Two of the most uplifting days this fall were our high school immersion days. In Italian, this was a renaissance of an annual program sidelined by the pandemic; in French, a big experiment in our inaugural year. A major goal for me as chair has been engagement with those in our community who want French and Italian in their lives. A packed room where secondary students encountered our faculty and student and community volunteers was pure joy. Thanks to a grant that allowed us to purchase FRIT t-shirts, everyone received FRIT Scarlet and Grey. Italian Immersion Day was a beautifully orchestrated encounter, marvelous indeed. The interest in French Immersion Day was thrilling: we heard from 15 high schools hoping to bring 292 students to campus. Heartbreaking as well: we could only find space to accommodate 130. I was insomniac, agonizing about turning schools away. Now that we have made contact, we are finding other ways to connect. A delegation is heading to Pickerington North High School to talk about Francophone culture. We are holding our 6th annual Francophone Day on campus March 9, with a conference and visit by Prof. Safoi Babana-Hampton, a screening of the documentary Choeurs Atlantiques (France, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Sénégal, USA, 2025) at the Wexner Center for the Arts, and a video contest for high school students. Some schools are planning on bringing groups to visit classes and have a guided campus tour in the language. Hearing prospective students say, “Ohio State just went to the top of my list, this is so cool” made it all worth it. If you are interested in weekly intermediate-advanced French conversation at Bexley Library or the Old French Reading Group on Zoom, please contact me. Both are open to the public!
Donors are making many new efforts possible. It is so rewarding to expand our Italian programming thanks to the Mancini family. New Assistant Professors Liu and Mullins are conceiving numerous events to enrich our students’ experience and invite other scholars to discover Ohio State. As many language programs are under threat around the country, our Italian program is robust, particularly in migration and media studies.
Our French Center of Excellence’s second Night of Ideas is coming up March 7 at the Wexner Center for the Arts. They are fantastic partners in making this exceptional event come together. The galleries will be open with visit guides in French and English, conversation tables in the café, a Jazz Combo playing French-related materials and grooving on Miles Davis, and Godard’s 1967 film La Chinoise will be screened. Hassan Jeffries will give the keynote and flash talks will address the theme of “Focus on Democracy: America at 250.” The Center’s programming is also made possible by donations to our French and Italian Support Fund, 100% of which goes to public events and student support.
We are so proud to support international experiences for our majors and minors and conference travel for our graduate students to present their fascinating research, also thanks to our wonderful donors. As travel costs rise, the support from such funds is much needed.
In study abroad news, a new program combining art and sustainability experiences in Siena, Italy is being launched this summer thanks to the intensive efforts of Professor Migliori. Our Global May Programs are also set to take students to Paris and Bologna this spring. Students are ever-conscious of college costs and graduating in 4 years, so making these transformative experiences possibility is so important.
There is more and more demand for internships among Ohio State majors, as they seek to professionalize themselves and make the most of their college degrees. Professor Patrice Hamel is doing exceptional in placing some of our top dual majors in scientific lab positions and sustainability initiatives in French-speaking countries. Professor Lechintan-Siefer has worked on developing a program for internships in K-12 French and Italian classrooms. Professor Janice Aski, Director of the CLLC, is also working on developing paid internships. If you have ideas for helping students launch their careers, let us know.
There are so many amazing resources in the Ohio State Special Collections that have been underutilized. Professors Combs-Schilling, Joyce, and myself are partnering more and more with their curators to enrich classes with hands-on experience with objects from the past. Our new Global French Professor Ryan Joyce is holding his seminar entirely at the library, introducing students to archival work every week, for instance the extraordinary The Paul-Henri Bourguignon Haiti photograph collection, giant architectural plans of Parisian monuments, and travel documents from Francophone Africa. My Medieval Literature and Culture class will get to handle manuscripts of Parisian bibles, books of hours, and university texts from the 12th to 16th centuries and learn how they were made through the collection’s set of historic tools.
Check out the creative work and engagement of our faculty! Professor Lucille Toth continues the community choreography work of her multi-year On Board(hers). A book launch for Professor Hoffman’s new novel La Guerre des os will be held on February 26, please attend! He will be presenting it in multiple venues in France and England this spring. Professors Mullins, Renga, Liu, Toth, Flinn, and myself are also pleased to see the publication of collections we have edited this year.
Yours in all things French and Italian,
Sarah-Grace