The central purpose of this book is to offer a picture of French Studies today, an analysis – from the inside – of what the discipline has become and where it might and, indeed, must go in the future. We hope that this anatomisation of French Studies and the way in which it is taught, researched and managed in the UK will help to energise debates around the place of modern languages in the modern university.

The world of higher education has been changing radically since the beginning of the twenty-first century, and the next ten years will witness the most significant changes experienced over the past half century, as many countries prioritise higher education and invest considerably in it. On the other hand, in the UK, especially after the October 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review, which was the most severe austerity budget for 60 years, universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing considerable challenges in terms of their funding, of recruitment of students at all levels, of international competitiveness and, crucially, of their own missions and identities. Furthermore, the government's decision on student funding means that there will be considerably more competition to attract the best students from the UK and from overseas, and in a context of severe financial constraints.

It is now axiomatic that much is changing in the new world of international education – and changing very fast. Students are travelling more and more to different countries for their higher education, and they have high expectations both of their student learning experience and of their employment prospects. For their part, employers expect broad skill sets and evidence of some work experience as well as disciplinary knowledge, and national and regional governments increasingly expect higher education to deliver on national priorities.

In this world of challenges but also of opportunities, universities and subject communities are having to think much more strategically. Key strategic directions are: (a) towards a broadening of the curriculum; (b) towards ever more interdisciplinarity; (c) towards internationalisation of universities, both at home and overseas.