Department of Modern Languages
Colin Campbell Dickson
Professor of French, Emeritus
E-mail: cdickson2@washcoll.edu
Phone: TBA
Office: Toll SG 18
Education
- B.A., Amherst College, 1959
- M.S., University of Pennsyvania, 1961
- M.A., University of Pennsyvania, 1966
- Ph.D., University of Pennsyvania, 1972
Office Hours
TBA
Research Areas
- History and rhetoric of the essay genre in France, the U.S., and in world literature
- Metaphors and models in scientific thought and literary expression
- Montaigne (style and structure in the Essais; use of metaphor; endings)
- Montaigne as a pre-scientific thinker; his interest in medicine and in technology
Selected Publications
- "Geographic Imagination in the Essais and Geomorphism in Montaigne Criticism" in Henry, Freeman G., ed., Geo/Graphies: Mapping the Imagination in French and Francophone Literature and Film. New York-Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2003, 29-40. (French Literature Studies 30 [2003]).
- "Montaigne's Style," pp. 62-68 in Henry, Patrick, ed., Approaches to Teaching Montaigne's "Essays". (New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1994).
- "Théorie et Pratique de la clôture: l'exemple de Maupassant dans 'La Maison Tellier'." The French Review 64 (1990): 42-53.
- "L'Invitation de Montaigne au banquet de la vie: 'De l'expérience'." In Mélanges sur la littérature de la Renaissance à la mémoire de V.-L. Saulnier. Geneva: Droz, 1984, 501-509.
- "L'Humour dans "Sur des vers de Virgile'," Bulletin de la Société des Amis de Montaigne, 7-8 (1981): 39-52.
Papers Presented
- "Geographic Imagination in the Essais and Geomorphism in Montaigne Criticism," French Literature and Film Conference, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, March 22, 2002
- "Earth in Motion: Inventions of Geographical Space in Montaigne's Essais and Textual Space in Montaigne Criticism," Modern Language Association of America Meeting, Washington, DC, December 29, 1996.
- "Earth in Motion in Montaigne's Essais," Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, Lexington, Kentucky, April 25, 1992.
- "Observations sur la clôture dans les derniers Essais de Montaigne," South Central Modern Language Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 27, 1989.
- "La Clôture dans les derniers Essais de Montaigne," International Montaigne Colloquium, Amherst, Massachusetts, October 7, 1988.
- "Théorie et Pratique de la clôture: l'exemple de Maupassant dans 'La Maison Tellier'," Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, Lexington, Kentucky, April 26, 1986.
- "Structure et Clôture dans une nouvelle de Maupassant: 'La Maison Tellier'," Southeast Conference on Foreign Languages, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, March 1, 1985.
- "Montaigne's Invitation to the Feast of Life: 'De l'expérience'," Northeast Modern Language Association Convention, New York, April 3, 1982.
- "L'Humour dans 'Sur des vers de Virgile'," Meeting of the Société des Amis de Montaigne, Paris, May 23, 1981.
Other Activities
- Courses given in the WC-ALL Program: "The Renaissance in France" (2007); "France's Exuberant Sixteenth Century" (2006); "The American Essay 1991-2001" (2002); "Montaigne for the Millennium" (2001).
- Lectures: "Tracing the Beginnings of Theatre in Colonial Chestertown" at the Prince Theatre, in Chestertown (2007); "The Bayeux Tapestry" in the WC-ALL "Learn at Lunch" Series (2007); "William Smith, the Founding Fathers, and the Teaching of French in Early America's Colleges" at Washington College, for French Week (2006).
Web Site
- Multimedia course enhancement for FRS 412: The Renaissance in France developed in 1999 with Instructional Technologist Nancy Cross and supported by a Mellon Grant.
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