Ioanna Chatzidimitriou Associate Professor, French |
Education
Teaching Interests
I teach courses in Muhlenberg’s newly redesigned French and Francophone Studies Program with special emphasis on contemporary French urban culture and literature, francophone North Africa and Asia and francophone cultural production in the age of globalization and writing. My courses challenge students to critically study our globally interconnected world by focusing on the culture and literature of francophone countries since the French Enlightenment, through the French imperial expansion of the 19th century and into the complexities of the many distinctive cultural spaces that make up contemporary, postcolonial francophonie.
Students are equally encouraged to work at the disciplinary intersection of francophone studies and their other fields of academic inquiry (theatre, psychology, dance, business, etc.) while constantly developing their communication abilities in the French language by means of culturally situated study and practice of speaking, listening, reading and writing French.
As faculty advisor to the French Club, I endeavor to expand student learning beyond the classroom. The French Club encourages all Muhlenberg students to experience French and francophone culture on the Muhlenberg campus by attending talks by distinguished artists and scholars, joining cultural visits in the Lehigh Valley and beyond and participating in campus events that focus on various aspects of francophone life.
Research, Scholarship or Creative/Artistic Interests
I have published numerous scholarly articles in academic journals both in the fields of comparative literature and French and francophone studies. My research interests lie at the intersections of language and politics in the francophone world. I am currently working on a manuscript that focuses on the uses of translation by code-switching authors in contemporary francophone literature.