Areas of Faculty Research Expertise

Research Areas by Faculty Member

Instructors	Description
Black, Catherine	Drama and Language, Non-standard Forms of Language, Language Teaching and Learning Styles
Collington, Tara	20th-century, Bakhtin Studies, Cultural Studies, Theories of Time and Space in Narrative
Dubeau, Catherine	18th century French literature, diaries, novels, essays, epistolary writing, preromanticism, psychoanalytic criticism, sociology of literature, Mme Necker, Mme de Staël
Lepage, Élise	Poetry, fiction and Theatre of Québec and French Canada. Intertextuality. Ecocriticism. Cultural Studies. "Littérature-monde".
Kaminskaïa, Svetlana	French sociolinguistics, Intonation in France and Québec
McWebb, Christine	Medieval French literature, Christine de Pizan, Iconography, Textual Studies, Mysticism, Feminism, Translation Theory, Cultural Studies
Miraglia, Anne Marie	Francophonie & Québec Novelists, Feminist Criticism & Theory, Feminine Identity in French African literature
Niccoli, Gabriel	17th-century Italian & French Comparative literature
Paré, François	Renaissance literature, Theatre, Poetry and Fiction of French Canada, Literature and Cultural Identity
Poirier, Guy	French Renaissance literature, Travel literature, Québécois & French Canadian literatures, Renaissance Cultural History, Queer Studies
Russell, Delbert	Medieval literature, Old French, French-Canadian literature
Ryan, Robert	Acadian Linguistics, Québec French, Phonology, Morphology, Comparisons with standard French
Socken, Paul	Mythology in French-Canadian literature, The Life and Work of Gabrielle Roy

Comedy

The study of Comedy, the theatre and cinema genre that makes us laugh while "criticizing and correcting" society's errors, can be undertaken for its own sake or as a focus in the study of Literary Theory, Theatre in Molière's time, or Theatre in the 18th-century (Mozart's time, as in The Marriage of Figaro, by Beaumarchais). A theoretical or historical approach can be taken to study this discipline.

Well-known authors include: Beaumarchais, Lesage, Marivaux, Molière, Musset, Feydeau, Ionesco.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* Molière et ses spectateurs

* La structure de la comédie; son évolution durant ce siècle

* La ruse dans la comédie du 17^e siècle

* La théâtralité dans la comédie de Beaumarchais / de Marivaux

* La prose satirique au 17^e siècle

Cultural Studies

The study of culture is not limited to the difference between "Big C", the canon of the best in art, music, literature or "Small C" icons of daily life as represented in pop art, pulp fiction, radio music or advertising. Cultural Studies searches for meaning as diverse factors shape social constructions to produce a sense of identity, whether through gender, race, role definitions within our society, or in the context of the global community and the understanding of the post-imperialist, post-colonialist "Western" world.

Well-known authors include: Louis Althusser, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Michel de Certeau.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* La culture avec un "petit c" et la langue dans certaines émissions télévisées

* Analyse du comportement non-verbal des Français dans des films récents

* La dramatisation pour enseigner la langue et la culture populaires

Study may be undertaken with Tara Collington, Catherine Dubeau, Élise Lepage, Christine McWebb, Anne Marie Miraglia, and Guy Poirier.

La francophonie

An increasingly important literary and linguistic corpus not always included in "canons" but seen today as having equal significance.

Well-known authors include: Ousmane Sembene, Mariama Bâ, Assia Djebar, Rachid Boudjedra, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Kateb Yacine, Nina Bouraoui, Joseph Zobel, Maryse Condé, Patrick Chamoiseau, Amin Maalouf.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* L'hybridité culturelle

* Prise de parole chez les Maghrébines

* La représentation du couple mixte

* Rapports à la littérature française

* Révoltes contre la colonisation et contre les traditions

Study may be undertaken with Anne Marie Miraglia.

Linguistics: Phonology, Morphology, Intonation, Sociolinguistics

Phonology, the science of sounds produced in speech, and morphology, the paradigmatic study of structure in shaping the grammar of human languages, are among the primary fields of expertise in linguistics offered in our department.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* Les anglicismes dans le langage publicitaire au Québec et en France

* La stabilité des oppositions vocaliques en français québécois

* L'emploi du subjonctif observé en québécois oral actuel

* Aspects de la phonétique ou de la phonologie acadienne ou québécoise

* La phonétique corrective: principes, méthodologie et applications pratiques

Acadian Linguistics is a fascinating region of Canadian francophonie: that of the Maritime provinces.

Study may be undertaken with Svetlana Kaminskaïa.

Literary Theory

Literary Theory, including New Criticism, Semiology, Deconstructionism, Hermeneutics, Phenomenology, Semiotics and Narratology, is a very modern field of research, many of these domains having been born in the sixties or thereafter. Based on structuralism in Anthropology and Linguistics, some of these approaches are related to other humanities; others find their roots in philosophy and aesthetics. A theoretical or historical approach can be taken to study this discipline.

Well-known works and authors include: Genette, Figures III; Todorov et.al, Introduction à la littérature fantastique; Greimas, La sémantique structurale; Lévi-Strauss, Le cru et le cuit, Ricoeur, Temps et récit.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* Hermeneutics: the study of reception and interpretation

* The theory of dramatic literature

* The structure of the narrative

Study may be undertaken with Tara Collington, Christine McWebb, Anne Marie Miraglia, Élise Lepage, and François Paré.

Feminist Literary Criticism

An increasingly important body of criticism adds to modern literary theory from a feminist perspective. A theoretical or historical approach can be taken to study this discipline.

Well-known works and authors include: Moi, Sexual Textual Politics; Beauvoir, Le deuxième sexe.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* La vie des femmes au 16^e siècle selon l'Heptaméron

* Approches féministes de la littérature

* L'état actuel de la critique d'une femme écrivain du 16^e siècle

Study may be undertaken with Catherine Dubeau, Christine McWebb and Anne Marie Miraglia.

Medieval Literature

The Medieval Era, sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Dark Ages, was among the most productive periods in European history in terms of philosophy, poetry and art.

Well-known works and authors include: Chrétien de Troyes, Les Fabliaux; Marie de France, Les Fabliaux érotiques; Christine de Pizan.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* Etudes textuelles d'une oeuvre médiévale

* Une concordance (par ordinateur) d'un texte médiéval, avec glossaire

* Du manuscrit au texte imprimé

* La littérature anglo-normande

* L'ancien français et sa littérature

* Ecritures féminines

* L'iconographie

* Le mysticisme

* Le merveilleux

Study may be undertaken with Delbert Russell and Christine McWebb.

Renaissance Literature

It can be said that the Renaissance, during which Europe rose to world prominence, found its centre in Italy and France. French literature during this period was accordingly fruitful.

Well-known works and authors include: Marguerite de Navarre, Heptaméron; Montaigne, Essais; Rabelais.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* La religion dans l'Heptaméron

* La culture du livre imprimé à la Renaissance

* Les lais de Marie de France

* Rapports littéraires et culturels entre l'Italie et la France du Moyen Age à la Renaissance

* L'art poétique, la question de la tragicomédie, et la querelle théorique à la fin du 16^e siècle

* Du manuscrit au texte imprimé

Study may be undertaken with Christine McWebb, Gabriel Niccoli, François Paré and Guy Poirier.

17th Century Literature

The age of neo-classicism.

Well-known authors include: Racine, Molière, Corneille.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* L'esthétique du théâtre du 17^e siècle

* La poésie libertine ou précieuse à cette époque

* La prose satirique

Study may be undertaken with Catherine Dubeau and Gabriel Niccoli.

18th Century Literature

The 18th Century, known as the Age of Enlightenment, was a period during which Europe's intellectual and philosophical development, centered in France, gave birth to the notions of human rights, liberty and modern democracy. Dominated by Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu and Rousseau, French-language writers ultimately shaped world history from this age to the present.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* L'écriture épistolaire

* L'image du corps humain dans les contes de Voltaire

* Le comique dans Voltaire

* Les principes esthétiques de Diderot

* Madame de Staël

* Le roman du 18^e siècle

Study may be undertaken with Catherine Dubeau

19th Century Literature

The age that gave birth to Romanticism, Naturalism, Marxism and Impressionism as well as new religious philosophy such as that represented by the works of Chateaubriand.

Well-known works and authors include: Balzac, Eugénie Grandet; Chateaubriand; Alexandre Dumas (fils); Hugo, Les Misérables; Zola.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* L'historiographie de Mme de Staël, de Mérimée ou de Chateaubriand

* Etudes textuelles d'un auteur de ce siècle

Study may be undertaken with Christine McWebb.

20th Century French Literature

A theoretical or historical approach can be taken to study this discipline.

Well-known works and authors include: Anouilh, Antigone; Sartre, La nausée, Les mouches, Huis clos; Camus, La peste; Duras, L'amant; Beckett, Oh! les beaux jours; Ionesco, Les chaises; Malraux, La condition humaine; Maalouf, Le Rocher de Tanios; Ernaux, La Honte; Tournier, La Goutte d'or; Yourcenar, Mémoires d'Hadrien.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* Etude textuelle d'une oeuvre

* Etude théorique d'une oeuvre

* Narratologie d'un roman

* Le théâtre de l'absurde, le théâtre de la dérision

Study may be undertaken with François Paré and Tara Collington.

20th Century Québec and French-Canadian Literature

Perhaps the richest and most interesting theatrical community in the Americas, Québec's theatre is vibrant and buzzing today as few other artistic regions in the world.

Well-known works and authors include: Gélinas, Hier, les enfants dansaient; Dubé, Un simple soldat; Tremblay, Les belles-soeurs; Hébert, Le temps sauvage; Lepage, Le temps d'une vie; Maillet, La Sagouine.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* La mythologie dans le théâtre canadien-français

* Etudes textuelles d'un auteur

* La politique dans le théâtre québécois

* Littérature franco-ontarienne

Study may be undertaken with Delbert Russell, Anne Marie Miraglia, François Paré, Élise Lepage, and Guy Poirier.

The Novel: France

A theoretical or historical approach can be taken to study this discipline.

Well-known authors include: Lafayette, Diderot, Marivaux, Constant, Flaubert, Stendhal, Proust, Malraux.

Study may be undertaken with Tara Collington.

The Novel: Québec and French Canada

An extremely rich part of our French-Canadian heritage, Québec's novelists are as diverse as they are well-known around the world.

Well-known works and authors include: Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, Les Anciens Canadiens; Guèvremont, Le survenant; Ringuet, Trente Arpents; Thériault, Agaguk; Gabrielle Roy, Bonheur d'occasion, Pierre Morency, Pierre Nepveu, Louis Hamelin.

Study may be undertaken with Delbert Russell, Anne Marie Miraglia, Élise Lepage, and François Paré.

Theatre

A theoretical or historical approach can be taken to study this discipline.

Well-known works and authors include: Regnard, Le légataire universel; Molière, Georges Dandin; Corneille; Racine, Andromaque; Paul Claudel; Beaumarchais; Lesage; Marivaux; Molière, Le bourgeois gentilhomme.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* L'esthétique du théâtre du 17^e siècle

* La poésie libertine ou précieuse à cette époque

* La structure de la comédie de Molière

* Le drame pastoral en Italie et en France aux 16^e et 17^esiècles

* La structure de la comédie; son évolution durant ce siècle

* La ruse dans la comédie du 18^e siècle

* La théâtralité dans la comédie de Beaumarchais / de Marivaux

* Le théâtre comique érotique

Study may be undertaken with François Paré and Gabriel Niccoli.

Women Writers

An increasingly recognized body of literature not always included in "canons" but seen today as having equal significance. A theoretical or historical approach can be taken to study this discipline.

Well-known works and authors include: Marie de Gournay, Les Advis; Marguerite Navarre, Heptaméron; Marie de France, Lais; Madame de Lafayette, La Princesse de Clèves; Madame de Staël; George Sand; Madame de Pringy; Veronica Franco.

Areas of Research Interest include:

* La vie des femmes au 16^e siècle selon l'Heptaméron

* Approches féministes de la littérature

* L'état actuel de la critique d'une femme écrivain du 16^e siècle

* La féminité des écrits d'une femme écrivain

* L'écriture féminine en Italie et en France au 16^e siècle

* La littérature des femmes au Moyen Age

* L'hérésie et la "chasse aux sorcières"

Study may be undertaken with Catherine Dubeau, Gabriel Niccoli, Christine McWebb and Anne Marie Miraglia.