2026: Literature, What For?
The Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association (DFSGSA) invites researchers and students to this year's conference, "Literature, What For?", to share their research with colleagues in the fields of French and Francophone Studies on the role and impact of literature upon others.
Click the Specific Date Below to Access Zoom Rooms:
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Meeting ID: 471 619 2073 / Passcode: 2661
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Meeting ID: 471 619 2073 / Passcode: 2661
Call for Papers / Appel à Communications:
2025-2026 DFSGSA Executive Committee
- Zull-Kifuly Moumouni, President
- Avril Akogun, Vice-President
- Tajudeen Salaudeen, Secretary
- Mawuli Ankou, Treasurer
- Natalie Wright, Public Relations Officer (Fall, 2025)
- Trent Dunkin, Public Relations Officer (Spring, 2026)
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| 2026 | ||
| Thursday, March 5th | ||
| 9:00 AM |
Avril Akogun, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM |
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|---|---|---|
| 9:45 AM |
Opening Remarks & Keynote Address: "For What Literature?" Gregory Stone, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM |
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| 11:00 AM |
Karen Amarteifio, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 11:00 AM - 11:20 AM |
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| 11:20 AM |
A Poetics of Disorder: Maryse Condé in Dialogue with Édouard Glissant and “Others” Princewill Onomejoh, Louisiana State University Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 11:20 AM - 11:40 AM |
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| 11:40 AM |
Redefining Gender Roles through Care and Vulnerability in Żeromski’s The Faithful River Avril Akogun, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 11:40 AM - 12:00 PM |
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| 12:00 PM |
“The Written Word, What For? Exploring Genre as Written Memory and Connection over Time” Hallie-Blair Quatro, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 12:00 PM - 12:20 PM |
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| 12:20 PM |
Panel A Q&A Session: Women & Literature LSU Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 12:20 PM - 12:30 PM |
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| 12:30 PM |
LSU Department of French Studies Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM |
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| 1:30 PM |
Maria Laura Cucciniello, Humboldt-University Berlin Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM |
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| 1:50 PM |
Why the Film Was Banned and its Significance during the Colonial Era and Aftermath Sawel Awuni, University of Mississippi Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 1:50 PM - 2:10 PM |
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| 2:10 PM |
Adapting Identities: Multimodal Expressions of African Women’s Agency in Francophone Film Alicia M. Hilaire, Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 2:10 PM - 2:30 PM |
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| 2:30 PM |
1990s alt music slang and socioeconomic precarity in Despentes’ "Vernon Subutex" series Daniel J. Lightfoot, University of St Andrews Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 2:30 PM - 2:50 PM |
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| 2:50 PM |
Panel B Q&A Session: The Arts & Literature LSU Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 2:50 PM - 3:00 PM |
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| 3:00 PM |
Lydia Gyamfi, Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 3:00 PM - 3:20 PM |
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| 3:20 PM |
Mawuli Kwami Ankou, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 3:20 PM - 3:40 PM |
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| 3:40 PM |
Mimicry, Power, and Neocolonial Discourse in Waberi’s Satirical Reversal of the Global Order Emmanuel K. Somali, Mississippi State University Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 3:40 PM - 4:00 PM |
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| 4:00 PM |
Toxic Masculinity and Post-Colonial Violence in Titaua Peu’s Pina. Junia Owumi, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 4:00 PM - 4:20 PM |
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| 4:20 PM |
Panel C Q&A Session: Politics & Literature I Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 4:20 PM - 4:30 PM |
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| Friday, March 6th | ||
| 10:00 AM |
The Enduring Need for Literature: Cognitive Benefits and the Prospect of its Disappearance Imane Labiad, Universite Abou Bekr Belkaid, Tlemcen Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 10:00 AM - 10:20 AM |
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| 10:20 AM |
La Satire, un outil pour la conscience sociale : Le rôle public de la littérature aujourd'hui Arshdeep Kaur, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 10:20 AM - 10:40 AM |
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| 10:40 AM |
Contemporary French Autobiographical Literature in the Digital Age, a Mirror of the Self Cheyma Ben Hassine, Tulane University Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 10:40 AM - 11:00 AM |
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| 11:00 AM |
Peter Akongfeh Agwu Ph.D, University of Calabar- Faculty of Arts Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 11:00 AM - 11:20 AM |
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| 11:20 AM |
Panel D Q&A Session: Information and Society LSU Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 11:20 AM - 11:30 AM |
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| 11:30 AM |
Stanley Ugochukwu Dibiah, University of Benin Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM |
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| 11:50 AM |
The Street as Chronotope: Palimpsestic Memory in Hédi Kaddour’s ‘Rue de Tournon Omar Harem, University Centre of Maghnia Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 11:50 AM - 12:10 PM |
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| 12:10 PM |
Femigritude Writers: Reclaiming the Self Through Return and Agency Diweng Mercy Dafong, University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 12:10 PM - 12:30 PM |
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| 12:30 PM |
The Narrative Voice and the Fragmented Self in Black Skin White Masks Emmanuella Abaidoo Kwarteng, Mississippi State University Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 12:30 PM - 12:50 PM |
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| 12:50 PM |
Panel E Q&A Session: Poetry & Philosophy LSU Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 12:50 PM - 1:00 PM |
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| 1:00 PM |
LSU Department of French Studies Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
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| 2:00 PM |
Transcending Postcolonial Boundaries in Tierno Monénembo’s Saharienne Indigo Aviana R. San Souci, Louisiana State University Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 2:00 PM - 2:20 PM |
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| 2:20 PM |
Literature as Counter-Power in Postcolonial Algeria Nabil Boudraa, Oregon State University Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 2:20 PM - 2:40 PM |
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| 2:40 PM |
Bilel Ben El Asker, Emory University Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 2:40 PM - 3:00 PM |
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| 3:00 PM |
Joel Mensah Asmah, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 3:00 PM - 3:20 PM |
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| 3:20 PM |
Chiraz Amani, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 3:20 PM - 3:40 PM |
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| 3:40 PM |
Panel F Q&A Session: Politics & Literature II LSU Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union / Zoom 3:40 PM - 3:50 PM |
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| 4:00 PM |
LSU Department of French Studies Magnolia Room, LSU Student Union 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM |
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