Doctor of Philosophy, French, 1998-

An interdisciplinary program in French language, literature and culture with outside work in history

Prospective dissertation title: Hugo, an Author in Politics

Thesis: While visionary novelists and politicians alike construct narratives designed to inspire an audience, the constraints of politics require a different sort of narrative than the traditional literary form. Hugo's inability to adapt to this latter form impeded his ability to act in the political arena, in spite of his influence on the culture by dint of his literary works.

(comprehensive examinations passed in the fall of 1999)

Master of Arts, French, 1995-1997

An interdisciplinary program in French language, literature and culture with outside work in history

Pursued interests outside major field with courses in accounting, business, economics and marketing, Fall 1994

Bachelor of Arts, French, 1990-1994

Minor in chemistry

Graduated cum laude from the Honors College in the Centralis Scholars program. (Centralis Scholars take special coursework, are required to play an active role on campus and are given special opportunities to study abroad; the award is based on scholarship, leadership and public service.)

Graduate Teaching Assistant, 1995-2001

Graduate Teaching Assistants prepare and teach their own lesson plans, select and grade all homework, and write tests under the supervision of the Program Coordinator

Lead Economics Facilitator and general tutor for Student Services, Fall 1994

General tutor through Student Campus Services and the Centralis Scholarship program, 1991-1994

Three-week seminar on French culture and media (funded in part by the Department of Romance and Classical Languages and Michigan State University), July-August 1997

Spring semester (January-June 1993) CIEE program at Rennes, for intermediate-advanced students. Completed course-work in French language, literature, history and political science (with other American students) and in translation (standard university course). Lived with French family.

la commune
coup d'état of December 2, 1851
Franco-Prussian War
history, Flaubert's treatment of
Louis-Philippe (with Carole Borne)
Napoleon III (with L.M. Porter)

Presentation on modern conceptions of the Enlightenment in political and literary discourse

Representative for Michigan State University at conference for the development of syllabi integrating cultural themes into a literature program

Tropos publishes scholarly articles and creative writing addressing issues in the study of Romance and Classical languages by graduate students in the United States and Canada. Editorial Board members make preliminary recommendations on article selection to the Editor(s).

Editors solicit and select articles, prepare the journal for publication, including computer typesetting, fundraise and direct the Tropos organization, which publishes the journal.

Assistant editors help organize the journal for publication and advise editors on articles in their field.

proficient from versions 6 to XP

basic spreadsheets and linked worksheets from versions 97 to XP; created gradebook spreadsheets for French dept. at MSU from 1998-2000

small scale databases from 97 to XP

rudimentary coding, frameset design, viewable at gbarto.com; limited experience with Microsoft Front Page

working knowledge of javascript, particularly using the Microsoft implementation of DHTML and the Document Object Model

designed and implemented templates for Tropos journal, 1997-2000