Co-sponsored by the Center for European Studies and the Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies (CIFS).
The news about the present and future of foreign language instruction in the modern U.S. university often seems bleak. Reports emphasize enrollment declines, budget cuts, and destructive administrative consolidations. Even though French remains one of the world’s most-spoken languages, French departments on many U.S. campuses have not been immune to these serious pressures. On the other hand, we know that despite those pressures, in some institutions the teaching of French is not just surviving but thriving. Some French programs are experiencing enrollment growth and program expansion; they are implementing pedagogical innovations; they are revitalizing collaborations with external stakeholders. These achievements too often go unnoticed, and the lessons to be learned too often overlooked.
The UW-Madison Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies (CIFS) is hosting a one-day conference on Friday, June 6, to explore those achievements. With generous support from the French Embassy, we are bringing together a distinguished group of leading innovators in the study and promotion of French. The group will engage in a constructive, positive, forward-looking discussion of approaches and strategies that have succeeded or that have the promise to succeed at increasing student interest in and university support for French language instruction.
Members of the UW-Madison community interested in the future of language instruction on campus are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
Tentative Schedule
8:30-9:30: Continental breakfast
9:00-9:15: Opening remarks
9:15-10:00: Keynote address by Richard Kern (UC Berkeley)
10:00-10:15: Coffee break
10:15-12:00: Panel on Leadership Strategies
- Gilles Bousquet, Professor Emeritus of French at UW-Madison
- Lydia Tang, MLA Assistant Director of Programs
- Rebekah Pare, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Pare Consulting LLC
12:00-1:00: Lunch
1:00-2:45: Panel “Taking French from the Classroom to the Community: Service Learning, Study Abroad, and Professional Pathways”
- Heather Allen, Associate professor of French at UW-Madison
- Deb Reisinger, Professor of Romance Studies at Duke University
- Claire Tourmen, French researcher at UC Berkeley
- Subha Xavier, Associate Professor of French at Emory University
2:45-3:00: Coffee break
3:00-4:45: Panel “French Across the Professions”
- Lionel Cuille, Professor of French at Washington University in St. Louis
- Logan Connors, Professor of French at the University of Miami
- Mary Anne Lewis Cusato, Professor of French at Ohio Wesleyan University
- Thierry A. Torea, Senior Lecturer of French Language at Cornell University
4:45-5:15: Closing Remarks