Student Profiles

Sample student profiles

 Between literature and economics: the business of poetry
 Literature and public health come together around Africans’ personal stories
 Communications at the heart of a major publishing firm
 What do French young adults want to read?

(See overview page for important information on profiles and lists.)

Between literature and economics: the business of poetry

Name: Simonne B. Undergraduate major field(s): English and French Language and Literature, Economics Goals for his/her Paris Field Study semester: After the Fall semester spent on her university’s program in Lyon, enroll in IFE to keep improving French while learning about French society through the lens of literature. Placement: Marché de la Poésie/The Poetry Fair (a bi-annual outdoor Paris book fair devoted to poetry) Responsibilities as intern:  Assistant to the head of the event as he prepares the upcoming fair of May/June 2012.  In charge of the Fair’s Internet site, and its Facebook and Twitter accounts.  Other duties related to preparing the Fair include registering participating publishers and institutions representing the featured countries, and generating the catalogue for the Fair.  Accompany her supervisor on meetings with authors, publishers and other figures Subject of research: The influence of Paris on poets and writers in the 20th century And... Simonne stayed on through June to participate in the Fair and in the many events scheduled around the Fair (debates with authors, seminars, etc.)

Literature and public health come together around Africans’ personal stories

Name: Suzanne W. Undergraduate major field(s): Literature, Biology (pre-med) Goals for her Paris Field Study semester: Perfect her spoken French and figure out if public health was really what she wanted to pursue after college Placement: URACA - NGO for and by Paris African communities focusing on public health and culture Responsibilities as intern:  Assist groups of women prepare action plans for AIDS prevention activities  Draft reports of synthesizing the actions carried out by women’s groups  Respond to incoming phone calls, receive visitors, perform translations, help with visa formalities for the US  Distribute meals to hospitalized members of the URACA community  Participate in recording oral history of African patients speaking about AIDS Subject of research: Personal stories and AIDS: Discourse analysis of twenty-one African AIDS patients in France talking about their disease And... "Not only can I now hold a conversation in French without pantomime but I’m sure about my public health choice and maybe want to focus on women’s health after seeing the positive effects URACA has had on the community."

Communications at the heart of a major publishing firm

Name: Sarah R. Undergraduate major field(s): Comparative literature & Jewish Studies Goals for her Field Study semester: To become involved in the literary world in Paris while becoming fluent in French. Placement: France’s third largest publishing firm Responsibilities as intern:  Prepare press reviews and distribute them to authors  Archive articles on books published by the firm  Prepare book/ press kit mailings for journalists  Update files on journalists  Assist the office with the forthcoming transition to digital archiving  Represent superiors on telephone and in computer communications Subject of research: Jan Karski: An attempt to broaden the Shoah discourse And... After graduating, Sarah was accepted as a Fullbright fellow to Turkey where she taught at Belecik University. She now uses her communications experience to create marketing and publicity strategies at her job at a non-profit.

What do French young adults want to read?

Name: Alexandra L. Undergraduate major field(s): English Literature & French Studies Goals for her Field Study semester: To gain more experience and a global perspective in the realm of publishing. Placement: France’s third largest publishing firm Responsibilities as intern:  Consult on English-language acquisitions: read manuscripts, summarize in French,  Read the majority of incoming young adult manuscripts in both English and French and report on quality of work and viability in French market  Assist with communications, both in French and in English, with authors, agents, and other sectors of the publishing firm Subject of research: The Future of Publishing Young Adult Literature; Crisis and change in the face of new technologies And... Alexandra’s internship at IFE set her firmly on her path in publishing; She is now an editorial assistant at Simon and Schuster.