Contact Information
Urbana, IL 61801
Biography
At my childhood home in rural Pennsylvania, I spent many a night observing constellations and planets through my bedroom window and backyard telescope. My endless fascination with the mechanisms and mysteries of the natural world grew through my discovery of Rousseau’s Rêveries du promeneur solitaire and my eventual exposure to Sixteenth-century French humanist poetry, the latter of which has afforded me the opportunity to creatively explore the intersectionality and literary applications of my interests in physics, astronomy and music. Through my studies and research in French and Francophone literatures, I have come to understand the universe as not only a linguistic and literary construct that transcends its mathematical foundation but also a dynamic landscape that can be both politically and poetically constructed and deconstructed. Outside of academics and teaching, I enjoy creative writing, drawing, collecting antiques and classical music.
Research Interests
Sixteenth Century French Literature (with an emphasis on lyric poetry)
Early Modern Astronomy, Navigation & Cosmography
Alchemy, Astrology, Witchcraft & Occultism
Intersections between Physics & Metaphysics
Philosophy of Space and Time
Ecocriticism
Education
Ph.D. French Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (In Progress, 2022-Present)
A.M. French & Francophone Studies, Brown University (2022)
M.A. French Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2020)
B.A. French, Washington & Jefferson College (2018)
French Language Exchange Program, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier III (2015-16)
Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera (EPCASO), Istituto Musicale Opitergium (2014)
Awards and Honors
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Departmental Fellowship (2023)
K.A. Looney Senior Award for Excellence in Teaching French (2023)
Graduate College Conference Presentation Award (2022)
FRIT Conference Travel Award (2022)
K.A. Looney Junior Award for Excellence in Teaching French (2020)
Minn Fellowship (2019)
Larkin Burl Price Scholarship (2018-19)
Washington & Jefferson College
A. Richard Oliver Award in French Studies (2017)
Courses Taught
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
FR 104: Intermediate French II (Fall 2022 & Spring 2023)
Brown University
FREN 0400: Intermediate French II (Fall 2021)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
FR 104: Intermediate French II (Spring 2020)
FR 133: Accelerated Intermediate French I (Fall 2019)
FR 103: Intermediate French I (Fall 2019)
FR 102: Beginner French II (Fall 2018 & Spring 2019)
PRESENTATIONS
November 2022: Amy L. Clay and Jesse Marie Keruskin, "Connecting the Arts & Sciences through Renaissance & Modern Day Texts," ACTFL, Boston, MA
January 2022: “‘Rome l’Univers et l’Univers Rome’: Astronomical Modeling in the Antiquitez de Rome,” MLA Conference: Joachim Du Bellay at 500 years, Washington DC
October 2021: “’La haulte Idée à mon univers mere’ : la mécanique celeste des Erreurs amoureuses,” Colloque International “Pontus de Tyard et la varietas,” Bissy-sur-Fley, Bourgogne
October 2020: “’Penser leger et volage comme vent’ : The Planetary Dynamics of Wind in Joachim Du Bellay’s L’Olive, Sixteenth-Century Society Conference, San Diego, CA (Accepted, Conference Cancelled due to COVID-19)
November 2019: “’Un dyptique de deux mondes’ : une exploration de la dichotomie céleste-terrestre dans les Hymnes de Ronsard,” Midwestern Modern Languages Association (Loyola University Chicago), Chicago, IL
September 2019: “’L’étoile descendante’ : The Moon and Feminine Incompleteness in Étienne Jodelle’s Sonnets à Diane”, St. Hilda’s College, University of Oxford
CHAIRED PANELS
March 2021: “Performance and Listening as Musical Intimacy,” Équinoxes Graduate Student Conference (“Saisir l’intime”), Brown University, Providence, RI
INVITED LECTURES
July 2021: Introduction to Early Modern Astronomy and Astrology for FREN 1000B: “Littérature et culture: Chevaliers, sorcières, philosophes, et poètes," Brown University