Research and Teaching
The neologism collapsologie first entered the public discourse in France in 2015 with the publication of Comment tout peut s’effondrer? Petit manuel de collapsologie à l’usage des générations présentes. Co-authors Pablo Servigne, an agronomist and biologist by training, and Raphaël Stevens, an independent researcher and eco-adviser, aimed at ‘giv[ing] meaning to events’, intensifying social ‘crises’, […]
The roots of mobile study-related phenomena run deep into our cultural myths and histories. Backed by evidence of the linguistic and cultural advantages it delivers, study abroad has become core both to second language acquisition, and to higher education internationalization policies across the world. These benefits make us reluctant to consider its environmental impacts but there […]
This French language seminar on the animal condition is designed for learners at B2 level. It consists of a translation exercise, general discussion on the topic, and group work. It is designed to develop students’ written and spoken language skills in conjunction with their awareness and understanding of animal rights issues, in fostering their communication, […]
This lecture and seminar were designed for the MFL Student Mentoring: Post-16 Languages Recovery Project in Wales, UK. The aim was to give post-16 learners a taste of language learning at university, and the resources can be adapted to learners at B1, B2 and C1 levels, or even at beginners’ level, as English translations of […]
‘We are not defending nature, we are nature defending itself’: from Indigenous-led environmental justice action to Extinction Rebellion, this sentence resonates as a mission statement for activists for whom human beings are not at the centre of, not apart from, but a part of the environment, and who rise and fight against the ecocidal colonial-capitalist […]
Nous nous soulevons, chacun.e depuis notre endroit, chacun.e à notre manière. Le mouvement des Soulèvements de la Terre ne peut pas être dissout car il est multiple et vivant. On ne dissout pas un mouvement, on ne dissout pas une révolte. We are rising, each from their own place, each in their own way. The […]
Factory farming must end. This is the message and aim of the Brittany-based collective against factory farms and for a territorialised agriculture. The collective was formed in 2021, shortly after the legal victory against the plan to build an industrial chicken coop to breed 120 000 chickens in Langoëlan, and at a stage where the […]
Plougoñ / Plogoff: the name of this commune in the Penn-ar-bed / Finistère department in northwestern Brittany has become a symbol of the anti-nuclear struggle and an important reference in Brittany as the emblematic struggle of ‘des pierres contre des fusils’ [stones against rifles], as encapsulated in the title of Nicole Le Garrec’s 1980 documentary […]
This lesson explores environmental and health issues related to agricultural pollution in the Caribbean. Students examine the use of chlordecone, a pesticide dumped for decades despite its known health risks. They then learn about creole gardens, a traditional practice revived as an ecofriendly response to the crisis. Cultural elements (music, creole language) are weaved through […]
This document describes an activity designed to guide students in making connections between poetry and their local environments. This activity is adaptable for use with poetic texts in any modern language and well-suited to the intermediate and advanced literature classroom. The activity can be used multiple times over the course of a term and/or as […]