Jonathan Gosnell

Jonathan Gosnell teaches language at all levels and topics in contemporary French society and culture. His research examines articulations of French cultural identity outside of metropolitan France, as constructed in the colonial and postcolonial worlds. It explores French designs of empire, Europe and the Americas, from the 17th century to today. He is the author of two book-length studies, Franco-America in the Making: The Creole Nation Within (2018) and The Politics of Frenchness in Colonial Algeria, 1930–1954 (2002). His scholarly articles have appeared in The French Review, Contemporary French Civilization, French Cultural Studies, French Politics, Culture & Society, Québec Studies, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and the Australian Journal of French Studies. 

Professor Gosnell’s current work examines cultures of labor, leisure and love within francophone spaces in the New World. He directed the Smith JYA Program for International Studies in Geneva in 2006–07, 2010–11 and 2012–13, and is faculty mentor to the twelve amazing scholars of Posse 8 (class of 2026).

Selected Publications

“Resisting the Image: Heidi, Sheep and Swiss Trash.” Australian Journal of French Studies, Volume 59, Number 2 (2022): 198-216.

“The (French) Creole Turn?” Québec Studies, Volume 71 (Spring-Summer 2021): 19-39.

“La France d’outre-mer: rêves coloniaux d’hier et réalités postcoloniales d’aujourd’hui.” Chapter 16 in La France contemporaine: unité et diversités, polarisations et solidarités. Sous la direction de Michel Gueldry et Armelle Crouzières-Ingenthron. AATF, Volume 2 (2020): 405-431.

“Le Base ball, Assimilation and Ethnic Identity: The National Pastime in Franco-America.” Québec Studies, Volume 66, Number 4 (Winter 2018): 49-75.

“Franco-American Cultures in a New World Perspective.”  French Politics, Culture and Society, Volume 30, Number 3 (Winter 2012): 96-118.