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Scholars Dr. Felix Jean-Louis III and Dr. Maria-Gratias Sinon will join the UCI Department of European Languages and Studies’ French Program for the 2020-2021 academic year as part of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Emerging Voices Fellowship.

ACLS launched the Emerging Voices Fellowship program in May 2020 in response to the economic downturn and uncertainty in academe in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is designed to assist a vanguard of scholars whose voices, perspectives, and broad visions will strengthen institutions of higher education and humanistic disciplines in the years to come. Emerging Voices Fellows are placed in one-year remote posts starting in September 2020 with ACLS Research University Consortium partners across the country.

"At a time when institutions of higher education are making tough fiscal decisions that will impact the future of scholarship, ACLS recognizes the urgent need to support those newest to the academy and, in turn, helping ensure its best future,” said ACLS President Joy Connolly. “This exciting new partnership with our Research University Consortium members will help ensure the advancement of important humanistic study during these challenging times on campuses across the nation.”

Jean-Louis III earned his Ph.D. in history from Florida International University. His research examines the intellectual and political alliances forged among African Americans and Haitians during the U.S. military occupation of Haiti between the two World Wars.

Sinon earned her Ph.D. in French language and literature from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. She researches the body aesthetics and oppression of transnational Black women and feminism in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa and the Francophone Caribbean.

While at UCI, Jean-Louis III and Sinon will work closely with Carrie Noland, professor of French and director of the UCI International Center for Writing and Translation.

“The American Council of Learned Societies responded to the employment crisis caused by COVID-19 in the best possible way: they decided to fund year-long positions for talented young scholars who completed their Ph.D.s at a moment when many colleges and universities are making budget cuts and suspending searches,” said Noland. “I am grateful to the ACLS for their inventiveness and generosity. The French Program is delighted to welcome Felix Jean-Louis and Maria-Gratias Sinon.”

Jean-Louis III and Sinon begin their appointments this fall and will teach French, history, and other undergraduate and graduate courses while contributing to programming for the ICWT.
European Languages and Studies
French
History