Jolene Vos-Camy
- Dr. Jolene Vos-Camy
- Professor of French, Chevalière dans les Palmes Académiques
- French, African and African Diaspora Studies, Gender Studies
- Hiemenga Hall 424 (Map)
- (616) 526-6324
- jolene.vos-camy@calvin.edu
- Curriculum Vitae
Education
- Diplôme Annuel - Université de la Sorbonne - Paris, France 1990 (Cours de Civilisation Française)
- BA Calvin College 1991 (French, with honors)
- PhD Indiana University 2000 (French Literature)
Professional experience
- Associate Professor of French, Calvin College (2004-2009)
- Assistant Professor of French, Calvin College (1999-2004)
- Instructor of French, Calvin College (1997-1999)
- Associate Instructor of French, Indiana University (1992-1994; 1995-1997)
- English Assistant (TAPIF), Lycée Polyvalent International Victor Hugo - Colomiers, France (1994-1995)
Biography
I was born in Toronto, Canada and grew up in southern Kentucky. I spent a year in Pau, France, as a high school exchange student. After finishing a BA in French with honors at Calvin University, I earned a Masters and PhD in French Literature at Indiana University in Bloomington. I became president of the Alliance Française de Grand Rapids in 2020, and in 2021, I was named chevalière dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques by the French Republic. When I have time, I love to rock-climb in Kentucky and climb mountains in the Pyrénées and the Alps. I summited Mont Blanc in 2013.
Office hours
- Please email for an appointment
Academic interests
I teach a full range of French courses, from beginner language courses to advanced culture and literature courses in the French and francophone world. In 2001 I directed the first semester-length Study in France program. In 2016 and 2018, I took students to Haiti for the January Interim, and in 2022 I organized the first May in Germany program. In 2023 I led the first May in France program.
Research and scholarship
My area of research is French 17th century literature. I have published articles on Paul Scarron, Catherine Bernard, Antoinette de Salvan de Saliès, and Molière.
Publications
(Recent)
- “Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, les Turcs, et la galère.” Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, L, 98 (2023). 39-58.
- “‘Il s’est fait un grand baptême à Marseille’: Le sort de cinquante Africains rapporté par le Mercure galant.” Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, XLVIII, 95 (2021). 365-379.
- “Plaire au public féminin: Les bienséances dans le Roman comique de Scarron.” L’honnêteté au Grand Siècle: belles manières et belles lettres. Marcella Leopizzi, éd. Narr Francke Attempto Verlag (Collection Biblio 17): Tübingen, 2020. 229-241.
- “Les Réflexions chrétiennes d’Antoinette de Salvan de Saliès, ou ‘Faire la diaconesse.’” Creation, Re-creation, and Entertainment: Early Modernity and Postmodernity. Ed. Benjamin Balak and Charlotte Trinquet du Lys. Narr Francke Attempto Verlag (Collection Biblio 17): Tübingen, 2019. 133-145.
- “Les aventures de Marie Anne-Françoise von Hohenzollern, Comtesse d’Isembourg.” Women in French Studies, Special Issue 7 (2018): 64-84. Catherine Montfort and Christine McCall Probes.
In the news
Calvin professor receives high honor from France
Calvin University French professor Jolene Vos-Camy was recently awarded the rank of chevalier, one of the oldest and most prestigious honors given by the French Republic, first created by Napoleon in 1808.
Q&A: A Christian approach to teaching languages
Calvin professors of German, French and Chinese discuss how foreign language pedagogy has changed and how to teach a language Christian-ly.
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