Research

In Second Language Acquisition, my research and practice include community engagement scholarship in addition to topics of social justice and sustainability in the language curriculum. My most recent publication is entitled “Francophone Pacific Topics in French Language Programs: Teaching Transcultural Competence and Sustainable Literacy” (French Review). This work showcases pedagogical initiatives highlighting sustainability literacy, environmental justice, and Indigenous perspectives in the French-speaking Pacific region. The materials and resources for these course topics originated from curriculum development research trips I have taken to French Polynesia (Ma’ohi), New Caledonia (Kanaky), and Réunion island thanks to the Bacon Grant.

An avid jazz roots dancer for several decades, I am also currently developing research on experiential learning through dance pedagogy in the French language curriculum. Each semester I integrate dance lessons into the intermediate language classes as a method of developing transcultural competence while learning language through body movement.

My scholarly fields of interest also include 19th-century Bohemian Paris, the Jazz Age in Paris, fashion studies, musicology, and popular culture studies. My other recent publications include an article entitled “Prince’s Innovative Style : A Minneapolis Icon,” featured in the Berg Encyclopedia of

World Dress and Fashion (volume 3, Fall 2022). In addition to an invitation as keynote speaker for the Costume Society of America’s national conference in Minneapolis, MN (2022), I have been invited to speak on these topics in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, London, Manchester, Spain, and France.