The Center was founded in 1997 with a dual mission: to manage the undergraduate major in French and Francophone Studies, and to foster interdisciplinary research and teaching about France and the French-speaking world. The Center holds conferences and colloquia at the Maison Française, and is advised by a committee of more than thirty Columbia and Barnard scholars in French, English, Art History, History, Comparative Literature and Society, Music, Film, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Law, Journalism, the Medical Center and SIPA. The Center for French and Francophone Studies is directed by Emmanuelle Saada, Professor of French and of History.
