Resident Fellows

"As a Resident Fellow, I was able to continue my academic work while equally enjoying Aix-en-Provence and its surroundings. The highlight of my brief stay (summer 2022) was interacting with students and faculty: I gave a talk/reading on "Politics and Poetry in the Shadow of Ukraine" in which I tested out material for my next book, the second edition of Poetry: A Survivor's Guide. Post-talk questions and conversations helped both to verify certain aspects of political poetry in my mind, and to open up new aspects I had not considered enough. Personally, the time I spent in Aix also offered up new avenues: I hadn't expected to be so moved by Montagne Sainte-Victoire. I have painted real and imaginary mountainscapes for many years (ekphrasis also being an academic interest) and suddenly I have a new mountain to explore."

"Thank you so much for the opportunity to join the ACM campus and community this summer. Aix is a marvelous place, and I was so grateful for the chance to be there. During my seven weeks in the country, I grew in my knowledge of French language, history, and culture. Our whole family did in fact! A highlight of my time was presenting my work for the ACM community as well as connecting with the faculty at ACM and the faculty Jean Calvin nearby. I spent some time at the Archives National d’Outre Mer, which enhanced a key component of my research on the history of the French Bible in its historical context. I especially benefited from visits to the Luberon, the Tour de Constance, and the Cevennes wherein Huguenot/Vaudois persecution shaped their community’s story as well as their theological outlook and biblical engagement. It was a marvelous experience to be in those places and to track the historical legacy of those groups, and all of it was made possible because of the resident fellows’ program. For these many reasons and more, I am grateful to ACM for the opportunity to have time and space for rich reflection, research, academic interaction, and writing!"

"Serving as an IAU Resident Fellow in Aix-en-Provence was an excellent academic and cross-cultural learning experience that surpassed all of my expectations. From my first days in Aix, I found an amazing level of support from the IAU program leadership and staff: all were quick to answer questions, make introductions to full time faculty, and to initiate connections with various local residents. Classrooms and institutional facilities were top notch, clustered in several beautifully renovated buildings within the old center. As a university town, Aix offered a stimulating intellectual environment for scholarly work, while also serving as a cultural hub that provided an ever-constant flow of events and activities.

Opportunities to give guest lectures, offer a campus-wide presentation, and to attend IAU sponsored fieldtrips provided continuous opportunities to get to know faculty and students, share my own research, and learn more about the local region. One especially enjoyable aspect of my stay was the chance to audit a French language class. Beyond improving my language skills – which directly enhanced my ability to delve into French culture – it also provided regular contact with students, something I came to value as an important element of my overall experience. During my stay, I successfully completed several pre-existing projects, but also initiated new research that I hope will bring me back to Aix for years to come. In short, I found the IAU Resident Fellow experience academically productive and richly rewarding on many levels, not only in terms of cross-cultural learning, but in terms of the relationships developed within the IAU community. To my mind, such experiences represent one of the highlights of an academic career. I cannot think of a better way to spend a sabbatical semester."