“Learning is a life-altering adventure. It begins with the strangeness of discovery, a spark of curiosity, and, when pursued with vigor and sustained reflection, leads undeniably to a powerful transformation of the self.”— Sherri Rose
Faculty Information
Additional Faculty Information for Sherri Rose
Education
B.A., French, Centre College
M.A., French Language and Literature, University of Virginia
Ph.D., French Language and Literature, University of Virginia
Previous Teaching Positions
Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Virginia summer program in Lyon, France
Visiting Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Earlham College
Lectrice d’Anglais, Université Paris-Est Créteil, France
Lectrice d’Anglais, Université Lumière Lyon II, France
Recent Conference Presentations
“Framing Tragedy in Maeterlinck’s and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.” KFLC Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Conference 75th Edition, University of Kentucky, April 2022.
“Strategies for teaching ‘French for Business’ to Liberal Arts Students.” ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo. Virtual. November 2020.
“Are you looking for Maman or Madame?: My Dual Identity as a French Professor and Parent.” Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement Annual Conference: Maternal Well-being and Health. (MIRCI). York University, Toronto, CA, April 2019.
“From Flanders to Paris and back again: Symbolist style as cultural reflection.” Nineteenth-Century French Studies 43rd Annual Colloquium: Style. University of Virginia, November, 2017.
“Que cherchent-ils au Ciel” : Seeing with the Blind in Bruegel, Baudelaire and Maeterlinck. Society of Dix-Neuviémistes 15th Annual Conference: Spleen et Idéal. University of Kent, Canterbury, England, April 2017.
“Seeing Double in Jean Lorrain’s ‘La Lanterne Magique.'” Nineteenth-Century French Studies 41st Annual Colloquium: Contamination. Princeton University, November 2015.
Publications
Courses Taught
Memberships
Nineteenth-Century French Studies Association
Society of Dix-Neuviémistes
Modern Language Association
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Pi Delta Phi
Biography
Language for me has always been an adventure. When I first traveled to France at the age of sixteen, I knew that my experiences there would make a lasting impact on my life. I fell in love not only with the French language, but with French literature, cinema and culture. My research interests in 19th-century French and Belgian literary cultures grew over the years as I continued to return to France to study and teach. Now, it is truly a rewarding experience to be teaching the things that have become my passions in all levels of French courses at Hillsdale College.
I find that learning is a life-altering adventure. It begins with the strangeness of discovery, a spark of curiosity, and, when pursued with vigor and sustained reflection, leads undeniably to a powerful transformation of the self. The sense of purpose engendered by knowledge leads the individual to challenge vehicles of apathy and complacency. Learning is about liberation: it is an opening of oneself to the world.
In my most successful French courses, the classroom becomes a dynamic language laboratory. I take a communicative approach to language teaching, regularly incorporating role-plays, interviews and games. I also believe that encouragement and humor are essential to establishing a personal rapport with students and to cultivating a positive classroom atmosphere.
My goal as an educator is to empower students to take a greater interest in their own learning processes. This includes challenging students to develop intercultural competency and to consider contemporary society from a global perspective.
Staying connected to the world around me is important in my own life as well. I love to travel with Hillsdale students to France over the summer. When I’m at home, I like to let my imagination take flight through literature and cinema. Spending time in nature and exploring Michigan with my daughters Melanie and Eva are a few of my favorite everyday adventures.
I still find it exciting to learn new phrases in French and to make new cultural discoveries. Studying French has also been a way to learn more about myself. Charlemagne’s words wonderfully capture the beauty of learning another language: “To have another language is to possess a second soul.”