Meet the French Faculty
Dr. Thierry Durand
Professor of French
Education:
Thierry
René Durand received his Ph.D. in French Literature from Washington
University, St Louis, in May 1993. He also holds a Maîtrise in
Philosophy from Lyon III, France, and an M.A. in French Literature from
Washington University.
Academic Interests:
Durand's academic interests pertain to the
relationship between philosophy and post WW2 French literature and
literary criticism. His dissertation examined the critical and
philosophical works of French essayist Maurice Blanchot. His current
research focuses on the expression of a tragic vein in "l'extrême
contemporain."
Publications:
- "À partir de la guerre de Bosnie: représentation de l'apocalypse chez E. Darley, N. Caligaris et J. Matillon" Contemporary French & Francophone Studies: Sites (Forthcoming 2010)
- "Emmanuel Carrère: L’étranger en soi”
The French Review vol 83, n.3, February 2010 (574-588) - “Essai sur Régis Jauffret: Le monde comme désir et délire.”
The Australian Journal of French Studies, 46: 1-2 (2009), 45-57
Dr. Olivia C. Harrison
Assistant Professor of French
Education:
Olivia Harrison received her Ph.D. in French and Comparative Literature from Columbia University in May 2010. She also holds an M.A. and M.Phil. from Columbia, a B.A. in French and Linguistics from Oxford University, and a B.T.E.C. in sculpture from Chelsea School of Art and Design.
Academic interests:
Dr. Harrison’s dissertation examines the representation of Palestine in Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian literary works written in French, Arabic, and Berber from the 1950s to the present. Her research and teaching interests include Francophone and Arabic literature, African studies, postcolonial theory, translation, and film. She is currently involved in several translation projects that aim to make North African literary works available to students and scholars in the U.S.
Publications:
- “Albert Memmi et Edmond El Maleh, deux Juifs du Maghreb face à la question palestinienne.” Ed. Abdelwahab Meddeb and Benjamin Stora. Histoire des relations entre juifs et musulmans du Coran à nos jours. Paris: Albin Michel. Forthcoming.
Sylvain Frémaux
Adjunct Professor of French
Sylvain Frémaux was born in Paris and has taught the language and culture of his native France to Oregonians of all ages since 1990. He has served on the French and music faculties of Linfield College, Lewis & Clark College, Pacific University, Portland Community College and Western Oregon University, where he designed and taught a variety of interdisciplinary courses in both French and English. He also taught French at University of Southern California, Alliance française of Los Angeles, and Yale University. Currently, Sylvain teaches French language and culture courses at the School of Alliance Française of Portland and Chemeketa Community College. In addition to a French Law degree from a Paris university, Sylvain holds a Bachelor's degree from USC and a Master's degree from Yale.
“Bonjour! I am really looking forward to returning to Linfield College next fall to teach in the Modern Language Department. Particularly exciting for me will be to help your students make fast progress in your Second Year French 201 and Composition and Conversation 301 classes. I have taught French writing, speech, grammar and syntax for many years. I love these subjects. They are anything but stuffy. We will learn how to use contemporary French in different writing and spoken styles and also learn from the classics! See you in September! A bientôt!”
— Prof. Frémaux
When he does not teach, Sylvain Frémaux organizes masterclasses and tours in France.
Jérôme Gaillard
Fulbright French Teaching Assistant - 2010/2011
Education:
Jérôme Gaillard studied Germanic languages and literatures (English and Dutch) at the University of Liège, Belgium. He received his Master's degree (teaching focus) in 2010. After his assistantship at Linfield College, he will probably become a foreign languages teacher in Belgian high schools.
Academic
Interests:
Jérôme wrote a dissertation on the use of metaphors in Dutch economic press.
List
of all faculty members of the Department of Modern Languages