I was born in Marseille and raised in a little village in Provence. Here is a brief summary of past years... After obtaining my French “baccalauréat” in Aix-en-Provence, I went on my own to India. This trip changed my vision of the world, for ever. I then spent a year in a jazz music school before going to Montreal, Quebec, where I pursued a B.A. at McGill University in “Langue et litterature françaises.” The impact those 4 years in Montreal had upon me were intense, in many ways. Now, I am a PhD candidate and a Howard Stirling Vanderbilt Graduate Scholar. In the last 10 years, I have also had plenty of different jobs and random experiences that built my knowledge of people and the world at least as much as my studies have.
I have always been attracted to writers who, if not free, look(ed) for freedom for themselves and, above all, for others. My field of interests concerns anarchist thinkers and libertarian thought; migration of culture, people, and the mixity of these, artistically and humanely; exiled and refugees; free-thinkers and non-academic writers; human rights and the resistance to oppression by “minorities” or individuals; the use of languages, and particularly French, in different communities; philosophy, art, language, music, and I guess good literature in general... At the core of my intellectual project is simply the study of human and her/his relation to society, as well as discourses that are constructed upon every subject, object, discipline or system. Also, I am very interested in interdisciplinary studies.
It is in perfect coherence that, in my first year at Vanderbilt, I have worked as a Research Assistant with Professor Robert Barsky on a project called “Issues in Inter-Cultural Relations Among Inmates Held for Immigration Concerns” through the Center For the Americas. I was specifically working on the social, political and philosophical implications of U.S. prisons as well as prison literature. I have followed a class on criminal justice system in a prison in Nashville, building strong relationships with the founders of the "Inside-Out" program as well as with - now ex for most - inmates. Last year, I have mainly focused my work on phylosophy and politics. My studies lead me toward anarchism and libertarian thinkers. I have had the honor to be the recipient of the Arts and Science Summer Research Award and I have worked on anarchist thought and thinkers, as well as, in a broader sense, resistance among intellectuals, focusing in a few cities in particular : Marseille, Montreal, New York, Boston. I have also taught undergraduate courses at Vanderbilt: accelerated elementary French and elementary French . The privilege I feel for being a part of the Vanderbilt community is, above all, a wonderful chance to learn and to share knowledge and humanity, in many ways...
