Research
The French+ Initiative is an interdisciplinary research hub at MIT providing top-notch expertise on French language, and on French and francophone cultures.
Our faculty and lecturers specialize in four main areas:
Literature and the Practice of French Language
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Second language acquisition and literature.
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Digital learning and intercultural communication.
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Hagiographical narratives of 16th- and 17th-century women writers.
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Translation and the relationships between French and other languages.
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Cultural hybridity in Belgium.
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Semiology and literary theory.
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19th- and 20th-French prose fiction.
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Bilingualism.
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Contemporary women writers.
France, and the Global History of Arts and Technologies
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18th century architecture.
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French theater and the Comédie Française.
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Museography and memory.
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The photographic history of Paris.
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The People’s Republic of China through French eyes.
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Popular beliefs of science, science fiction and culture.
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The European Enlightenment.
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French Film.
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Cultural critique and media in France.
Decolonization, Diaspora, and Creative Cultures in the Francophone World
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Slavery and revolutions.
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Haitian communities in the US.
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Trauma, violence, and global health.
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Popular entertainment and colonialism.
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Family law in North Africa.
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Black African subjectivities.
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Creative industries in Africa.
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Early voyages, colonization and the relationships between Europe and Québec.
Politics, Social Theory, and Law in Contemporary France and Europe
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French and European political institutions.
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Nations, governance and globalization.
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Family policies and bioethics.
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Street-level bureaucracy.
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20th century European political thought.
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Social movements, migrations, and youth cultures.
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Anti-discrimination law, and the politics of gender, sexuality, race, and class.
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Intellectual exchanges between France and the United States.
