We are delighted to present the first volume of the Selected Proceedings of the AATF Convention. This publication was created to make more widely available the papers presented at the annual convention of the American Association of Teachers of French.
The 2010 volume certainly reflects the variety of papers presented at the convention: Its thirteen articles have topics ranging from pedagogy to civilization to linguistics to literature.
The city of Philadelphia was the site of the Convention in 2010, so it seems fitting to begin this volume with an article on the French philosophes and their influence on thinkers in Philadelphia at the time of the American Revolution.
Several articles feature a focus on the classroom. Among their topics are a discussion of the incorporation of service-learning and local French heritage, the use of contemporary Francophone songs from Belgium in class, teaching with Holocaust survivor memoirs, exploiting the rich resources of the Cité Nationale de l’Histoire de l’Immigration, and teaching French language with a transdisciplinary approach.
Other papers consider contemporary film and literature; present new takes on study-abroad, both real and virtual; explore of the langue de bois of politicians; dig into the history of French spelling; analyze two novels of Mauriac; and argue for use of Francophone material as a source of multicultural exposure.
We are grateful to the colleagues who served as readers and to all those who have supported this project.
Bonne lecture!
–Randa J. Duvick (Valparaiso University), Editor
For the Editorial Committee:
Mary Helen Kashuba S.S.J. (Chestnut Hill College)
Marie-Christine Koop (University of North Texas)
Ann Williams (Metropolitan State College of Denver)