To celebrate fifty years of Contemporary French Civilization (CFC), the journal’s editorial team have put together a blog post reflecting on its past, present, and future. For half a century, CFC has provided a leading forum for scholarship on French and Francophone cultures, publishing work that spans history, society, politics, and the arts. As part of the anniversary, readers are also invited to explore a special 50th Anniversary Virtual Issue, featuring a curated selection of articles from the journal’s archives alongside prize-winning contributions—free to read for a limited time.
2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Contemporary French Civilization (CFC). To celebrate this milestone, CFC is launching a series of initiatives that reflect both its longstanding focus and its evolving future.
A highlight of this year’s celebrations is the upcoming 50th Anniversary Conference, taking place in late September in Raleigh, North Carolina. Scholars from across disciplines will come together to reflect on the field’s transformations and consider how French and Francophone cultural studies continue to respond to the present moment. Alongside the conference, CFC is releasing a special online only virtual anniversary issue featuring a curated collection of most-read articles from recent years. These pieces highlight timely debates and ongoing concerns in the field. The issue also includes two articles by winners of the Lawrence R. Schehr Memorial Award, which CFC continues to sponsor in support of early-career scholarship. Now in its twelfth year, the award reflects the journal’s ongoing commitment to amplifying new voices and original research.
We hope this expanded access will resonate with long-time readers while inviting new ones to discover the journal’s work. CFC is also part of LUP Open Languages, Liverpool University Press’s new Subscribe to Open initiative. This publishing model supports long-term open access without charging authors fees. As CFC enters its next fifty years, this initiative reflects a commitment to accessibility, sustainability, and expanding the reach of French and Francophone scholarship. If enough institutions continue their subscriptions, future issues of CFC will be freely available to all.
The initiative also includes CFC’s companion journal, CFC Intersections (CFCI), which represents an important renewal in the history of CFC. As the field evolves, so does the journal. Launched in 2022 with a conference and an inaugural issue, CFCI broadens the journal’s scope by foregrounding intersectional and interdisciplinary work.
Stay tuned for a new issue of CFC in 2026 based on highlights from the special 50th anniversary conference.
CFC is now part of LUP Open Languages
CFC is part of LUP Open Languages, a new Subscribe to Open initiative designed to make high-quality research in French and Francophone studies openly accessible to all. With the support of subscribing institutions, CFC’s latest scholarship can be made freely available worldwide, while subscribers benefit from exclusive online access to the journal’s rich archives, offering an unparalleled resource for research and teaching. Recommend a subscription to your librarian to help support open access >
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