Modern Languages and Literatures

Cynthia Hahn

Cynthia Hahn

Professor of French
Chair of Modern Languages and Literatures

French

Specializations

Francophone Literatures and cultures
Literary Translation and Creative Writing
French-Language Literature in Canada
French Cinema
Business French

Teaching and Research Interests

Francophone literatures and cultural expressions, translation, women’s issues in Lebanon and Tunisia, French film directors and movements, business French, globalization of culture, poetry writing

Education

PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana (Francophone literature)
MA, Purdue University
BA, Rosary College (Dominican University)
Université Laval, Québec (coursework)
Université de Besançon, France (academic year)
Certificat de français écoomique et commercial (Chambre de Commerce de Paris)

Courses Taught

French110, 112: Beginning French I and II
French 210, 212: Intermediate French; Advanced Intermediate French
FREN255 Conversation and Composition
FREN270 Translation and Creative Writing
FREN275 Reporting and Translating News
French 325: Introduction to Reading Literature in French
French 305: Introduction to French Culture
French 308: Contemporary France
French 315: Technical and Literary Translation
French 320: French for International Affairs and Business
French 330: The French-Speaking World
French 334: French Literature Through Film
French 338: Cinéma français

French385: Art of Storytelling
Selected Advanced Tutorials: Francophone Chinese literature; French Politics in the Media, French Presence in Chicago
First-Year Studies 168: Global Cultures: Chicago and Beyond

Honors, Awards

Trustee Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership

Bird Award for Intellectual Contributions to the Campus Community

Selected Grants : Délégation du Québec à Chicago, Mellon, FaCE, Lake Forest College Summer Research, American Institute of Maghrib Studies

Book Translations

Accad, Evelyne. Maison de la tendresse/House of Tenderness, short stories. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2020.

Chronicle. Lebleu, Olivier. In the Footsteps of Zarafa, First Giraffe in France: Chronicle of Giraffomania (1826–1845). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

Wounding Words: A Woman’s Journal in Tunisia/Blessures des mots: Journal de Tunisie. French text by Evelyne Accad. Bilingual edition with preface by Khedija Arfaoui and postface by Amel Ben Aba. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2016.

The Man of All Silences, translation of L’Homme de tous les silences (novel by Ezza Agha Malak): New Orleans: University Press of the South. 2016.

What Have You Done With The Kids, DAD?, translation of Qu’as-tu fait de tes mômes, Papa? (novel by Ezza Agha Malak). New Orleans: University Press of the South, 2013. Print.

Femmes du crépuscule/Women of the Twilight, translation, bilingual edition (short stories by Evelyne Accad). Paris: Editions alfAbarre, 2011. Print.

Baghdad: Deaths Untold, Translation of Baghdad: Des morts qui sonnent plus forts que d’autres (novel by Ezza Agha Malak). Linus Publications, 2011. Print.

The Excised. Translation of L’Excisée (novel by  Evelyne Accad, bilingual edition, with prefaces by author and translator). Paris: L’Harmattan, 2009. Print.

Anosmia, or Nostalgia for a Forbidden Sense, Translation of Anosmia: Nostalgie d’un sens interdit (novel by Ezza Agha Malak). University Press of the South, 2007. Print.

Poppy from the Massacre, Translation of Coquelicot du Massacre (novel by  Evelyne Accad). Paris:  L’Harmattan, 2006. Print.

The Lost Song of a Rediscovered Country. Translation of Le Chant perdu au pays retrouvé (novel by Noureddine Aba). Paris: L’Harmattan, 1999. Excerpt reprinted in Diwan Ifrikiya: The University of California Book of North African Literature, Eds. Habib Tengour and Pierre Joris, Poems for the Millennium series. University of California Press, 2012. Print.

Wounding Words: A Woman’s Journal in Tunisia. Translation of Blessures des mots: Journal de Tunisie. (novel by Evelyne Accad). Transl. publ. Oxford: Heinemann Press, 1996. Out of print. To be reprinted with new introduction in 2016 (L’Harmattan: Paris). Forthcoming. Print.

Articles

“La Méditerrané de Paul Vieille : Hommage poétique”. Méditerranée, Mondialisation, Démocratisation. Hommage à Paul Vieille (1922-2010). Paris: Geuthner, 2016.

“Lebanese Love and War” (co-author Dr. Pippin Michelli), CHICATA Newsletter, Spring 2016: 4-5.

“Trois départs, une arrivée,” Chapter one, L’Ecrivain moyen-oriental face à ses mythes: Perpectives critiques sur l’oeuvre de Ezza Agha Malak. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2013. Print.

“Tel père, tel fils…différents!: Le passage malakien de l’enfance à l’âge adulte,” Revue Liaisons (Beirut), 2012. Print.

 “Anosmia, ou à la recherche du sens perdu.” Ezza Agha Malak. Actes du Colloque, Sorbonne, Paris, 2011. Print.

Also published in: A la croisée des regards: Littérature libanaise d’expression française. Espaces Littéraires. Préface,  Romain Vignest. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2010: 33-45. Print.

 “Preface, excerpt of Poppy from the Massacre, novel translation,” Al-Raïda, Lebanon, 2007. Print.

“On Translating Evelyne Accad: Re-creating Elements of Transnational Expression,” in On Evelyne Accad; Ed. Cheryl Toman. Summa Pulications, 2007: 331-47 (Scholar’s Choice Award). Print.

“L’Ecriture d’Evelyne Accad, ou Comment Faire le Portrait d’un Ecrivain Transnational,” Ed. Dierdre Bucher-Heistad.  In Explorations: L’Ecriture d’Evelyne Accad (Paris) L’Harmattan. 2006.

“The Tunisian Women’s Movement: A Socio-Historical Commentary.” In  “Women’s Movements and Gender Debates in the Middle East and North Africa.” Indiana University Press, 2006.

“A Woman and a Half,” trans. of short story by Waberi, Anthology of African Writers, Nebraska U. Press, 2002. Print.

“Le mot juste,’ or ‘le mot injuste’: Translating Culturally Sensitive Material,” ATA Conference Proceedings, L.A., Nov. 2001. Print.

Entries for authors, Evelyne Accad, Aude and Gabrielle Roy, in Who’s Who in Contemporary Women’s Writing, Ed. jane Eldridge Miller. London: Routledge, 2001: 1-2, 21-22, 280. Print.

“Evelyne Accad: (fmi)humaniste.” Revue des lettres et de traduction. No. 6, fall 2000: Ed. Carmen Boustani. Co-author: Diedre Bucher-Heistad. Print.

“Letter to the Silenced Voices,” Translation (author Hdi Bouraoui), in Research in African Literatures, Vol.30 (3), fall 1999: 207-212. Print.

“French-Language Literature in Canada,” Chapter 11, 2nd ed. Profiles of Canada. Ontario: Irwin Press, 1998: 247-73. Print.

“Tunisian Women Writing in French: A Selective Bibliography (annotated). In Women in French, Vol. 11, No. 2, fall 1997: 8-14. Print.

“Gabrielle Roy: Portraits d’une voix en formation,” Actes du Colloque international Gabrielle Roy, 1996. Collge Universitaire de Saint-Boniface, Manitoba. Print.

“Disappearing Horizons: Closural Strategies in Gabrielle Roy’s Short Story Sequences.” The French Review, Vol 70, No. 2, Dec. 1996: 280-91. Print.

“The Politics of the Personal in Evelyne Accad’s ‘Blessures des mots.’” Arab Studies Journal, Georgetown, IV, No. 1 (spring 1996): 103-114. Print.

“A la recherche d’une voix: Les premiers récits de Gabrielle Roy.” In Portes de communication: analyse du discours et style de Gabrielle Roy. Eds. Romney and Dansereau, Univ. of Calgary. Presses de l’Université Laval. Ste-Foy, Quebec, spring 1995. Print.

“The Politics of Verbal Conflict: Evelyne Accad’s ‘Blessures des mots: Journal de Tunisie.’” Al-Raïda, Journal, Beirut University College, no. 68, Winter 1995. Print.

“In Search of a ‘Common Shore’: Deciphering Water Imagery in the Works of Gabrielle Roy,” La Revue Francophone de Louisiane, 2, No. 1 (Spring 1987): 27-32. Print.

Creative Works: Books

Co-ïncidences, volume of original poetry in French and English; illustrations by Monique Loubet. Paris: Editions alfAbarre, 2014. Print.

Outside-In-Sideout, chapbook of original poetry, Finishing Line Press, 2010. Print.

Creative Works: Poems

“Ocean-ectomy”, Fall Muse’s Gallery, highlandparkpoetry.org, 2019.

“Before the Storm” and “Avant l’orage,” Original poem and translation, East on Central, Vol 18, 2020.

“Winter Haiku” and “Haiku d’hiver”, and original photo; Winter Muse’s Gallery, highlandparkpoetry.org, 1/19.

“Lingering Winter’s Cup,” Poem in chapbook, Coffee, Tea and Other Beverages, Highland Park Poets, 2018. Print.

“Australian Summer: New Year” and “Seasoning,” 2 poems, East on Central, Vol. 18, fall 2018. Print.

“Asking for Gifts” and “Meridian at the Abbey”, 2 poems, East on Central, Vol 16, fall 2017. Print.

Translation of Kathryn Dohrmann’s poem, “Rosemary Blue”, into French, “Le Bleu romarin”, East on Central, Vol. 15, fall 2016: 46.

“Body Spring” and “Appetite for Apathy”, 2 poems, East on Central, Vol. 14, fall 2015. Print.

“Cochez le blanc (I can’t be bothered)”; poem in French; collective volume against violence, Un trait d’Humanisme, Ed. Christian Quesnel. Eds. Neige-Galerie, Quebec. Web.

—Radio Canada review of the volume above mentions my work, “Divines Tentations” program, 1:12-50-1:14:30 :  http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/Divines_tentations/2014-2015/archives.asp?date=2015/06/27&indTime=360&idmedia=7308310

“Cup, Lip, Pocket/Tasse, lèvre, poche” (poem & translation); Winter Muse’s Gallery, Highland Park Poets, 2015. Web.

“Spring Sacrament” and “Mind in Flight, poems; East on Central, Vo. 13, Fall 2014. Print.

“Lying in Wait,” selected for Winter Muse’s Gallery, Highland Park Poets: 2014. Web.

“Afternoon Redemption,” and “Book Spy,” poems; East on Central, Vol 12, Fall 2013. Print.

“Skipped Breath/Souffle Coupé,” poems; East On Central, Vol 11, Fall 2012. Print.

“Cavalry,” poem selected for Fall Muses Gallery, Highland Park Poets: http://www.highlandparkpoetry.org/themusesgallery.html

“804 Trail Reprise,” and “Along the Bough,” poems chosen for the Winter Gallery, Highland Park Poets, 12/11: http://www.highlandparkpoetry.org/themusesgallery.html

“Over-Living,” and “October at Starved Rock, Illinois River Trail”; poems, East on Central, 2011-2012 edition, Fall 2011. Print.

Selected poems on DVD, 10 year retrospective, East on Central, 9/11. DVD.

“Spirit Lake,” and “Summer’s Haiku,” poems selected for publication, East on Central, June 2010. Print.

 “Poem grinding” and “Sudden Winds Blow,” poems selected for Winter Muse’s Gallery, Highland Park Poets, 1/2010: http://www.highlandparkpoetry.org/themusesgallery.html

“Sudden Winds Blow,” 3rd place, 2010 Make It Better Contest; published on http://www.makeitbetter.net ; 4/10. Web.

“Harvest,” original poem, selected for Fall Muses Gallery, Highland Park Poets, 2009: http://www.highlandparkpoetry.org/themusesgallery.html

“On the Relationship of Parts to a Whole,” original poem, selected for on-line publication, summer 2009: http://www.highlandparkpoetry.org/themusesgallery.html

“Gariwerd, Butteryfly Season, Australia”, original poem, accept for publication, In the Mist Mag, on-line publication, April 2009 (journal no longer on-line).

“Afternoon Break,” original poem, on Highland Park Poets website, January-March 2009 (http://www.highlandparkpoetry.org/themusesgallery.html)

“Now, Again.” Poem on Lebanese/Israeli War. On  Web site  Peuples Monde, Rubrique “Chroniques Libanaises.”   August 2006. 

“L’Histoire en quelques mots,” poem, in La Cendre des mots: Poèmes et textes, après l’incendie de la bibliothèque de Bagdad, textes sur l’indicible. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2003. Print.

Haiku, Christian Science Monitor, Books Section, 4/26/01:20. Print.

Poems, Collage magazine, Lake Forest College, 1990-2017. Print, Web.

Poems, Matrix, Vols. XIII, XIV, XV, XVI (Urbana Literary magazine), Fall 1988-1991. Print.

Selected Presentations and Workshops

“Literary Translation Collaborations and Impossibilities,” Organized panel, and presenter, CHICATA Translator’s Institute, Lake Forest College, April 2018.

“Building Cultural Bridges Through Translation,” Panel discussion with Lebanese author and translator Evelyne Accad, CHICATA literary translation session, Lake Forest College, 4/16.

“L’oeuvre d’Ezza Agha Malak, entretien et discussion avec l’auteure libanaise,” Alliance Française de Chicago, Salon du Livre, 3/16.

“Accented “French” Cinema: Constructing Faces and Spaces of Otherness,” Newberry Library Seminar, 3/6/15.

“Une analyse sémiotique de Co-ïncidences et recherches littéraires”; Université du Québec à Ottawa, 26 Feb. 2015 (3 hour class, MA literature program, for Dr. Kassi)

Co-ïncidences: Présentation de poésie; Salon du Livre de l’Ouataouais, invited by the Association des Auteurs et Auteures de l’Ouatouais, Gatineau, Quebec, 27 Feb. 2015. Podcast.

“L’auto-traduction” (panel presentation), Salon du Livre de l’Ouataouais and l’Association des traducteurs et traductrices littéraires du Canada (ATTLC), Gatineau, Quebec, 27 Feb. 2015.

“‘Poètrice’ à 2 têtes et les voix(es) à prendre: se déplacer, se replacer, se remplacer”;

Transgressions génériques, series of lectures organized by the online journal, Le Crachoir de Flaubert, Gatineau, Quebec, 26 Feb. 2015.

Co-ïncidences: présentation du livre” (solicited presentation of original poetry); Salon du Livre, Alliance Française, 14 March 2015.

“Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis”: Lecture and French film discussion; Goshen Public Library, Indiana. 11/12.

“From French Poetic Inspiration to Translation,” Rhino Poetry Forum Workshop; designed and led workshop, Evanston Public Library, 6/12.

“Crossing Cultures in Literary Translation,” CHICATA conference, Lake Forest College, 4/12.

“Tel père, tel fils…différents!: Le passage malakien de l’enfance à l’âge adulte,” Salon du Livre, Beirut, Lebanon, 11/11. Solicited.

“Trois départs, une arrivée: Itinéraire du monde malakien” Salon du Livire, Beirut, Lebanon, 11/11. Solicited, comparison of three novels by author Ezza Agha Malak.

Femmes du crépuscule, Désir de l’aurore,” Salon du Livre, Beirut, Lebanon, 11/11. Solicited; followed by book signing with the author.

“Creative Strategies for Healing Grief”, Women’s Center Beit El Hanane, Beirut, Lebanon, 11/11; five-hour workshop.

 “Paris”: Presentation and discussion of film by French director Cédric Klapisch, Goshen Public Library, Indiana. 10/11.

Original poetry reading with the Deerfield Library Poets, at Lake Bluff Public Library, fall 09, at Deerfield Public Library, April 2010, April 2011. 

“Facing ‘cultural in-coherence,’ or…a film subtitlers should love to Hate,” CHICATA, presenter and panel organizer, LFC, 4/10.

“Gabrielle Roy:  The Road Past Altamont,” for Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Reads, Lake Forest College Sesquicentennial, June 2007.

“Le mot juste’ or le mot injuste’: Translating Culturally Sensitive Material,” featured speaker for French Section, American Translator’s Association Annual Conference, L.A., 11/01.

“Presentation of themes in ‘The Lost Song of a Rediscovered Country,” University of Illinois, French Dept., 11/01. Presentations of Wounding Words: A Woman’s Journal in Tunisia, translation Hahn, with author Evelyne Accad, University of Illinois, University of Northern Iowa, Grinnell College, University of Washington, 1997.

Other Presentations

Issues in literary translation, Chicago Area Translator’s Association panel presenter, 2001-2016.

“France: A Society in Transition,” “Canada: A Country in Transition,” “Belgium: A Historical Summary with Emphasis on Current Issues,” “Switzerland: A Historical and Cultural Overview.” 4 presentations given as consultant to area companies relocating personnel abroad (1997-2010).

“Historical Moments in the Tunisian Women’s Movement 1956-1996,” Middle Eastern Studies Conference (MESA), Providence, RI, 11/96.

“La Détresse et l’enchantement’ de Gabrielle Roy: A la recherche d’une chronologie intérieure,” ACQS conference, Washington, DC, 11/94.

“Voix des femmes tunisiennes: Blessures des mots d’Evelyne Accad, ” MMLA, Chicago, 11/94.

“Narrative Voice in Louis Fréchette,” Nineteenth Century French Studies Conference, 10/93.

“Double Oppression of Women in Francophone Africa,” ACM Curriculum Workshops, Macalester College, 6/93.

Selected Interviews

Interview on Lebanese novel translations and creative work, for Lebanese TV show celebrating authors, “El Kitab,” with host Karen Boustany, 11/11. View on Program site and Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuvllGDp5U0 .

Lake County Cable TV Interview, on Evelyne Accad’s Recent Works, with the Author, Channel 26/Channel 3, Lake and Cook County, aired 12/01-2/02.

Interview, on author Gabrielle Roy, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., TV and radio broadcast, Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, 1995.

Awards and Honors

Trustee Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership, 2014.

FaCE grant, Associated Colleges of the Midwest, “Enhancing Scholarly Agenda”, for research in Lebanon, 2005.           

Bird Award for Intellectual Contributions to the Campus Community, Lake Forest College, 1998.

American Institute of Maghrib Studies Research Grant, 1996.

Certificat pratique de français commercial et économique, conferred by the Paris Chamber of Commerce, 1983.

Summer Faculty Research Grants, Lake Forest College