News, Events & Publications

Congratulations to this year's Distinguished Majors! From left to right: Cristen Garrett, Courtenay Selden, Karim Kebaish, Emily Rowley, Sarah Elizabeth Smith, Katherine Raichlen, Megan Burke, Abena Hagan-Brown. Not pictured: Olivia Kiers.

Congratulations to several graduates of our doctoral program: Stephanie Hopwood will be a visiting assistant professor next year at St. Lawrence University; Cara Welch accepted a tenure-track assistant professorship at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY; Isabelle Choquet accepted a tenure-track position at Denison University; and Pierre Dairon accepted a tenure-track position at Kenyon College.

Congratulations are in order for the following PhD candidates: Kate Lakin-Schultz was offered a position as a full-time lecturer at Boston University (where she has been teaching part-time since 2010) and Kelly McConnell, who was offered an instructorship at Dartmouth College.

Congratulations to Josh Armstrong for winning the prize for best graduate student paper (the "Prix Recherche au présent") at the annual 20th/21st Century French Studies Colloquium in Long Beach, CA. 

The Department of French is now accepting applications for its Distinguished Majors Program for the 2012-2013 academic year.  We encourage outstanding third-year students to consider joining this rigorous and exciting program! To learn more about this opportunity, click here. (.pdf, 137KB)

Students in Joshua Armstrong's FREN 3031 Advanced Grammar and Composition course spent the semester practicing their grammar via creative writing. They were asked to publish their writing exercises and all final versions of their papers on this blog. As you can see for yourself, we had some very imaginative writers (and photographers).
http://auxconfluences.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-10-13T18:43:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=110&by-date=false

Ari Blatt's first J-Term in Paris course was a fabulous success. Below are pictures of the J-term students in front of the Palais Royal and the Frigos.

On March 16, the Department will hold a French Alumni Career Symposium for undergraduate French majors and minors involving a panel discussion at 4 PM, followed by a reception. More information will be forthcoming.

Alison Levine, her "Reel Life Stories" course, and her novel method of teaching students about documentary films by having them create their own were the subject of a UVA Today article on November 9th, 2011.

The Department of French in the News

"Innovative French Course Brings Film, Language and Students Together"

"Mellon Foundation Grant to Fund Medieval Manuscripts Research"

"Caribbean Writer Maryse Conde to Visit University of Virginia"

"U.Va. French Professor Deborah McGrady Named National Humanities Center Fellow"

"Record Number of U.Va. Students Accepted to Assistantships in France"

"Victor Hugo on Things That Matter"

"Coffee Break à la française"

"Caribbean Theater Group Brings Traditions, History and Techniques to Grounds"

French Composition Site Launched : Alison Levine created A Vos Plumes!, a French Writing Center site devoted to helping students write better in French and the instructors who guide them. The site contains pedagogical materials for instructors such as grading rubrics, in-class activities, and articles about teaching. It also contains over 350 interactive grammar practice exercises for beginning and intermediate students, as well as articles for students on how to write better in French.

"University of Virginia Honors Great Teaching"

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