Summer in Burkina Faso

Many of our students use the Summer break as an opportunity to do something French or languages-related and we’re hoping to post a few more pieces on this topic as the Summer gets closer. We’re kicking the series off with this blog post from Lauren who will be in the final year of her BA Hons in Professional Education (Primary) with a specialism in Modern Languages next year. Before then, though, Lauren is off to West Africa…

“This summer I’m spending 5 weeks in Burkina Faso, a country that many people, including my travel nurse, have never heard of. Burkina Faso is a French speaking country in West Africa that I absolutely love. In 2012 I visited the capital, Ouagadougou (how fun is that to say?!), with a group on a summer missions trip. We ran kids clubs in the areas surrounding the capital, and got involved with other programmes that helped street children and orphans.

Up until this trip I HATED studying French. In my secondary school it had been compulsory to take French as far as GCSE and then after that I had done surprisingly well in the exams so begrudgingly kept it on for AS/A Level. Then I visited Burkina Faso and it all fell into place. Don’t get me wrong, my French was not great at this point, I could just about hold a simple conversation or regurgitate a memorised children’s story. But being in a French-speaking country made me realise how great it was to be able to communicate in another language, and made me motivated to learn French.

When I returned from the trip I realised that I wasn’t quite ready to give up French yet and so I started researching universities that I could study French alongside primary teaching. And that’s how I ended up in Stirling!

So four years on (three at Stirling and one spent abroad with the British Council) I’m returning to Burkina Faso to do something a little different. I’m hoping to put my teaching skills to the test and volunteer at LIFE academy, an international school in Ouagadougou. In true African style I’m not quite sure what my role will be yet, but I’m sure when I arrive all will be made clear! I hope to teach and help out where I can within the school.

For the rest for my time I hope to get stuck into as much as I can, the possibilities are endless really – work with street children, in orphanages, practical work, teaching adult English classes, volunteering in hospitals and so much more. For now I will leave you with some pictures that little give you a taster of my Burkinabé life and update you more when I am there, settled in and know what I am doing!”

Thanks to Lauren for this article. We hope all goes well with the trip and look forward to updates later in the Summer!

“”

AHRC Studentship Success

Congratulations to Fraser McQueen who graduated in French and History from Stirling two years ago and who, we have just learned, will be coming back to Stirling to undertake an AHRC funded PhD under the supervision of Fiona Barclay.

Fraser is currently working as a University lecteur in France. Here’s what he has to say about his project and his return to Stirling: “My project will involve a comparative analysis of literary, filmic, polemical and media texts representing immigration, integration, and Islam published in France since 2005. I’ll explore artistic texts’ capability to contribute to the debates over these subjects which have taken on an ever-increasing importance in French society over this period, and potentially to counteract discourses of exclusion diffused through the media.

I’m looking forward to coming back to Stirling for this project, as I thoroughly enjoyed my four years there as an undergraduate: it was at Stirling, and particularly in my fourth year, that I became interested in the legacies of French imperialism, which are vital to understanding the racial and religious tensions in modern-day France. The French programme at Stirling’s strategic focus on colonial and postcolonial studies makes it the perfect place to carry out this research: almost every member of staff has some interest in one of these themes, and I know from previous experience that they’re friendly and approachable. It’ll be a wrench to leave the sunny south of France to come back to Scotland, but I’m looking forward to getting started!”

It’s snowing as I write this particular blog piece, so apologies on the weather front but congratulations, Fraser, and we look forward to welcoming you back in the Autumn!

Summer after Stirling

The exam period has just started at Stirling but French at Stirling modules for final semester students are all coursework-only so our finalists are slowly realising that they’ve had their last undergraduate classes with us (though we hope to welcome some back in future years for postgrad programmes…). As that realisation gently takes shape, one of this year’s finalists, Artie, who is due to graduate with a BA Hons in French and Spanish in a couple of months, has put together some thoughts for us:

“The time has come when I finally have to answer the dreaded question “So, what do you want to do after you’ve finished your degree?” Being in my fourth year, facing the sometimes (always) overwhelming graduate and job market, I now have no other option than to actually come up with something resembling a vague plan.

Thankfully, everyone teaching at Stirling has already been through this process and remember just how terrifying it can be taking your first steps into the “real world”. Because of this, everyone is on hand to give advice on what to do next and highlight any upcoming opportunities that may be of interest. These range from emails containing schools looking for “Lecteurs d’anglais” to help applying to the British Council. So I’d just like to say a quick thank you to all of our lovely tutors for all of the help along the way, it is really much appreciated!

Thanks to the advertising of future opportunities at Stirling, I have had the chance to apply to be an English Language Assistant with the British Council for the following academic year in September 2016. I am incredibly excited for this opportunity and can’t wait to hear back from the organisation to find out which school I will be placed with. Whilst being a E.L.A I will be paid an approximate of €700 a month, be given the opportunity to gain first hand experience in a classroom and promote an understanding of British culture abroad, whilst also immersing myself in the Spanish culture and language. While working with the British Council I have also applied for the Stevenson Grant to receive funding to research a topic proposed by myself. I’ll be investigating whether there is a desire for independence in the Canary Islands, and whether the reasons behind this are linked to formal education or not.

In terms of plans over the summer, I intend to stay in Stirling and was recently accepted as a volunteer with The Big Training Project in partnership with First Aid Africa. I will be a volunteer recruitment officer in the UK, representing and promoting the charities, with The Big Training Project providing personalised First Aid Training here in the UK and donating all profits to First Aid Africa. The latter charity aims to provide First Aid training in various locations across Africa, where it is needed and welcomed. It was a much welcome surprise that my interviewer is also a student at Stirling, creating an immediate bond and putting me at ease moving forward in this position with the charities.

Meanwhile, I am also applying to several internships, the majority of which are made available through the Stirling Internship Programme. The positions I have applied for thus far span across a wide range, including positions such as a PR, marketing and events intern requiring Spanish to an Archivist intern with Stirling University Retired Staff Association, all made possible through the wide range of transferable skills I’ve acquired through studying languages at Stirling.

In short, I’d like to thank everyone here at Stirling, once again, for making my four years here thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you for helping me grow both as a student and a person and for helping make the transition from student to graduate seem somewhat manageable and a whole lot less daunting!”

Thanks to Artie for this blog post and best of luck, first and foremost, for the Stevenson interview and then for life beyond Stirling!

Bill Marshall Awarded Inaugural SFS Prize Research Fellowship

Street Sign in Tautavel

 

Congratulations to French at Stirling’s Bill Marshall who has been awarded the inaugural Society for French Studies Prize Research Fellowship. This award will enable Bill to develop his work on ‘The Uses of Prehistory in Modern and Contemporary France.’ Through its engagement with other fields, the project will demonstrate the pivotal role that French culture – including the unique place of prehistory in that culture and its geography – plays in launching, re-launching and elaborating far-reaching and fundamental debates concerning ‘what is ‘human’?’

This award follows on from Bill’s success in winning the SFS‘s inaugural Visiting International Fellowship last year which enabled him to bring leading American academic Professor Tom Conley to the UK for a series of talks on topics relating to cartography and translation.

Caverne du Pont d’Arc

Languages as huge, intricate puzzles

Another account of life since graduating from Stirling. This time from Mira who, like Saara, also graduated in French in 2014 and who, since graduation, has gone on to develop a career as an interpreter but who was very pleased to get a chance to reflect on ‘the Stirling bubble’:

“This summer it will be two full years since my graduation, I can hardly believe it, and even less so the fact that it’s been nearly 6 years since I’ve started University, now that’s crazy!

I came to Stirling, having chosen the university because of the attractive language courses it offered and the absolutely magical campus it occupied. Say what you want about big cities but no University in Scotland beats our campus. For me, Stirling was the perfect choice. Glasgow and Edinburgh are only a short train ride away, which is one of the best ways to relax and clear your head: listen to some music and watch the picturesque landscapes of Scotland pass you by.

I loved studying at Stirling. All of our French lecturers were wonderful, so very different but all so passionate about what they teach. Their excitement seeped through into the students. I am very fond of languages. Speaking four fluently, I am fascinated by how they work, like huge intricate puzzles. All with such different parts that fit together in such different ways. So, naturally I thoroughly enjoyed the grammar and translation classes. Having lived in France for a short while when younger I was somewhat familiar with French culture. The course however broadened my understanding of francophone cultures, through courses that explored the different parts of the world and history when French was spoken.

I found everyone in the French department to be very approachable and ready to help. Our lecturers, with their oceans of knowledge, were always ready to share it with us and advise us on the ideas we were exploring. I find this important because to a certain extent, having a department that is not helpful and lecturers you don’t feel comfortable with hinders studies.

Stirling offers some pretty attractive exchange programs and when it came time to choose where to go for my semester abroad, I decided it had to be Paris. We were free to study pretty much anything we wanted while abroad and I loved my courses at Sciences Po. I took “Philosophy of Friendship”, “Utopia” and “The cultural history of Europe” all en français bien sûr! I still have all my notes and books from these and I have no doubt I will be re-reading them. The teaching differed quite a lot from Stirling, I think because the dynamic between the students and the lecturers just wasn’t the same.

I must speak quickly about Paris. I didn’t know what to expect. My exchange took place from January until June, only six short months. Yet within these I built a whole new life. I made some amazing friends, whom I still see regularly now. My experience was bohemian and artistic, full of cheap wine and fresh baguettes, photographer friends who’d take beautiful pictures and bookshops with captivating events. Having studied much about France and French culture, it felt surreal to walk around Place de la République, or visit the Grand Palais and just stare in adoration at the beautiful architecture, and think how many people passed through these places through the century. Spending half a year somewhere lets you discover the “hidden” gems of the city, when first visiting Paris you will go to the Jardin du Luxembourg or the Tuileries but it’s places like Parc des Buttes Chaumont, that truly stole my heart.

I really enjoyed the final year of university, maybe because of the independence in study and writing that we had. Writing the dissertation meant you chose an area of interest personal to you and just plunged into it. Sure it was stressful, you had to be driven, organised and generally on top of things, but doing the research, analysing the information and creating a report was very satisfying and rewarding.

My friends and I always talk about the “Stirling Bubble”, nothing is far away and after a year you pretty much know everyone and everything. Which makes you feel at home, safe and cosy, and that’s something big cities can’t offer. On top of it all Stirling has some really interesting young talents, community initiatives and creative events. The Filth and Aztec music gigs remain some of the best ones I’ve been to.

My time at the University of Stirling has provided me with skills and experiences that have led me to where I am today. I live in Scotland and work as a Polish interpreter. I currently work with: local schools, social work offices, health centres, the police and even the courts. In fourth year we went to a multilingual debate at Heriot-Watt University. The debaters all spoke different languages and their conversation was possible due to the final year students of an interpreting course. It was my first time witnessing the mechanics of interpreting in action and I was fascinated. Throughout our language classes I had amassed the skills to work with language. We worked thoroughly on each text we translated for practice, exchanging ideas and methods. We would discuss the intricacies of the language and the many connections that words create between each other. What meaning these connections of words convey and how to transfer that meaning into a different language. Realising that sometimes it is absolutely crucial to know where the words come from and how they are used in contemporary society in order to fully grasp the subtle differences in meaning between individual words. Learning that often you can only become truly fluent in a language if you understand the culture of the people that speak it. That is exactly what the French degree at the University of Stirling equipped me with.”

Many thanks to Mira for sending this blog post and all the best for the years ahead!

Bastille Day at the Tolbooth Theatre in Stirling

Not strictly speaking a ‘French at Stirling’ event but we’ve just found out that Scotland’s only band specialising in bal musette music, Les Trois Blondes, will be playing at Stirling’s Tolbooth Theatre to celebrate Bastille Day on 14 July. Tickets from the Tolbooth!

David Murphy at Getty Research Institute

French at Stirling’s David Murphy will be in Los Angeles later this week for a workshop at the Getty Research Institute on their recently-acquired ACHAC archive of materials relating to French and Belgian colonialism.

From Stirling to Amsterdam via Aix-en-Provence

With teaching over, and the oral exams for French already a thing of the past, it’s time to catch up a little bit with blog posting and for another few posts from recent French at Stirling graduates, starting with Saara who graduated with a BA Hons in French almost two years ago:

‘I came to Stirling University to study Business Studies but eventually decided to change my course and graduated with a degree in French in 2014. The reason why I chose to study at Stirling University was because I wanted to move abroad from Finland, where I’m originally from, and was keen on studying in English. I then decided to visit a few universities in Scotland. As soon as I had seen Stirling, I decided that it was my top choice as the campus was stunning and the modules offered seemed very interesting.

Trip to St Andrews

I still receive questions on why I wanted to study French in an English-speaking country but I always tell people that it was one of the best decisions I made. Not only did my English improve but I also made lifelong friends, studied a variety of interesting modules and was taught by excellent tutors and lecturers. Scottish people were warm and welcoming and I never experienced a culture shock, a feeling I have encountered in other countries I have lived in.

Monaco

My favourite part of the degree was my semester abroad. I chose to study at the Aix-Marseille University in Aix-en-Provence. I was very nervous when I moved there as I didn’t know anyone but I quickly got to know to other Erasmus students and we became a close group who would travel around the French Riviera. The university in itself was very different compared to Stirling. There was less freedom when it came to choosing modules, for example, and in the beginning it was a challenge to follow the courses in French but it did get easier.

What I enjoyed the most in the South of France were the food and the weather. After my Erasmus was over, I decided to stay in France and agreed to work as an au pair in a French family. My language skills improved quickly and I learnt colloquial French – this was very important as I felt that I understood the culture better. As much as I enjoyed my time in France, I was very happy to return to Scotland.

Aix-en-Provence

When I returned, it was time to start writing my dissertation on North African Immigration in France. The reason why I chose this topic was because of my experience in Marseille and in other cities in France that have a high number of immigrants. As much as I would have liked to cover the whole topic, I understood that it was too vast and decided to tie immigration and French rap music together. I was very motivated when writing my dissertation as I noticed it improved all the time. The meetings with my supervisor, David Murphy, were very beneficial as he gave me a lot of support and was always available for my questions. The dissertation inspired me so much that I am hoping to study a Master’s course in Immigration Management soon.

My French degree has helped me to get different positions in international companies and I now work in Booking.com’s Amsterdam office and manage the company’s Freelance Translators. Even if I do not translate myself, I understand the translation industry completely and it has also made me interested in working as a freelance translator in the future.

Overall, I’m very happy I chose to study at Stirling University. The quality of teaching, the approachable tutors and lecturers and the other students interested in the same topics are the key factors why I would choose Stirling again. Even if I enjoy my time in Amsterdam, Stirling is still very special to me and I’m hoping to return very soon.’

Thanks to Saara for this article and best of luck for the future!

Elizabeth Ezra on Transnational Cinema

Great interview with our colleague, Elizabeth Ezra, on transnational cinema published here as part of a roundtable on the topic in Frames.

Study Abroad in Quebec: Maple Taffy on Snow

While teaching is at an end for our undergraduates on the Stirling campus, our students currently on Study Abroad semesters in France, Quebec, Switzerland and Morocco are at different stages of their academic semesters. Some – as in the case of Emily, who has sent us this blog post, and who is enjoying her Semester Abroad in Quebec – are just waiting for Spring to start and for the end of sub-zero temperatures…

Ice Fishing

“Proudly progressive politics; a cityscape packed with church spires; the drive to protect a traditional language from Anglophone influence; an extraordinarily narrow referendum for political independence… I am of course describing Québec, the seat of French Canada.

If any of the above sounds familiar to Scottish readers, studying abroad at Université Laval may not be the terrifying leap from Stirling that it seems. From the stunning local wilderness down to the university’s Olympic-standard swimming pool, I’ve found we have more in common with our Québécois cousins than I expected.

Laval Campus

If, for example, you prefer to say ‘Scotland’ before ‘Britain’ when asked where you live, you may understand why a Quebecker bristles slightly at being called ‘Canadian’. The province’s cultural heritage is appreciably distinct from that of its Anglophone neighbours, and proudly so. Buy a cheeky poutine (chips, special gravy and cheese curds) or maple taffy on snow, and you’ll understand why.

Both Scots and Québécois French are beautifully distinctive examples of dialectic variation, but nevertheless, it can be hard to distinguish between accents as a non-native speaker. My advice to my German friends in telling a Scottish accent from an English one was to pay attention to the choice of swear words and insults. This method has served me well in Québec, because if I hear any curses I immediately recognise, the speaker is probably from France. Quebeckers instead use sacres, terms derived from the Catholic Church, which would translate for us as words like ‘chalice’ or ‘tabernacle’. They are deliciously versatile, easy to learn and artful to master – much like Scotland’s home grown variety. In addition, it’s useful to know that there’s no tolerance for Anglicisms like ‘weekend’ or ‘parking’ (it’s ‘fin de semaine’ and ‘stationnement’); but you might hear a roar of ‘Let’s go!’ at a hockey match, or a friendly ‘bye bye’ from a cashier.

Snowed in…

One word of warning: we may make a cultural pastime of complaining about the weather, but winter in Québec is not to be sniffed at. Once you’ve walked home with your groceries through a snow storm of -30C or below, Scotland will feel like a temperate oasis. Fortunately, if you want to opt out of hypothermia on the way to class, there is a maze of toasty underground tunnels connecting every building on campus. No snow days here! (Britain, take notes.)

 

Alternatively, you could warm up with a spot of ice skating, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, or – of course – ice hockey. Or curling, why not? The largest ice slide park in North America is about a half hour’s drive away from Laval. And most of these activities, among dozens more, are available for free or at a student discount through the university’s outstanding immersion program. If you’ve ever got that itch for ice fishing or dog sledding, this is the place to scratch it. Far from complaining, the party never ends in Québec as long as there’s snow on the ground.

One semester is an awkward amount of time to move anywhere – it’s long enough that you’ll be forced to settle in and make friends, and short enough that your adieux will come too soon, but every second will be worth it. The crazy, offbeat humour and warm energy of the people I’ve met here means I haven’t regretted my destination for a second. If you have the same opportunity, grab Québec with both hands and attache ta tuque.”

Thanks to Emily for this blog post – enjoy the rest of your semester and make the most of the warmer weather!