Congratulations to our graduate students Nancy Ofori (MA Student of French Studies) and Sarah Revilla-Sanchez (PhD Student of Hispanic Studies) for winning Graduate Research Fellowships at UBC’s Centre for European Studies.
Nancy Ofori’s Research Project:
Nancy’s research explores the linguistic insecurity faced by Black African English language teaching assistants in France. This insecurity manifests when individuals perceive their English proficiency, particularly pronunciation and fluency, as being judged or inadequate, particularly in professional contexts. Her study identifies contributing factors such as racial identity and societal expectations of “native speaker” standards within the French educational system. Nancy examines how these dynamics influence the assistants’ performance, interactions, self-perception, and relationships with students. Her work sheds light on the broader intersections of race, identity, and language ideologies within globalized education systems. Learn more.
Sarah Revilla-Sanchez’s Research Project:
Sarah’s project is titled “Tracing the Legacy of European Female Gothic Writers in Contemporary Latin American Fiction.” During her residency, she will analyze a selection of European literary texts belonging to the “Female Gothic” (Moers 1976). She will also examine critical theories of the genre that centre around the metaphors of the haunted house, “the unspeakable,” and the Gothic body, particularly as they relate to female resistance and violence against the female/feminized body. This work will set the foundation for exploring how the authors in her corpus engage with Gothic tropes to reflect their sociopolitical and cultural landscapes in the Americas. Learn more.
