Education:
Diploma de Cultural Española---Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain)
Diploma de Lengua y Cultura Española--Instituto DIE Universitas; Madrid (Spain).
I have traveled widely in Europe to countries such as France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Britain.
Research Interests:
My main research interests include francophone writers of Africa and the Caribbean. In this area, I do a comparative study of African and Caribbean writers. My interest includes the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. I also do a lot of research on oral tradition in Africa. I have been working on folk tales of the Dagara people of West Africa. The Dagara live in Ghana, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire). The research involved audio and video taping of live story-telling sessions in the rural areas.
I have published a book titled "The African and Caribbean Historical Novel in French: A Quest for Identity". (New York/Paris: Peter Lang, 1996). I have a manuscript that is being published under the title: "Folk Tales of the Dagara of West Africa" (Woeli Publishing - Accra). I am currently working on a manuscript "Tradition and folklore of the Dagara". It will have chapters on folk tales, riddles, dirges, and folk songs.
Teaching:
I teach all levels of French language, literature and culture at Gustavus. I teach a course on francophone African and Caribbean writers which is for French majors and minors. I also teach interdisciplinary courses in English. Specifically, I teach a First Term Seminar on "Culture and Society in Africa". It is a writing course for first year students. Please see the Gustavus general course requirements for more information on First Term Seminars at this college. Another interdisciplinary course that I teach is a January Term course on African folk tales. I am also interested in team -teaching and I have team-taught a course titled "African, African-American, and Afro-Caribbean Cultures".