Dr. Anne-Sabine Nicolas, Languages, Cultures and Literatures

Name:

Dr. Anne-Sabine Nicolas

Title:

Visiting Lecturer III of French 

Department:

Languages, Cultures and Literatures

Describe your research in about 200 words.

My academic research is grounded in my passion for post-colonial studies and multiculturalism. My study focuses on traditional and non-traditional forms of texts and theater in 20th/21st post-colonial French/ Francophone culture and literature. My current research is motivated by a keen interest in cultural and artistic performances that aim to address stereotypes in a political context of ethnic diversity, gender equity and inclusion. Using a multidisciplinary analytical approach that borrows from post-modern theories, performance studies and ecocriticism, my work examines how text, nature and culture can effectively and sustainably provide a liminal space for displaced identities that have been emerging in transnational literature. My interests also include the analysis of pre- and post-revolutionary texts exploring concepts of insularity and utopia to bring forth new paradigms and potentially rewrite history. In these narratives, subjects in former colonies subversively claim ownership of a territory based on the interrelation between textual agency, bodies, and land.

What’s the most interesting thing you have learned from a student?

Throughout my career, I taught a variety of language, cinema and literature courses in which students could investigate the cultural diversity that is predominant in the French-Speaking World. Learning how to embrace cultural differences is a prerogative for my students and an essential part of my journey as a teacher. My curricula inspire students to reflect on personal goals, broaden their horizon and (hopefully) instill curiosity. Culture assessments and reflection papers provided many opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations with my students.They eagerly shared about family (hi)stories and personal traveling experiences. I learned a great deal from them about the experience of immigrant life in America and about everyone’s unique cultural heritage, particularly in the Southwest.