Lunch & Learn Lecture Series

UNT Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

11:45am to 12:45pm

This series, which is complimentary for all members, highlights faculty from a different UNT department each semester. Members are invited to bring their own lunch into the classroom.

"Unmuting" French Women Writers Through the Ages: An 18th Century Case Study

Wednesday, Sept. 7 - OLLI at UNT Classroom

Since the construction of the literary canon has traditionally been androcentric (focused on men), many students of French literature—be they modern or not so modern readers—believe(d) that women did not write as much and as well as men. After a general overview of French literature through the centuries illustrating that women have in fact always written in many genres and on many topics, this lecture will examine the work of one particular French woman writer, Marie Jeanne Riccoboni (1713-1792), to demonstrate why it matters we “unmute” forgotten women writers by recuperating their voices from silence.

Marijn S. Kaplan, PhD, is a Professor of French and has chaired the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures at UNT since 2015. Her research interests include 18th century French women writers, gender studies, cultural studies, epistolary fiction, and correspondence. She published a monograph in 2020 entitled Marie Jeanne Riccoboni’s Epistolary Feminism: Fact, Fiction, and Voice (Routledge).

France: Culinary Heritage and Regionalism

Wednesday, Sept. 28 - OLLI at UNT Classroom

Most everyone has heard of baguette, boeuf bourguignon, brie, and macarons. France is known for its food, which has long been one of its strongest ambassadors to the world. But French food goes beyond those delicious staples and each region boasts specialties that constitute France's extensive and rich culinary heritage. This lecture will focus on some French regional delicacies and staples, exploring their history and impact on French culinary identity.

Sophie Morton, MA, is a Principal Lecturer in French and Coordinator of the 1st and 2nd year French Program in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures at UNT. She has taught at UNT for the past 20 years. A French native, she particularly enjoys researching and teaching about the history of French food and its societal impact, French tourism today, and French movie comedies.

Tragedy and History in the Divine Comedy

Thursday, Oct. 20 - Robson Ranch Clubhouse

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri is a poem about history and politics written by a exile, of which the best-known feature is its description of the horrifying torments of the damned. What consolation could such a dismal vision offer? Is there any hope to be found for a deeply broken world? In this lecture, Dr. Pastor will explore the poet's vision of a world rent by avarice and competing ideologies, but not beyond redemption.

Joel Pastor, PhD, is a Lecturer in Italian at UNT. His research deals with Medieval and Renaissance literature, theology, and history, with a particular focus on Dante and Petrarch.

A Blemish on the History of the 20th Century?

Wednesday, Nov. 16 - OLLI at UNT Classroom

This lecture will provide an analysis on the ongoing controversies surrounding the remembrance of the Dresden bombings on February 13-14, 1945, in postwar Germany, with a special focus on the myths related to the mass cremations of the bombing victims on the Altmarkt, Dresden’s old market square.

Christoph Weber, PhD, is an Associate Professor of German at UNT. He specializes in disaster narratives from the 18 th to the 20 th century. His most recent journal publications have revolved around the literary representation and commemoration of the Allied bombing raids against Nazi Germany.