Romance Studies Doctoral Track

The Romance Studies PhD is a vigorous course of study that encompasses the comparative study of two or more Romance languages and cultural traditions.

In general, coursework should be divided evenly between the two areas of specialization. Exceptions to this rule can be made in consultation with faculty advisors and the Director of Graduate Studies in order to take into consideration such factors as course availability and prior training.  Each comparative Romance Studies course can only count once towards fulfilling the course requirements within specific sections. 

Students already enrolled in Spanish or French can petition by the beginning of their second year to enter the Romance Studies track. Principle areas of study include: French/Francophone, Italian/Italophone, Luso-Brazilian, Spanish/Latin American. Since special abilities and intellectual interests of certain graduate students may call for flexibility in application of the program rules, a student's advisory committee may recommend more than the usual number of outside courses or independent reading courses. Reading proficiency in two or more languages is required for this track.

The Duke Difference

The Duke Department of Romance Studies has a nationally and internationally recognized faculty of specialists in many fields and critical methods. The Duke learning environment includes exceptional library and computer facilities in the humanities. Perkins Library, one of the nation's major research libraries, houses among others the Gustave Lanson Collection in French and the Pérez de Velasco Collection in Latin American Studies. During the academic year, the department sponsors numerous lectures and visits by distinguished critics and writers. The department provides computer facilities and instruction in the use of computer-assisted teaching and research programs, including on-line textual databases. Examples of projects in the Romance Studies track include the study of the comparative study of the Caribbeans; Italian  philosophy of fascism and its translation in Francoist Spain; the literature of migration; Mediterranean Studies; European Studies; the politics of national unification; the development of Medieval lyric poetry; the novella tradition; Petrarchism and the diffusion of the sonnet; Renaissance cultural exchanges; thematic explorations such as French and Italian encounters with the Ottoman Empire.