Program Overview
French and Francophone Studies at Lawrence opens onto a global world of culture, history, literature, politics, and identity. Students explore the richness and diversity of the French-speaking world through close work with faculty, immersive off-campus study, interdisciplinary connections to fields such as Global Studies, Gender Studies, and Ethnic Studies, and independent senior research. Along the way, they develop strong language skills, cultural fluency, and critical insight. Graduates are prepared for advanced study and for careers in education, translation, international affairs, business, public service, and other fields where communication and cross-cultural understanding matter.
Program Highlights
Learn with Dedicated Faculty
Build close relationships with faculty who support your language development, independent research, and immersive study abroad experiences in Senegal.
Explore the Francophone World
Connect French language and culture with global, social, and cultural questions across diverse Francophone communities.Connect French language and culture with global, social, and cultural questions across diverse Francophone communities.
Prepare for a Global Future
Develop the language, communication, and intercultural skills to pursue opportunities in teaching, international work, public service, and graduate study.
Spotlight
Student Perspective
“I chose to study in Dakar to improve my French-speaking skills and to work on my senior project…Chantal takes me with her to markets, family gatherings and church services, which have all been very enriching experiences.”
Tamima Tabishat ’20
Global Studies
Monmouth, Illinois
Types of Degrees
Independent senior research lets students bring language, culture, and global inquiry together in a self-designed capstone.
Advising
At Lawrence, academic advising helps you shape an educational experience that reflects your interests, goals, and aspirations. Your faculty advisor will support you as you plan your path, connect with campus resources and communities, and make informed decisions that prepare you for a meaningful and fulfilling future.
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Faculty
Engage deeply and collaboratively with professors who are experts in their field and committed to supporting your education.
Chair(s)
Dominica Chang
Margaret Banta Humleker Professor of French Cultural Studies and Professor of French
I was trained as a scholar of 19th-century French literature and revolutionary studies. However, I love teaching all aspects of French and Francophone Studies, especially language courses, cultural studies, and…
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Dominica Chang
Margaret Banta Humleker Professor of French Cultural Studies and Professor of French
I was trained as a scholar of 19th-century French literature and revolutionary studies. However, I love teaching all aspects of French and Francophone Studies, especially language courses, cultural studies, and…
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Alexandra Galambosh
Visiting Assistant Professor of French
alexandra.galambosh@lawrence.edu
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Sarah Gamalinda (she/her)
Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies
Sarah Gamalinda is a specialist in contemporary francophone literature and film with a focus on comparative conceptualizations of race, particularly Blackness, taking shape relationally across the postcolonial Atlantic. Her current work…
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Learning Spaces
One especially distinctive experience is Lawrence’s faculty-led Francophone Seminar in Senegal, an off-campus program that lets students live their study of French in a Francophone African context rather than only in a classroom. Students deepen their language skills while engaging directly with local culture, history, and daily life, gaining the kind of lived cultural fluency that shapes later research, capstone work, and international career paths. On campus, that experience is reinforced through the department’s French Table and the Björklunden French immersion weekend, where students continue practicing French in community and in immersive settings. Together, these experiences help students picture French not just as a subject, but as a way of moving through the world.
