Introducing “Profile: Awesome”

Featuring Department Awesomeness

May 14, 2019

Announcing a new summer series of articles on the amazing people in the Department of French and Italian--students, graduate students, instructors, faculty, and staff! Every Wednesday (with a brief break in June), we’ll post a profile about someone leading great activities in their class, studying abroad, venturing outside their comfort zone, or otherwise doing something awesome. Called “Profile: Awesome,” the series will showcase the instructional, intellectual, and international experiences in our department.

Love of Language

We, as a department, believe that “Learning a language other than your own opens you to another view of the world.” With our students and instructors studying abroad this is quite a physical reality. When we study texts, media, culture, movements from across the globe, the ability to understand another language offers a view into lives, modes of thinking, and experiences to which we may never have had access otherwise. Combined, our perspectives are broadened and our intellectual pursuits are expanded when we come back together and share our experiences.Shared experiences and expanding perspectives are key to the heart of the department. For those of you new to the Department of French and Italian, our department’s mission statement is: “Through literature, film, philosophy, and diverse forms of cultural expression, we examine the past and present of France, the Francophone world, and Italy, as well as the impact of French and Italian thought upon our changing world.” This series aims to highlight just some of what you can do with French and/or Italian language skills.

Students

Our students have gone to Paris, Montreal, Louisiana, Senegal, and beyond. Everyone has brought back wonderful experiences to enrich not only their lives and learning, but that of their peers and others in the department. For those about to begin their travels, whether to Quebec, Florida, Rome, or Morocco, a new adventure awaits.

Instructors

Profile: Awesome will also feature instructors being creative, engaging, and (hopefully) inspiring future learning and a love for language in their students. From designing an unusual study “abroad” experience in Louisiana and encouraging creative final projects, to film-making, to collaborating on research in Rome, our instructors and faculty are always pushing students to connect with language in new ways.

Looking Ahead

Profile: Awesome was inspired by the great achievements announced with the awarding of the French and Italian Department Scholarships and the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award in May. The hope is that this series will provide more insights into the experiences of those in the department.

Profile: Awesome will start up next week featuring Aarilee Lorenzen, recipient of the ICC - Massimo Bonavita Memorial Scholarship and Student Assistant to the French and Italian Department.