Fall 2018 Language and Culture Program Faculty
French Language Courses
Pierre Bras
After earning a Ph.D in Law from the Université de Montpellier, Dr. Pierre Bras went to study in the United States, where he received a Ph.D in French from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He has taught French language and civilization classes at the UC Paris French and European Studies program, as well as French literature and French language classes at all undergraduate levels at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and at Centre College (Kentucky), where he worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor. His dissertation, entitled Law and its Diversions in Modern and Contemporary French Literature, addresses the works of Honoré de Balzac, Marcel Proust, and Albert Cohen. Dr. Bras is also interested in the works of Simone de Beauvoir. In 2011, he edited the proceedings of the International Conference on “Simone de Beauvoir et la psychanalyse” which was held in Paris in March 2010. More recently, he has developed his passion for contemporary art by collaborating with the Spanish artist Pilar Albarracin, with whom he published a catalogue, Le Duende Volé [The Purloined Duende], in 2012. Course taught: French 54 A/B
Claudia Fontu
Claudia Fontu received her M.A. in French Literature and her M.A. in American Literature from the University of Paris Sorbonne III in 2006. Her PhD at the University of Paris Sorbonne III is in progress. She has taught French language and civilisation classes at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and has taught French language classes at the UC Paris Center program, at Franklin and Marshall College in Paris, at University of Florida in Paris, as well as French literature classes at the University of Southern California in Paris. Since 2010 she has also taught French language courses and is a teacher trainer at the Department of French Language Didactics at the Institute of Linguistics, Paris. A former journalist, she translated three books of Romanian poetry into French. She is also a painter. Course taught: French 53 A/B
Sabrina Petitjean
Sabrina Petitjean received her M.A. in applied linguistics and phonetics from the University of Paris Sorbonne in 2004. She followed this degree with a year of specialization in didactics in languages and cultures. Since 2004, she has taught French language and civilization, as well as phonetics, in many international academic programs. She has had the opportunity to teach students from many American universities such as UC, Yale, Harvard, and Georgetown. She is also a trainer in argumentative techniques and teaches writing to advanced students, studying at French universities. Since 2006, she teaches French for specific purposes (business, diplomacy, media and culture) to international business schools such as H.E.C. In 2008 she joined the teaching staff of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris and is now a member of the jury's assessment of French language exams, such as TEF.
Culture Courses
Mariam Habibi
Mariam Habibi received her PhD from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)in 2000 with a dissertation on French Diplomacy in early twentieth century Persia, published by L'Harmattan in 2004. She also holds a DEA in History from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques and an MA in History from the University of London. She is an adjunct professor and thesis director at the American Graduate School of International Relations and Diplomacy and has taught with the UC Paris Center program, the American University of Paris, Columbia Unversity at Reid Hall, and New York University in Paris. Her most recent publication, History: a Course Companion, Oxford University Press (in co-authorship), appeared in 2010.
Course taught: PCC 115. Unbound Boundaries: The Idea of Europe and European Integration
Amanda Herold
Amanda Herold-Marme received her PhD in Art History from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) in 2017 with a dissertation on Spanish art and politics in Paris from the Spanish Civil War through the 1950s. She holds Masters degrees from the Sorbonne in contemporary art history, as well as in Hispanic Literature and Civilization from New York University in Madrid. She has worked in university administration at New York University Paris and taught at Sciences Po Paris. She has published texts on Spanish art and artists in Paris, political engagement and exile in catalogues edited by institutions including the Institut Valencia d’Art Modern (IVAM), the Musée-national Picasso Paris and Madrid’s Museo nacional centro de arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS). Amanda also works on promotion, research and expertise of the work and legacy of the sculptor Julio González and his daughter, the painter Roberta González, members of the so-called “Spanish school of Paris”, under the auspices of the Julio González Administration.
Course taught: PCC 137. The Art of War
Christina von Koehler
The recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship for Research in France (topic: The Paris Opera), Christina von Koehler holds an M.A. in Political Economy from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs and an M.Phil in Modern European History from the City University of New York. A former dancer and arts administrator, she has curated and written the catalogues for several exhibitions, including “La Fontaine: The Power of Fables” at the New York Public Library. She has taught history and civilization courses at Baruch College and John Jay College in New York, at the UC Paris Center program, at New York University in Paris, and at the Paris campus of D.C.'s American University. She also lectures on opera and ballet for Stanford University in Paris.
Course taught: PCC 111. Histories of Paris