Home
College of Arts and Sciences / Undergraduate Programs / Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures / French Studies / Faculty

Faculty

Full-Time Faculty


Matthew Motyka S.J.

Program Coordinator
(415) 422-5765

Assistant Professor, is the French language coordinator. He has a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from UC Berkeley. He earned an MA in Philosophy of Religion from Heythrop College of the University of London, and a M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology at GTU, Berkeley. After the completion of his doctorate he entered the Jesuits. As a part of his Jesuit formation he earned an MA in Philosophy of Religion from Heythrop College of the University of London (for which he wrote a the...

Education:

PhD, Romance Languages and Literatures, UC Berkeley, MA, Philosophy of Religion, Heythrop College of the University of London, M.Div., Jesuit School of Theology, GTU Berkeley

Karen Bouwer

Professor
(415) 422-6390

Professor Karen Bouwer enjoys teaching all levels of French and Francophone language, culture and literature as well as classes on African literature and film. Her research interests include Francophone African literature, African cinema and gender. Her book Gender and Decolonization in the Congo: The Legacy of Patrice Lumumba was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2010.

Anne Mairesse

Professor
(415) 422-6359

Anne Mairesse is originally from France. She grew up in the infamous suburb of Paris called Sarcelles, until her family finally “made” it to Paris when she was a teenager. With a lot of catching up to do, she embraced the culture and the arts and all that Paris could hold, while developing an acute sense of social and political consciousness, which served as a frequent reminder of the background that instructed her most. She had a passion for old and new avant-garde films, and spent a lot of...

Education:

Graduate Student, Columbia University, New York, 1981-85, Doctorate, French and Comparative Literature of 20th Century, University of Paris, France, 1985, HDR in Letters and Sciences, University of Paris, France, 2001

Part-Time Faculty


Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite

Adjunct Professor

Adjunct professor Dr. Babaci-Wilhite received her PhD in language and development in the field of comparative and international education. She grew up bilingual and studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris, where she specialized in French Teaching for Foreigners (FLE). She has been teaching at USF since 2014.

Christine Berry

Adjunct Professor
(415) 422-2802

Christine Berry received her master's degree and post-graduate degree (Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies) in French literature and French language from the University of Paris. Professor Berry was born and raised in France. She has been teaching at the University of San Francisco since 1997.

Gaëlle Corvaisier

Adjunct Professor
(415) 422-2802

Adjunct Professor, received her PhD in Francophone studies from the Department of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Paris - La Sorbonne. She received the College of Arts and Sciences Service Award in 2008 and the Innovation in Teaching with Technology in 2015.

Beatrice Hallier

Adjunct Professor

Adjunct Professor, enjoys teaching language, culture and conversation. She received BA and MA degrees in French at the University of California Berkeley and completed course work in the doctoral program (ABD) in French Literature at the University of California, Davis. In May 1999 she received the University of San Francisco College Service Award presented by the College of Arts and Sciences in recognition of her dedication and service to the college. In her free time, she reads international...

Timothy Wolcott

Adjunct Professor
(415) 422-5765

Tim Wolcott received his PhD in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. His areas of interest include Second Language Acquisition during study abroad, language learning and identity, and Discourse Analysis. His recent publications include an introduction to a special issue of the L2 Journal called "Study Abroad in the 21st Century" (2016) and an article co-authored with Matthew Motyka in the APPLES journal, "Study Abroad as a Context for Spiritual Development" (2016).

Emeriti Faculty


Rosemarie Deist

Professor
(415) 422-6335

Professor Deist received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is professor of Classics and medieval French, as well as director of the Classical Studies Program. Her special comparative interests are Virgil, classical epic, and medieval French courtly romance.

Education:

PhD University of Wisconsin-Madison

Expertise:

Virgil, Classical epic, and medieval French courtly romance

Contact Info

Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Office for: French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Portuguese and Comparative Literature Program

Kalmanovitz Hall 328 (415) 422-2802