Professor Helene Jaccomard

BA (Hons), PhD W.Aust., Chevalier des Palmes Académiques

Arts Building, Room 2.18
Ph: (+61 8) 6488 2173
Fax: (+61 8) 6488 1182
Email: hjaccom@arts.uwa.edu.au

Work Information

• 20 years with the University of Western Australia
• Full-time tenure since 2000

Teaching

• Covers all aspects of the curriculum (language, literature, cultural studies, specialist language) from intermediate to advanced levels;
• Introduction in 2000 of French for the Professions and Popular culture electives;
• Innovative approaches to teaching (multimedia, task-oriented & project based teaching of Advanced French);
• Introduction of Native and near-native streams with custom-made programmes as required;
• In charge of exchange programmes with Sciences-Po (Paris), SOrbonnne-Nouvelle (Paris 3) and Université Lille III
• Postgraduate supervision (19 Honours theses, 2 joint-PhD theses)

Publications (see complete list)

• 4 books (one translation from English into French, two books on literary criticism, one online Reading Guide)
• 38 articles published, mainly in refereed journals
• Conference papers
• Fields of research:
• Contemporary French autobiographies, in particular AIDS life stories and second-generation Mathrebine migrants literature ("Beurs"); French writers in/about Australia
• Individual autobiographers (Nathalie Sarraute, Amélie Nothomb, Serge Doubrovsky, Nina Bouraoui).
• Contemporary Fiction by/about Beurs, by/about French in Australia.
• Managing Editor of Essays in French Literature and Culture.
• Guest Editor to Australian Journal of French studies.

Others

• Chevalier des Palmes Académiques
• Vice-President, Australian Society of French Studies
• Member of the Committee of the Alliance Française de Perth
• Exchange Coordinator for the FASSH School of Humanities
• Member of the FASSH Teaching & Learning Committee
• Member of WA Curriculum Council Examination panel for French
• Examiner, Naati Board of Examiners for French
• Teaching Relief grants
• Teaching in innovation Grants (Multimedia)
• ARC Small Grants
• UWA Research Grant

Contact Information

Current Projects

I am currently working on two types of texts dealing with dual allegiances, Beur (Franco-Maghrebine writers living in France) and fictional and life stories written in French and dealing with Australia.

Biographical Information

I was born in Congo (Africa) where my father, an Air France navigator, was transferred for a couple of years, then came back to France, in a town near Paris (Melun). I remember suffering from the cold in that first winter in France. I did my primary and secondary schooling in Lagny and Meaux, two biggish cities in the Parisian region (Seine-et-Marne). I was granted my baccalauréat with distinction in 1972.

I then did a BTS in three languages (a two-year TAFE course) and worked in France for about seven years before migrating on my own to Australia in 1983. I arrived in Perth on March 5 1983, the day Labour Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, was elected!

I became an Australian citizen in 1992, the same year I was awarded my PhD degree in French studies at UWA. I researched four autobiographers, which was the start of my interest in the genre of life-stories.

So before taking on a full-time academic career in the mid-90s, I was employed in many capacities (bilingual secretary & tour guide, Interpreter and translator). My teaching and my research integrates those working experiences outside of university.

I have a 15 year-old daughter who is bilingual, attends Perth Modern School and plays the cello. A final note of my private life is that my long-standing partner is an Italian farmer from the south-west.

My life as an academic and a mother does not leave a lot of time for hobbies, but I have an interest in French current affairs, contemporary novels and lifestories, films and music. I make short films about my family, travels and friends with iMovie. I am learning Salsa and Tango. Learning , Mandarin Chinese and play the guitar have also made me grasp how emotions get in the way of public performance: I feel for any student speaking French in class!

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