Robyn Cope

The support I received from the Winthrop-King Institute included a manageable teaching load, enhanced stipend and health insurance allowance. This made it possible for me to make a career change and realize my dream of pursuing a PhD in French and Francophone Studies while still meeting my responsibilities to my family at home. In addition, the Winthrop-King Institute afforded me many opportunities to learn directly from prominent authors and eminent scholars in Francophone literature including Dany Laferrière, Azouz Begag, Maryse Condé, Edwidge Danticat, J. Michael Dash, Celia Britton, Charles Forsdick, and many others. Thanks to Winthrop-King's generous support, I was able to pursue my research interests, which lie at the intersection between Caribbean literature and food studies. As I begin work as an Assistant Professor of French and participate in the Sustainable Communities initiative at SUNY Binghamton this fall, I am very grateful to the Winthrop-King Institute for the rich experiences and invaluable network of mentors I bring with me. 

 

Kat Haklin

The Winthrop-King Institute has made an enormous impact on my academic and professional life.  As Masters student in French Literature, I received generous financial support from the Institute which allowed me to pursue my studies and research at Florida State.  Additionally, thanks to a Winthrop-King grant, I had the extraordinary opportunity to spend a summer in Paris as an intern for the non-profit organization France Terre d'Asile.  Working with refugees and asylum seekers during that summer brought to life several issues discussed during seminars with Dr. Alec Hargreaves (former Institute director) and allowed me to further my knowledge of France, its legal system, and the teaching of foreign language in a dynamic environment.  Without the support of the Institute and the encouragement of the Florida State faculty, I would not have been able to continue my studies at the doctoral level at Johns Hopkins University.  The Institute's emphasis on interdisciplinarity, as well as on the imbrication of history and modern culture, has certainly influenced my scholarship beyond my years at FSU.  I have been, and always will remain, grateful for the support afforded to me by the Winthrop-King Institute, which provides young and upcoming scholars unique opportunities in the (sometimes overlooked) field of contemporary French and Francophone studies.   

 

Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp

I completed my PhD at FSU in 2011 and am currently Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island, where I teach courses in French and film. I would not be where I am today without the Winthrop-King Institute and the wonderful professors with whom I had the opportunity to work. The professors are not only excellent teachers and top scholars in their respective fields, but they are also generous with their time and dedicated to mentoring graduate students. I benefited from the guidance of my professors throughout my time at FSU, as I attended my first conference, published my first article, completed internships in France, and went on the job market.

I am also very grateful for the numerous opportunities for professional development that I had as a student at FSU. French graduate students have the unique opportunity to interact with renowned scholars, authors, artists, and filmmakers, thanks to the conferences organized by the WK institute, and these professional meetings and experiences were invaluable to me as a young scholar. I also benefited from generous financial support from the WK Institute, which allowed me to present my research at conferences and to conduct fieldwork in Paris while I was writing my dissertation.

Website: https://uri.academia.edu/LeslieKealhoferKemp

 

Elizabeth Langley

During my graduate studies in Modern Languages at FSU, I was fortunate to participate in many Winthrop-King events and benefit from the institute’s generous funding of students.  In 2011, I graduated with my MA in French.  However, I enjoyed the department culture, colleagues, resources, and events so much that I chose to pursue a second MA in Spanish at FSU.  Consequently, I was able to extend my study of the Caribbean, my area of interest, to the Hispanophone realm while continuing to take the occasional graduate course in French.  In a spirit of collaboration, I had the opportunity to teach courses in both French and Spanish as a teaching assistant (TA) and present a paper at the Winthrop-King conference “Haiti in a Globalized Frame.”  Prior to my graduation in 2013, I began submitting applications to PhD programs.  The Modern Languages faculty at FSU, amongst them Dr. Munro and Dr. Gomariz, were integral to that process, providing counsel and composing letters of recommendation.  I have no doubt that my receipt of a University of Miami fellowship is due in large part to the time that my French and Spanish professors at FSU took with me as teachers, mentors, and colleagues.

 

Mireille Georges Rebeiz

I hold a law degree from Saint-Joseph University in Lebanon, a Master’s degree in International Law and International Protection of Human Rights from the Université de Rouen in France. In 2012, I graduated from Florida State University with a PhD in French. Today, I am an Assistant Professor of French at Stony Brook University in New York.

The French division at FSU along with the Winthrop – King Institute have deeply impacted my life on many different levels. I was offered a teaching assistantship that allowed me to come to the United States and pursue my dream in higher education. The teaching enhancement offered by the Winthrop-King Institute allowed me to focus on my writing. It also supported my travels to Paris for a conference or to Seattle for a job interview.

The professors of the French division remain the heart and soul of the program. Despite their impressive careers, they remain humble and accessible. They genuinely care for the students. I can honestly say that they shaped my life and I wouldn’t be the teacher I am today if it were not for them. A real inspiration! 

 

Jena Whitaker

I am grateful to have had a Winthrop King Scholarship during my studies at Florida State University, where I received my MA degree in 2011. The support of the Winthrop King Institute gave me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of French language and literature and to closely study 19th century French poetry and philosophy. I am currently a third-year doctoral student at the Johns Hopkins University, where I research the relationship between the act of translation and poetic creation, specifically in the works of three 19th century ‘poet-translators:’ Nerval, Baudelaire and Mallarmé. My other research interests include questions of temporality, memory, madness and imagination. In addition to my own research, this past year I made an inventory of JHU’s holding in rare and ephemeral pamphlets from the French Revolution.