Meet the Paris Faculty

Classes at the Paris Program are taught by local faculty members and the Program Director. In addition, lectures are offered by Stanford faculty-in-residence each quarter. Many professors hold regular appointments at French universities or have served in prominent positions in local governments, policy organizations, or research institutes. Courses are taught in French unless otherwise noted.

FACULTY-IN-RESIDENCE

Autumn 2015-16: Stephen Cooper (Computer Science)
Winter 2015-16: Deborah Stipek (School of Education)
Spring 2015-16: Joseph Lipsick (Pathology)

LOCAL FACULTY

Nadine Airut

Nadine Airut is a French language teacher and holds a Master's degree in English and American Literature and Civilization. She also received her DEA degree in French as a Foreign Language from the Sorbonne Nouvelle (Université de Paris III).

Nadine's course is titled French Through Songs.

Laurie Boussaguet

Laurie Boussaguet holds a PhD in political science from Sciences Po Paris in 2007. She was assistant professor in political science at the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France) and research fellow at the CESDIP (Centre de recherches sociologiques sur le droit et les institutions pénales) from 2009 to 2011. After receiving her Agrégation in Political Sciences in 2011, she is now full professor of law at the University of Rouen. She is also associate researcher at the Centre for European studies at Sciences Po, Paris. Her main work has been on policy analysis, transnational convergence, agenda-setting, lay people's participation, human rights and European governance.

Laurie's course is titled Challenges of Integration in the European Union.

Peter Brooks

Peter Brooks has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and has worked in the public and private sectors in France for thirty years. Initially studying the enzymology of DNA mismatch repair at the Institut Jacques Monod in Paris, he then joined Genethon, funded by France's muscular dystrophy charity, and subsequently Genoscope, the national DNA sequencing center, to develop enzymes as tools for genomics studies. A co-founder of the French biotech IntegraGen, he led the development of custom DNA arrays for cytogenetics and cancer research and piloted a multistep enzymatic process to hunt for genes of complex diseases. He directed a key component of the company's autism program, notably establishing interactions with patient advocacy associations. He has participated in European collaborative research projects in genetics and continues to serve as an expert reviewer of EU-sponsored applications in a wide range of biomedical themes. He currently is participating in bioinformatics aspects of pediatric cancer research projects at the Institut Curie.

Peter's course is titled Principles of Biochemistry.

Cécile Cotté

Educated at the Ecole Internationale Jacques Lecoq in Paris, Cotté was also a student of Daniel Mesguich (director of the Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique). As an actress she has performed classical and contemporary texts for the theater, appeared on television and in cinema as well as radio. In terms of writing she has adapted several works for the theater (Simone de Beauvoir, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Eugène Ionesco, Honoré de Balzac). A director as well, she has staged theater pieces the world over: France, the United States (New York), and Africa. She regularly runs workshops in Paris, Singapore, Butare (Rwanda), Vienna (Austria) and Malta. She has created plays which have been performed in Paris (Cité Universitaire, United States Embassy, Théâtre Adyar) and in New York (Maison Française, Wasserman Center, Kimmel Center). She has also taught at the École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales (ESSEC) since 2009, giving a course in English called “Behaving in Public. A Training.”

Cécile's course is titled Public Speaking in French: Phonetics, Rhythm and Confidence.

Susan Cure

Susan Cure attended Stanford for 8 years, and spent 6 months at Stanford’s first overseas campus in Germany. She has an undergraduate BA degree and a PhD from the Medical School. She has taught medical and dental students at Hong Kong University and undergraduates at the American University in Paris. Her research has included studies on retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency in rats (before the AIDS epidemic), basic studies on cells with chromosome anomalies derived from early spontaneous abortions, surveillance for influenza viruses in Hong Kong ducks before H5N1 was isolated, and the Human Genome Project.

Susan's course is titled Principles of Biochemistry.

Jean-Marie Fessler

Jean-Marie Fessler graduated from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and Ecole Nationale de la Santé Publique. He holds a doctorate in Bioethics and Health Policy (Paris Descartes) and a doctorate in Health Economics (Lyon I). He also received his Certificate in Health Care Risk Management from the Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School. For many years he worked as Hospital Director. Today he is the Senior Advisor to the President of the largest mutual health fund in France, the MGEN, Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale. He has published numerous articles and books on Healthcare management.

Jean-Marie's course is titled Health Systems and Health Insurance: France and the U.S. - a Comparison Across Space and Time.

Bénédicte Gady

Bénédicte Gady graduated from l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris  ("Sciences Po"), earned her doctorate in Art History from the Sorbonne (Paris IV) and  served as fellow at the Villa Médicis in Rome. She now serves as Scientific Advisor for the Graphics Department at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Her latest book, L'ascension de Charles Le Brun: Liens sociaux et production artistique, published in 2010 received the François-Victor Noury award, granted by the Académie Française in 2011. She has curated numerous exhibitions at the Louvre Museum in Paris, most recently, the preparatory drawings of the Ceilings of Paris during the 17th century.

Bénédicte's course is titled The Ceilings of Paris.

Brigitte Gallini

Brigitte Gallini graduated from the Ecole du Louvre et de Muséologie and holds both a Master's degree and a DEA in Art History from the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne. Author of numerous articles and publications, she was art commissioner for - and creator of - several international exhibitions at the Louvre. After having worked for the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, she took on the instruction of courses in iconography and iconology at the Ecole du Louvre.

Brigitte's course is titled Bestiaries, Droleries and other Curiosities in Medieval Art.

Patrick Guédon

Patrick Guédon is a French language instructor for the Stanford Program in Paris. He holds a Master’s degree (Université de Paris VII) and a DESS (Université de Paris III) in French as a foreign language. He has published numerous guides and textbooks on the subject.

Estelle Halévi (Program Director)

Estelle Halévi has been the director of the Stanford Center in Paris since 1989. She holds Master’s degrees in art history and the history of religion, and a DEA in art history from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Among the courses she has taught over the years are “Art and Society in 18th-Century France,” “19th-Century French Painting,” “The History and Architecture of Paris" and “The Artist's World”. Her academic interests include the historical interaction between the city, the artist and his human surroundings.

Estelle's courses are titled The Artist's World: The Workshop, Patronage and Public in 19th and 20th Century France and Building Paris: Its History, Architecture and Urban Design.

Tiphaine Karsenti

Tiphaine Karsenti is associate professor at the History of Arts and Representations department of the University of Paris-Nanterre where she is director of the Master's studies program in this field. An alumna of the Ecole Normale Supérieure and an agrégée in classic studies, her interests and area of research touch upon both 16th and 17th century French literature, as well as contemporary creative works, especially those related to art, theater and cinema.

Tiphaine's course is titled Franco-American Encounters.

Éloi Laurent

Éloi Laurent is a senior economist at OFCE (Sciences-Po Center for economic research, Paris). He has background in policy-making, as a former aid in the French Parliament (1999-2000) and to the French prime minister (2000-2002). He presently teaches at Sciences-Po and at La Sorbonne (College of higher European studies) and on campus at Stanford University since 2011 (summer quarter). He has been a visiting scholar at NYU (2003), Columbia University (2002, 2004 and 2007), and at Harvard University Center for European studies (2005-2006 and Fall 2009) and was guest lecturer at the University of Montréal (summer 2010). Éloi Laurent holds a Ph.D. in economics (highest honors) and a Master’s degree from the University Paris-Dauphine in international economics and graduated summa cum laude from Sciences Po (political science and economics). He is the author or editor of ten books and close to a hundred articles.

Éloi's courses are titled Globalization and its Effect on France and the European Union and Measuring Well-Being and Sustainability in Today’s World.

Jacques Le Cacheux

Jacques Le Cacheux is a professor of Economics at the Université de Pau (UPPA) and Department Director at the Observatorie Français des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE), a research unit of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Sciences Po in Paris. He also teaches undergraduate courses at Sciences Po and has been a member of several research networks financed by the European Union Commission: GOVECOR, MOCHO, EUROCAP, CONNEX, EU-CONSENT. He has been one of the rapporteurs of the Stiglitz – Sen - Fitoussi Commission on the Measurement of economic performance and social progress.

Jacques's courses are titled Globalization and its Effect on France and the European Union and Measuring Well-Being and Sustainability in Today’s World.

Florence Leca

Florence Leca Mercier was a student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure and earned her doctorate in literature at the Sorbonne. She has taught at the Stanford Center in Paris since 1994. After finishing her thesis on Jean Genet, her research and teaching focused both on literature and the French language. She has taught at the Sorbonne since 1990 in both these fields. Her research culminated in her work on Irony, published in 2003 and on the phenomenon of polyphony in contemporary literature, works published in 2007 and 2010. After having lived ten years in Africa (Gabon and Senegal), her interests focused as well on African Francophone literature. In this context , she taught a course on comparative literature at the Sorbonne, based on the works of Amadou Hampâté Bâ. She has recently published “L'adjectif qualificatif".

Florence's course is titled Contemporary African Literature in French.

Elizabeth Molkou

Elizabeth Molkou received her Ph.D. in French from McGill University in Canada. She currently teaches French language, civilization, and literature at the Insititut d’Etudes Politiques (“Sciences Po”) and New York University in France, as well as French language for the Stanford Program in Paris. Her research interests include autobiographical theory, auto fiction in contemporary French literature, and the representation of Paris in contemporary fiction; her critical writing is informed by an interest in the relationship between language and identity. Her most recent paper, entitled Le Paris de Patrick Modiano, was presented at Université Paris–I Panthéon Sorbonne. In 2010, she published Identités juives et autofiction : de la Shoah à la post-modernité at Editions Universitaires Européennes.

Elizabeth is a language instructor and also leads the French Writing Workshop.

Grégoire Quenault

After having received his DNSEP, a French higher degree in Fine Arts, from the Ecole Supérieur d’Arts et Design of Orléans, Grégoire Quenault received in 2005 his doctorate in Aesthetics, Science, and Technology of the Arts from the University of Paris 8. In 2005 he was named Associate Professor in the Art Department of the University of Picardie- Jules Verne, where he then became Adjunct Director. He has also taught at the University of Paris 8 since 2014.  Quenault specializes in Avant-Garde trends and moving images, and his research and publications primarily cover the history and aesthetics of Avant-Garde and experimental cinema, expanded cinema, and video art. After having participated in various research centers and groups (such as CRAE- Center for Research in Art and Aesthetics at the University of Amiens, C2RMF- the Center for Research and Restauration of France’s Museums, 24/25), he is now member of the ESTCA Center for Research in Paris (Aesthetics, Science, and Technology of Cinema and Audiovisual Media).

Grégoire's course is titled The Avant-garde in France through Literature, Art and Theater.

Marie-Christine Ricci

Marie-Christine Ricci is a French language instructor for the Stanford Program in Paris since 1993. She holds a Master's degree and a DEA from the Sorbonne, Université de Paris III in French as a foreign language. She currently teaches French language, civilization, and literature, and is responsible for writing workshops. Her research interests include Paris' history and culture, and in this context, she organizes cultural walking tours through Paris.

Klaus-Peter Sick

Klaus-Peter Sick works as a historian at the Franco-German social sciences research centre, the Centre Marc Bloch, at Berlin. A specialist on French contemporary history, he was in 1991, after the unification of Germany, one of the first West Germans to join Humboldt University at Berlin. In 2002, he joined the Centre Marc Bloch as a research fellow, but also continues to teach as a guest professor at French and German universities. His publications cover different aspects of French intellectual, social and political history. He also regularly intervenes as a consultant and debater in French and German radio and television. His last book is La Seconde Guerre mondiale, Paris, First-Gründ, 2011, his most recent article a contribution on French middle classes and politics in Une contre-histoire de la République, Paris, La Découverte, 2013.

Klaus-Peter's course is titled French Politics in Cross-National Perspective.

Sylvie Strudel

In addition to degrees in several disciplines (Master’s in Modern Literature, Université Paris IV-Sorbonne; DEA in Sociology from the EHESS; degree and Ph.D. in Political Science from the IEP in Paris), Sylvie Strudel is a Professeur des Universités in Political Science. After working as an Associate Professor at the IEP in Lille, Sylvie Strudel was named full Professor at the Université François Rabelais in Tours in 2005. Since 2012 she is full Professor at the Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II. From 2001-2003, Sylvie worked as part of a CNRS delegation at the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin. She travelled extensively as an invited visiting professor (University of Tokyo, Technische Universität Berlin, University of Stuttgart). She is researcher at the Centre d’Etudes Constitutionnelles et Politiques and she is associated researcher at the Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po (CEVIPOF-Paris) and at the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin.

Professor Strudel has participated in various European and French research projects on political and civic participation and on voting and elections (French electoral panel in 2007 and 2012). Strudel’s fields of research include migrations in Europe, sociology and theory of European citizenship, socio-political divisions related to the question of European integration, political behavior in France. Sylvie Strudel has been Professor in the Stanford Program in Paris since 2006.

Sylvie's course is titled French Politics in Cross-National Perspective.

Oscar Villegas Paez

Oscar Villegas Paez was born in Bolivia in 1966. He is established in Paris where he works as an independent art-photographer, film-maker and curator. He holds a Master's of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has taught photography and history of photography at New York University (Paris), Saint John's University (New York), The New School (New York), Istituto Europeo di Design (Madrid) and the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (Spain). He was also appointed Adjunct Director of the Photography Department at The New School (New York) in 1997. His work has been exhibited in various countries and can be found in important private and public collections.

Oscar's course is titled Paris Photography Workshop.

Fabrice Virgili

Fabrice Virgili is a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and received his agrégationin History. His book on France after World War II was published in English by Oxford Press: Shorn Women Gender and Punishment in Liberation France.

Fabrice's course is titled France during the Second World War: between History and Memory.