French Studies

Teaching and research staff within French Studies.

Academic staff


Dr Jeff Barda
Senior Lecturer in French Cultural Studies

Specialisms: Twentieth and twenty-first-century French literature in particular Modernism, the avant-gardes and contemporary poetry; literature beyond the book; literature and the new media; (un)creative writing; cognitive approaches to literature 


Dr Jérôme Brillaud 
Senior Lecturer in Early Modern French Studies

Specialisms: environmental humanities; garden history; simple living in history; sustainable living.


Prof Julia Dobson
Professor of French Film and Performance
Head of Modern Languages and Cultures

Specialisms: contemporary film and performance; puppetry and performing objects; robots on stage; rethinking 'auteur' theory; documentary film; Perec and film; Hélène Cixous; critical theory.


Ms Gaelle Flower 
Senior Language Tutor

Specialisms: teaching French at levels A1 to C2 of the CEFR and French for Specific Purpose: business and medical; enhancing the employability of French-speaking students.


Dr Catherine Franc
Senior Lecturer in French

Specialisms: Language teaching for specialists and non-specialists from A1 to C2 levels, including business French; interpreting and translation; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.


Dr Kate Goodson-Walker
Teaching Assistant in French

Specialisms: early modern French history and culture; dance, drama and the political use of theatrical performance.


Dr Jonathan Hensher
Language Tutor and Lecturer in French

Specialisms: French book illustration from the 18th – 20th century; book history and European print culture; literary translation.


Dr Vladimir Kapor 
Senior Lecturer in French Studies  

Specialisms: 19th-century French literature (particularly exoticism and orientalism); Bernardin de Saint-Pierre; colonial culture of the Third French Republic.


Ms Nathalie Lacroute 
Language Tutor

Specialisms: Anglophone Studies; certified examiner with the Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogiques and the Paris Chamber of Commerce; technology-enhanced learning.


Dr Barbara Lebrun 
Senior Lecturer in French Cultural Studies

Specialisms: Contemporary French culture; popular culture; popular music; performance.


Dr Joseph McGonagle 
Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies in the French-speaking World

Specialisms: French and Francophone cinema; documentary film; filmmaking; the video essay; visual culture.


Ms Annie Morton 
Senior Language Tutor

Specialisms: eLearning; EBL.


Mr Olivier Perez 
Language Tutor

Specialisms: Online teaching.


Ms Anne Simonin
Language Tutor

Specialisms: Teaching French at ab-initio level, German.


Dr Michael Spanu
Marie Curie postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Manchester


Professional support staff


Languages administration team - salc-languages@manchester.ac.uk


Honorary and Emeritus staff within French Studies


Prof David Adams 
Emeritus Professor of French


Prof Henry Phillips 
Emeritus Professor of French


Prof Dee Reynolds 
Emerita Professor of French


Prof Ursula Tidd 
Emerita Professor of French