the following FRIT Graduate Associates, all of whom successfully passed their exams this semester:
- Sandra Borta - French & Francophone Studies MA Qualifying Exam
- Holly Engel - French & Francophone Studies PhD Candidacy Exam
- Mattéo Jung - French & Francophone Studies MA Qualifying Exam
- Somwya Srikrishna - French & Francophone Studies MA Qualifying Exam
- Ethan West - French & Francophone Studies MA Qualifying Exam
Congratulations, all! We look forward to your continued success and bright futures!
Italian Studies PhD Student and Graduate Teaching Associate Samanta Buffa
Samanta Buffa, studying Italian for her PhD, has achieved much in AY24. Among her many accolades, Samanta was selected for the prestigious Graduate Associate Teaching Award, Bulatkin Summer Prize, CLLC Graduate Emerging Technology Research Grant, and Felice M. Graduate Scholarship, all of which will enable her to continue her research over the summer. Samanta's research focuses on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and World Language Pedagogy, with particular attention to teaching and learning with technologies. She is currently exploring the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in the Italian language classroom. Her dissertation project aims to compare two learning modalities: face-to-face instruction and full-immersion VR. She is designing activities for students in the elementary sequence to immerse them in culturally specific virtual environments, allowing them to learn about the Italian language and culture while interacting with the world around them as they would in real life—moving, grabbing, and releasing objects. Samanta aims to discover more about the impact of the learning modality on recall and retention, as well as students' perceptions, motivation, and engagement. Samanta also successfully defended her dissertation prospectus in SP24 and will present at the 2024 Digital Humanities Showcase! Congratulations, Samanta! Keep up the good work!
Associate Professor Lucille Toth
Professor Lucille Toth has had a busy year! On the heels of publishing her first book with Varia in 2022, Danses et pandémies. Du SIDA à la COVID-19 (Dance and Pandemics. From AIDS to COVID-19), she also won three awards: the FRIT Havens Award for best book published in 2022, Early-Career Faculty Excellence Award & the 2024 Faculty Service Award at Newark. Speaking at the inaugural College of Arts and Sciences Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Equity and Justice Symposium on January 26, 2024, Professor Toth gave a talk entitled "On Board(hers): Thinking Migration Through Engaged & Creative Scholarship". Professor Toth is a dedicated mentor and teacher for our French & Francophone Studies and students. She is also actively involved in learning about French & Francophone culture, specifically through her studies on migration and movement. Lastly, and perhaps most exciting, congratulations on being promoted to Associate Professor of French this year! Keep inspiring us, Professor Toth! We look forward to your next project!
Professor Benjamin Hoffmann
Professor Benjamin Hoffmann continues his work in eighteenth-century French studies and creative writing. He is currently finishing an introduction to Chateaubriand’s Natchez (under contract with Honoré Champion), a collective volume on Diderot and posterity (forthcoming with Editions Droz), and a new edition of Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws (to be published in 2025 by Gallimard’s prestigious Quarto collection). With the support of a grant from the French National Book Center, he is working on a novel about the bitter rivalry between two American paleontologists set against the backdrop of the Civil War and the westward expansion of the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century. He is also developing a new project about the rise of artificial intelligence and its impacts on social interactions in our hyper-connected yet solitary world. Professor Hoffmann was also promoted to be a full Professor of French this academic year! Thanks, Professor Hoffmann, for all your hard work in FRIT and the French Center of Excellence!
Associated Faculty Dr. Mark Anthony Arceño
Dr. Mark Anthony Arceño, one of our distinguished Associated Faculty, was recently published in Lo Triumphe!, the magazine from his alma mater Albion College. In this edition of Lo Triumphe!, Dr. Arceño discusses his groundbreaking general education course FRIT 3061 - Mediterranean Foods. When asked, Dr. Arceño stated the article focuses on place-making and, which is of particular interest for students, faculty, and alumni from Ohio State. Dr. Arceño's FRIT 3061 course will next be offered in the AU24 semester. Interested students will receive credit for GE Lived Environments & Sustainability themes. Dr. Arceño also won the College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Staff Award in 2024! Congratulations, Dr. Arceño, on your publication and award! And thank you for creating ever more interesting and relevant courses for Ohio State students!
