News
In a recent Le Monde op-ed, Professor Benjamin Hoffmann examines the controversy surrounding writer Thélyson Orélien and the accusations that his novel was produced with the help of…
STILSA is an international education program that offers paid, career-building or credit-earning experiential learning opportunities for Ohio State STEM students. Dr. Patrice Hamel, a professor of…
Kickstart Kreyòl, designed by French and francophone studies Assistant Professor Ryan Joyce, is entering its second year with a mission to expand Haitian Creole language education…
Languages have been an integral part of Elena Past’s life, guiding her upbringing, education and eventual career in higher education. Now, as the incoming chair for the Department…
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Lucille Toth will serve as Interim Director of the Newark Earthworks Center, effective July 1.
Read more on Earthworks!
Her program On Board(hers) was recognized for demonstrating excellence in community engagement and high-impact practices.
Dr. Lucille Toth, Associate Professor in Newark, has received the 6-Year Distinguished STEP Faculty Mentor Award, recognizing exceptional excellence in advancing STEP's…
FRIT was proudly represented at Newark’s 22nd Annual Student Research and Scholarship Forum by four exceptional students whose work highlights the department’s commitment to…
Deborah Idowu, a first-year French and Francophone Studies PhD student in the Department of French and Italian at The Ohio State University, has been named co-winner of the prestigious…
The Department of French and Italian and French Center of Excellence were pleased to celebrate our own Benjamin Hoffmann, College of Arts and Sciences Designated Professor of French Literature,…
Thirteen students in Italian 3222, Modern Italian Media (Professor Qian Liu), visited Thompson Library’s Special Collections to explore rare materials on Italian Futurism and its global…
The Department of French and Italian is thrilled to share Professor Lucille Toth's co-edited volume, Embodied Narratives in the Health Humanities and Literary Studies,…
The French Center of Excellence was pleased to host visiting Professor André Leblanc to discuss his current research on a project entitled Modernity of Madame de Staël and the Coppet Group…
Dr. Lucille Toth, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, recently collaborated with Latinx students at the University of Texas at San Antonio through her creative research project …
On October 9th, CSCC Executive Chef Reese Flowers (Degrees Restaurant) visited the students of FRIT 3061: Mediterranean Food Cultures to talk all about pesto. After the students were primed to…
Students in Italian 5330 took a field trip across the Oval to Thompson Library to peruse the rare manuscripts collection. Many don't realize how amazing the collection of Medieval and Renaissance…
The French Center of Excellence hosted its first guest, University of Indiana at Bloomington Professor of French, Nicolas Valazza, for the Autumn 2025 semester on October 9 in Thompson Library…
In French 4401 “Le Féérique et le fantastique” we have been reading “contes de fées” (fairy tales) by sophisticated writers of the period 1690-1757, many of them women. Cinderella’s science…
Professor Ryan Joyce is participating in the inaugural Engaged Scholars Academy, organized by Ohio State’s Office of Outreach and Engagement. Over the course of the year, the Academy convenes to…
Dr. Maggie Flinn, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, was recently honored as a recipient of the prestigious Will Eisner Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work. Professor Flinn…
The Department of French and Italian is excited to announce Dr. Benjamin Hoffmann, College of Arts and Sciences Designated Professor of French Literature, has been named a Fellow of the Royal…
Our own Dr. Maggie Flinn, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies and Film Studies has been shortlisted for Comics Studies Society Best Edited Book shortlist and for…
Professor Ryan Joyce recently appeared on the radio live from Martinique, where he organized two conferences on the visibility and invisibility of queer and feminist experiences, expressions, and…
The Department of French and Italian celebrated our academic year 2025 graduates, including 6 graduate students taking MAs or PhDs as well as numerous majors and minors, on May 3 in Hagerty Hall…
On April 1, 2025, the French Center of Excellence and Wexner Center for the Arts co-hosted a series of events dedicated to honoring and exploring French and Francophone culture and language as a…
The French Center of Excellence and Department of French and Italian hosted Dr. Loïc Bourdeau on April 3 to discuss his research in narrative medicine. Dr. Bourdeau's talk, entitled #Ob…
The French Center of Excellence and Department of French and Italian hosted a conversation between Dr. Mauro Cazzolla and Professor Jonathan Combs-Schilling on Thursday, April 17 to analyze some…
We are pleased to announce Professor Lucille Toth's OnBoard(hers) documentary, produced in 2021, has been selected as part of the 2025 Columbus International Film Festival on April 26 in the…
The Department of French and Italian was pleased to host French cartoonist Jessica Oublié on Thursday, March 27 for a review and discussion of her new book Toxic Tropics.
The French Center of Excellence and Department of French and Italian hosted Professor Chase Cormier for this year's Jules Verne Lecture in Creative Writing on March 17, 2025 at Thompson Library…
The French Center of Excellence was honored to host Yale University Associate Professor of French, Morgane Cadieu, on February 3. Professor Cadieu gave a talk in Thompson Library on her most…
Benjamin Hoffmann, College of Arts & Sciences Designated Professor of French Literature, has been named Chevalier of the Order of Academic Palmes. This prestigious French honor, founded in 1808,…
This lecture examines the historical and contemporary systemic exclusions impacting the authentic representation of Black American Music (BAM). Focusing on the perspectives of Nicholas Payton, a…
The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies will host its annual symposium on Friday, February 21 and the morning of Saturday, February 22. This event brings together six scholars from OSU and…
The French Center of Excellence is proud to announce its Spring 2025 lecture and programming series. The following events are free and open to the public. Please register using the links below.
“HIP HOP is a gateway to our youth…music influences their decisions, what clothes they wear, what they want to be as an adult and even the food choices they make. I connect this culture and…
Chay Robert Rossing is a graduating senior on track for degrees in Philosophy with a Minor in LGBTQ+ Studies; Religious Studies; and French and Francophone Studies. Under research mentor, Dr. Dana…
The Wexner Center for the Arts will host a French film festival by Jean-Luc Godard in January 2025.
This special series offers three chances to see Godard’s final works paired each night…
Research shows people who speak another language are more utilitarian and flexible, less risk-averse and egotistical, and better able to cope with traumatic memories
Andrea Sims, Professor in the Department of Linguistics, will give a lecture on November 20 entitled "Modeling trees, theorizing forests: From local to system-level linguistic organization."
Designated Arts & Sciences Professor of French Literature Benjamin Hoffmann recently published a new edition of De l'Esprit des lois. Congratulations, Professor Hoffmann!
“Murakame” by Benjamin Hoffman, College of Arts and Sciences Designated Professor of French and Francophone Literature, has been published in the Fall 2024 issue…
The family of Albert N. Mancini, Professor and Director of the Italian Language Program at Ohio State 1965-2001, have established a fund in his honor. It will support an annual lecture on Italian…
The English translation of Professor Benjamin Hoffmann’s prize-winning novel Sentinel Island has just appeared with Liverpool University Press, translated by Alan J…
The Old French Reading group meets weekly on Tuesdays at 8:00pm to read aloud and discuss medieval French texts with facing-page translation. No prior experience necessary. Please contact…
This recent US News and World Report article discusses why majoring in the humanities can be a good career move.
A 2021 report says” Economically, arts and culture contribute 4.5% of U.S…
Celebrating the retirement of beloved Professor Danielle Marx-Scouras!
She has been such a strong voice in the field of Francophone Studies. Her dedicated and lively teaching and advising has…
FRIT was delighted to host our first annual Department Soirée des talents / Serata dei talenti on Monday, November 13. We had a slate of French & Italian students and faculty display their passion…
The French Center of Excellence, Department of French & Italian, and OSU Newark were delighted to host Kévi Donat on Tuesday, September 19 for his lecture in this year's French Center of…
Congratulations to Drs. Anne Mutidjo and Cindy Jiang for being selected as two of ten participants in the 2023 Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) community!
The Old French Reading Group will gather once again for the Autumn 2023 semester on Tuesday evenings. Meet to read aloud in Medieval French and learn about the language and culture -- for…
The Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures (CLLC) committee conducted virtual reality experiences and grammar exercises with intermediate level Italian students in the spring of 2023. The…
We celebrated our French, Italian, & Romance Studies graduates with a ceremony and reception on May 5th in Hagerty Hall. We are so proud of our FRIT graduates and wish them such luck as they go…
PhD student, Thierno Diallo, was awarded OSU's Graduate Associate Teaching Award, which is OSU's highest recognition of the exceptional teaching provided by Graduate Teaching Associates. The…
Professor Danielle Marx-Scouras and her French 3103 Conversation class at La Chatelaine on April 15 and 16.
Based on a play by Victor Hugo, Verdi's Rigoletto explores dueling elements of power, charisma, toxicity, and moral dignity. Experience the thrilling story for yourself during Rigoletto on March…
Associate Professor Benjamin Hoffmann will present his latest novel, “L’île de la Sentinelle”, at the upcoming Festival des Littératures Atlantide in Nantes, France. Each year, this festival…
Lucille Toth, assistant professor of French-Newark, has just published her first book, Danses et pandémies: Du sida à la covid-19 (Varia Press, Dec. 2022). An English translation is forthcoming.…
On December 13 of this semester, Samuel Palazzo, who is a History major and Italian minor and has taken a number of courses in Italian, including four with me (and a fifth this coming spring!),…
Congratulations to Associate Professor Benjamin Hoffmann, who has won an award for his new novel L’Ile de la Sentinelle - the “2022 Love-at-First-Sight Laureate Prize” from the Le Mans …
Janice Aski, professor in the Department of French and Italian, has been promoted from interim director to full director of the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures for…
Associate Professor of French Benjamin Hoffmann presented his new novel L'île de la Sentinelle on French national TV on "L'essentiel chez Labro"! Check out the video.
You can also…
Professor Marx-Scouras's spring 2022 class French 5403: “Minor Art” from Gainsbourg to Stromae: Popular Music as a Political Act allowed students to engage with French and Francophone music…
Congratulations to Professor Jonathan Combs-Schilling, who was recently promoted to Associate Professor!
Combs-Schilling’s principal field of research and teaching is Medieval and…
Congratulations to Lucille Toth on winning the 2022 Best New Undergraduate Mentor Award! Toth is an Assistant Professor of French at OSU-Newark, affiliated with Ohio State Dance department. She…
A huge thank you to FRIT's Wynne Wong and Québec Government Office in Chicago for organizing "Mental Health and Music: An Evening with Quebec's Polyglot Florence K" on April 13th. Over 200 people…
Congratulations to Sarah-Grace Heller, who has been appointed by Interim Executive Dean David Horn as Department Chair of the Department of French and Italian! Heller will begin her four year term…
Over the weekend of March 18-19, Assistant Professor of Italian Jonathan Combs-Schilling, who specializes in Medieval and Renaissance Italian Literature, was invited to join the Columbus Symphony…
Congratulations to FRIT's Lucille Toth, Assistant Professor of French, and Maggie Flinn, Associate Professor of French, for recently winning substantial A&H Grants for their respective research…
Sarah-Grace Heller, an associate professor of French, specializes in medieval French and Occitan literature, language and material culture. Her most recent book is a cultural…
Professor of French Danielle Marx-Scouras was featured in the Arts and Sciences Faculty Spotlight. She talks about her teaching, research, and her advice to students!
The French consulate in Chicago seeks an intern. Questions can be directed to Bérangère Travard, Consule générale adjointe / Deputy Consul General.
Congratulations to Associate Professor of French Benjamin Hoffmann, on the publication of his newest novel L'île de la Sentinelle.
Hoffmann shared his inspiration for this project:…
Lizzie Chung, a student we know from our French Language Program classes, will graduate at 18 from Ohio State Lima with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology and and from Delphos Jefferson High School in…
The Department of French and Italian is hiring Associated Faculty in French and Italian! Applications are open for three full-time, non-tenure-track lecturers in the…
Dean of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Italian Dana Renga was interviewed by to the prestigious French journal, Le Monde, in which she discusses her research on mafia movies.
The application deadline for the 2022-2023 Teaching Assistant Program in France has been extended by two weeks until January 31st, 2022.
Apply and learn more on TAPIF website.
Congratulations to Emeritus Professor of Italian Charles Klopp on his new publication! Published by Agincourt Press, One Year of School and The Island is a volume that presents…
The Teaching Assistant Program in France offers you the opportunity to work in France for 7 months, teaching English to French students of all ages. Each year, over 1,500 American citizens and…
The Department of French and Italian is giving away free tickets to the Polo & Pan Concert that will take place at the Newport Music Hall on December 7th, 2021!
Giveaway Info The Band…
Congratulations to Dr. April Weintritt, who has just been appointed Assistant Professor of Teaching in Italian. April earned her PhD in Italian from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in…
Associate Professor of French Benjamin Hoffmann was featured on ASC's podcast Voices of Excellence. Hoffman studies 18th-century French literature and philosophy, transatlantic studies,…
It is with great sadness that the Department of French and Italian announces the passing of Professor Emeritus of Italian Albert Mancini on August 7. Born on September 15, 1929, in Trenton, NJ,…
Michela Bertossa, FRIT graduate fellow, has recently been interviewed in the publication, "Notes on Videographic Criticism" for her voiceover project featuring My Brilliant Friend. In her…
Big congratulations are in order for FRIT's alum Laurenzo De Camilla (Ph.D. in Italian Studies, 2020), who won a YouTube Award for their channel dedicated to "educating & encouraging the LGBTQ+…
Members of the French Cultural Services in the U.S., Guillaume Lacroix and Nicolas Douay, visited Ohio State this week and met with FRIT professors Benjamin Hoffmann, Jennifer Willging, and Sarah…
Congratulations to Professor of Italian Janice Aski, who has been appointed as the Interim Director of the Center for Languages, Literatures, and Cultures!
Official announcement from Peter…
Congratulations to FRIT alumna, Xinyi Tan, Assistant Professor of French and Chinese at Coastal Carolina University, who has accumulated a whole number of achievements during this academic year. …
Executive Dean and Vice Provost Gretchen Ritter has announced that Dana Renga, Professor of Italian and FRIT Department Chair, has been named as the new divisional dean of arts and humanities.
Eric Scaltriti, Ph.D. candidate in Italian Studies, created a video-essay titled "Visuality and Migration: Two Crises in Gianfranco Rosi’s Documentary 'Fire at Sea'."
Introduction…
Attention undergraduate students in ASC: deadlines for merit, need-based, and education abroad scholarships are fast approaching! The spring semester deadline for…
Congratulations to us! FRIT has been selected by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States to join its prestigious network of Centers of Excellence!
Housed in 22…
Vocalize Columbus is a growing student organization that is exploring how to expand access to free medical interpreter services for Columbus free clinics. Health disparities are a…
Ph.D. Student Morgan Podraza (Department of English at OSU) wrote an excellent report on our Drawing Gender comics symposium from February. Her report was just published on the Comics Forum.
FRIT Alum Heidi Brown, now a professor at Loyola University just received tenure! Dr. Brown earned her Ph.D. at OSU in 2014 with her dissertation: "What I Cannot Say: Testifying of Trauma through…
This summer students may take a GE course that will offer a virtual adventure in Paris, France or Italy. French 1803.01 - Paris and Italian 3798.01 - The Italian City will run during the first…
Ross Guthery came to Ohio State in 2016 certain that he was going to study French.
He kept an open mind to everything else — what other academic interests he wanted to…
Eleanor Paynter will be joining Cornell University in the Autumn semester as Postdoctoral Associate with the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, collaborating on their Migrations…
PhD candidate Lauren De Camilla, received news today from the Dean of the Graduate School that she is the recipient of the Graduate Associate Leadership Award! This is a highly…
Coming in Autumn 2020: the new French and Francophone Studies Major (pending final approval by the state)
What is it?A new major program that is similar to the…
Check out this playlist of Italian films that are available for free on YouTube! Thank you to friend of FRIT, Catherine O’Rawe, for putting this together. Some films have English subtitles.
From The Lantern
"SYMPOSIUM TO DISCUSS FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN FRENCH-LANGUAGE COMICS"
Students can say, “Bonjour,” to female representation at an…
Dana Renga, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Italian, discusses "Why Italian cinema is starting to glamorize the mafia" in The Conversation.
"For almost a century,…
Stories of the harsh reality of World War II have been told in every medium, from film to literature to oil on canvas. Next week, an author will visit the university to share her mother’s story…
We would like to congratulate several of our graduate alumni on recent publications in leading French & Francophone journals. Xinyi Tan (Ph.D. 2018) had her first article accepted in Dalhousie…
Mackenzie Wright, a fifth-year Romance Studies major graduating in the spring, has a unique view of medicine thanks to her interest in humanities.
“If I hadn't chosen to study Romance…
For the third year in a row, the Department of French and Italian will sponsor the Mediating Italy in Global Culture Summer School in Bologna, Italy.
The Department of the Arts, University…
Students, who participated in The Italian City study abroad program in Bologna with Professor Combs-Schilling last summer, presented their projects at the STEP (Second-year Transformational…
Wu Ming, a group of Italian authors whose works are popular worldwide, recently featured on their blog Professor Jonathan Combs-Schilling, who teaches their book "Altai" in his Italian 3051 course…
A total of 341,751 students studied abroad for credit in 2017-18, representing a 2.7 percent increase from the previous academic year, according to the annual "Open Doors" report, published by the…
Congratulations to Visiting Assistant Professor of Italian, Luca Peretti, who wrote and produced the film "Mister Wonderland" (dir. Valerio Ciriaci, 2019), which just won the “Theatrical…
Expand your horizons and share your language and culture with French students
Are you ready to expand your horizons and share your language and culture with French students?
After a year working with Ohio-based female immigrants, Dr. Lucille Toth and MFA student Yildiz Güventürk (Dance) travelled to the US/Mexico border in October as part of their On Board(hers)…
FRIT's Dana Renga is interviewed in the BBC about why representations of the mafia continues to fascinate audiences across the globe.
Read the full story here
Congratulations to Dan Paul, Ph.D. in Italian Studies, and Brian Troth, Ph.D. in French and Francophone Studies, on their graduation this summer! Members of FRIT gathered at Professor Dana Renga's…
FRIT is hiring! We're currently looking for an Office Associate and a Fiscal Associate! Find out more information and apply online by August 4th:
Office Associate
Fiscal…