FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND CULTURES • VOLUME 7 • FALL 2014 Co-éditeurs, Carol Murphy and Alioune Sow; Mise en page, Phoebe Wilson; Contact, [email protected] GREETINGS FROM THE CO-EDITORS OF THE FFS NEWSLETTER Drs. Carol Murphy and Alioune Sow ear Alumni and friends of career plans. The France-Flori- DFrench Studies, da Research Institute has been very active this year, welcom- We are pleased to bring you ing the new Consul General the seventh edition of our an- from the French Consulate in nual French and Francophone Miami, Philippe Létrilliart, to Studies Newsletter, the first UF in September, where he our majors, minors, faculty graduate and undergraduate to be produced exclusively in spoke to a packed room of and other interested students students who continue to lead an electronic format. This has at UF. In addition, the FFRI rich and productive lives after been an exciting year for our has supported numerous con- their studies with us at UF. Fac- students and faculty in FFS ferences and guest lecturers, ulty, too, have been very active who have been productive not some of which are featured in all of the various dimen- only in the classroom but also in this newsletter. Our recip- sions of their professional lives in publishing research, obtain- rocal exchange agreements as indicated by their entries. ing grants and pursuing other with the Université de Rennes We hope that you enjoy being activities of merit. In this is- and L’Institut de Sciences Poli- brought up to date with the sue we feature a special table tiques, “Sciences Po,” continue various facets of our program ronde discussion with some of to foster study abroad and re- in French and Francophone our many French and Franco- search opportunities for our Studies and encourage you to phone Studies majors who of- very best students. Current keep in touch with us for next fer a glimpse of what it means graduate students in FFS have year’s edition of the FFS News- to be an FFS major of the 21st been very active this past year letter so that we can include century, one who melds an as indicated in the profiles you in our yearly overview of interest in French language New Consul Général de France that they prepared for us. As our activities. and cultures with second (and Phillippe Létrilliart came to UF to always, we are delighted to third) majors that bolster their speak to students and faculty feature news from our former For updates on our activities throughout the year, visit our website: www.languages.ufl.edu/french IN THIS ISSUE Greetings from the co-editors of the FFS newsletter .......... 1 Alumni News ..................................................................9 – 12 A “table ronde” with some of our majors .....................2 – 4 Emeritus News ..................................................................... 12 News from the France Florida Research Institute ............... 5 French in Contact ................................................................ 13 Study abroad. Hélène Blondeau .......................................... 6 Faculty News .................................................................14 – 15 2014 French Music Symposium ............................................. 6 Thank You for Your Support .............................................. 16 Sciences Po Carol Murphy ..................................................... 7 Keep Your Classmates Up to Date ...................................... 16 News from our students ..................................................8 – 9 A “TABLE RONDE” WITH SOME OF OUR MAJORS IN FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE STUDIES by Dr. Carol Murphy I recently had the opportunity to talk with some of our many talented majors in French and Francophone Studies and would like to share with you their reflections on FFS studies at UF. The students par- ticipating in the “table ronde” discussion included Angélique Talmor, José Cotayo, Ann Manov, Lidia O’Shields and Nadj Pierre Dr. Murphy: Please tell us something Nadj Pierre about your major(s), your academic interests, honors and other activities My name is Nadj Pierre, and I am double that you think may be of interest to majoring in French and Francophone our readers. studies and Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. I am a Presidential and Angélique Talmor Southern Scholarship Recipient and I have been accepted to the Boston Uni- I am a third year student majoring in versity Paris Internship Spring 2015 pro- French and Francophone Studies and gram for students interested in the medi- FFS major Nadj Pierre Political Science with a concentration in cal NGO field. I plan to graduate in May International Affairs. My academic in- 2015. terests vary from 19th and 20th century with opposing sides presenting their French literature to Geology. On campus, José Cotayo views on human trafficking and control my main involvements are as president of of arms proliferation and smuggling. It UF French Club (Le Cercle Français) and My major is French and Francophone was a great experience to learn firsthand as Vice-President of the UF chapter of Studies although astronomy and music how government works and doesn’t and Amnesty International. I have also con- pique my interest as well. I am a recipi- to hear all of the participants’s views. ducted research as a University of Florida ent of the Machen Florida Opportunity Political Science department Junior Fel- Scholarship, which means that I am for- Dr. M. Thank you for introducing your- low, using the philosophical works of Mi- tunate enough to be the first of my fam- selves to our readers. Please tell us why chel Foucault to explore the relationship ily to be given the opportunity to prove you decided to major in French and Fran- between punishment and state building my worth in a university setting. I am in cophone Studies at UF. in the international system. In addition the Honors Program at UF, and I plan to to being in the Honors Program at UF, graduate in the Spring of 2015. Despite Angélique I am also an Anderson Scholar, and Phi being thoroughly involved in reading Beta Kappa inductee. and completing classwork assignments, I I decided to major in French and Fran- am also strongly devoted to the Universi- cophone studies because of my grandfa- Ann Manov ty of Florida Symphony Orchestra, where ther, who has a Masters in French litera- I am an integral member of the viola sec- ture. He is one of the most cultured and I am in my penultimate semester of a tion, and an avid parkour practitioner brilliant people I have ever met. I spent Bachelor of Arts at the University of Flor- (also known as a traceur). a large part of my childhood with him in ida, with majors in English, French and Versailles, France, and he taught me nu- Francophone Studies, and Spanish, as Lidia O’Shields merous things about French history and well as a minor and a certificate in Lat- literature. This has given me an appre- in American Studies. My work has been I graduated from State College of Florida ciation for the many different aspects of funded by numerous scholarships; I am a in May 2013 as the Outstanding Gradu- the French culture and a desire to pursue National Merit Scholar, a Center for Euro- ate, was president of the Phi Theta Kappa French and Francophone Studies in my pean Studies Foreign Language and Area chapter there and received several schol- higher education. Studies Fellow, a Ruth McQuown scholar, arships to finish my B.A. I transferred to a University Scholar, and an Anderson UF to study Russian in Summer A Term Ann Scholar. Otherwise, I have won the Amer- 2013. I was also selected as one of only ican Islamist Congress’s book prize for an ten students from the U.S. to attend le I decided to major in FFS at Professor essay on civil rights policy in Afghanistan Parlement des Jeunes Francophones des Murphy’s and Professor Zachmann’s en- and have been chosen by two American Amériques in Toronto in August 2014 couragement. I initially continued study- policy debate leagues as the best nation- where I interacted with students from ing French to improve my language skills al new debater of the year. Canada, the U.S., Mexico and South and out of high school and to pursue my in- Central America. We worked within the terest in French literature. framework of the Canadian Parliament continued on page 3 2 French and Francophone Studies 2014 A “TABLE RONDE” CONTINUED José losophy. And my background in French Angélique literature has permitted me to explore in Frankly, I decided to major in French and depth the impact of Francophone writ- I am still unsure of my post-graduation Francophone Studies after thinking very ers/philosophers on the field of Political plans. I will either attend graduate intently about my position in the Col- Science. The research project in which I school in France or the United States. If I lege of Engineering (after all, I was ini- was involved, which utilized the works attend graduate school in France, I plan tially enrolled as an Aerospace/Mechani- of Michel Foucault, is a prime example of to matriculate at Sciences Po and pur- cal Engineer dual-major with a minor in this. Finally, the level of French mastery sue a Master d’Affaires Publiques, with French). Engineering wasn’t really work- I have been able to obtain through my the long-term goal of attending l’Ecole ing out for me and that’s when I real- FFS major will permit me to study abroad Nationale d’Administration. If I attend ized that I could actually do something and take classes in French at Sciences Po graduate school in the United States I with the French language. With every Spring and Fall 2015. will first work a few years in the field of passing week, I started liking Engineer- international affairs, after which I will ing less and less, and, well, French was Ann apply to law school to pursue a career always there and was becoming more in international law.