Newsletter Vol. 9.1

This  past  year  saw the  departure  of  Professor  Alain  Nabarra,  Dr. Vincent Schonberger and Mr. Al Ketonen who have been part of our Department for many years. We owe them many thanks for their dedication towards our Department and the University at large.

The  Department  has  recruited  two new  faculty  members  and  one new lab technician: Dr. Nathalie Dumas, Ms. Aimie Shaw and Mrs Jeannette Mundinger Hardy. Dr. Dumas, originally  from  Québec,  comes  from  the University  of  Ottawa  where  she  obtained  her  PhD  on  the representation of sexuality in contemporary French Literature. She brings a strong experience teaching at the university level and as coordinator for “Destination Clic”, a summer camp for Francophone youth living outside Quebec. Ms. Shaw, originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, is in the final stages of completing  her  PhD  thesis at  McGill University.  Her research  focuses  on  the  writings  of  a  French contemporary writer, Eric Chevillard. Ms. Shaw has acquired solid experience in teaching French at Mc  Gill,  at  the  University of  Washington,  and  at  the  Alliance Française  of  Seattle.  Mrs.  Jeannette Mundinger Hardy, originally from France, holds a Masters degree in FSL and has various professional experiences as social worker and French teacher for young immigrants teenagers in France. She is in charge of the language lab and teaches all French labs.

Le Club français starts again the season on October 9th with the movie « Les Poupées Russes ». The  Department  will  also  continue  offering  its Lecture  Series during  lunch  break  consisting of presentations  by members  of  the  Department  as  well  as  out-of-town  speakers.  Last  year  was a good start as Dr. Isabelle Lemée, Dr. Béatrice Vernier-Larochette and Mr. Ismel Gonzáles shared their current research. The Thunder Bay community is always welcome.

The enrolment of  students  majoring  in  French  continues  to  be  healthy.  In  order  to  reinforce our program, new  oral  French  courses  are  offered:  “Oral  French  in  first  year,”  “Phonetics and Pronunciation” in second year, and “Perfecting Oral Skills” in 3rd year. 

Last summer, several of our students took intensive French courses in Québec (Explore Program) and in France(Ontario Rhônes Alpes Program). You can read about their wonderful experiences below. German,  Finnish, Spanish,  Italian,  Latin,  Ojibwe,  Classics  are  offered  on  a  regular basis and continue to be very successful at the beginner’s level. 

I  cannot  finish  this  introduction  without  mentioning  news  that  affected  our  Department.  It  was with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Natasha Martinie Ruberto in December 2012, one of our former students (BA, 2004). She will be remembered as a diligent student, dynamic, generous and adventurous. Our thoughts go to her family and particularly to her young children.

 

I trust that this coming year will be very active and that our Department will continue to establish partnerships with the Thunder Bay community.

 

Béatrice Vernier-Larochette, PhD

Chair and Associate Professor

 

 

 

Dr Nathalie Dumas

My  name  is  Nathalie  Dumas  and  I  am  the newly  appointed  French-Canadian  Literature assistant professor. I have taught for 10 years at the University of Ottawa where I completed a PhD  on  the representations  of  sexuality  in francophone  literature.  I  enjoyed  the  sun  and the Mediterranean Sea while doing a Masters at Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille I). I am a  “pure  laine”  Quebecer,  raised  in a  beautiful area known as “The Maple Country”.
In Thunder Bay, I have found the same sceneries, joie de vivre and love for hockey. I have been cheering for the Chicago Blackhawks since the day I was born – literally! – so it already feels like home! This year I am looking forward to sharing my culture with Lakehead students as well as my  passion  for  Quebec  and Franco-Ontarian  literature.  I  also  love  movies  from  Quebec  and France and I hope to see many students at our “Soirée cinéma”!

 

My  name  is  Aimie  Shaw  and  I  joined  the Department  of  Languages  at  Lakehead University in August. I arrived in Thunder Bay from  Seattle,  where  I’d  been  teaching  for  the last  three  years while completing my  doctoral research  at  McGill  University  in  Montréal. Thunder Bay is not entirely new to me as some years ago I completed my B.Ed. in FSL in LU’s Faculty of Education.