Friedberg Fellowship Reports

The Marguerite W. Friedberg Memorial Travel Fellowship provides funding for research-related travel to and within continental France. All students, except for graduating seniors, are eligible to apply for this fellowship. The Fellowship seeks to support students who wish to undertake research or creative work that is inspired by a desire to delve more deeply into a French-related subject and/or that is linked to future thesis work.


Institutional Insights- The EU Parliament and Forced Migration

Lea Obermüller ’24

“…I was especially struck by the parliamentary debate on sea rescues in the Mediterranean held in the context of the 2023 Messenia migrant boat disaster. The debate, planned to express stances taken by the political groups on a resolution from the Parliament concerning the EU’s responsibility and lack of commitment to saving lives, evolved into a clash of national interests and party-specific narratives.”

Lea studied at CASA – the Consortium for Advanced Studies Abroad – in Chile and spent the summer visiting the EU Parliament in Strasbourg as well as various exhibitions about migration, past and present, in Paris.

Read her full report here. 

 


Researching the Carnets of a Forgotten Front

Annabelle Svahn ’24

“…The postwar publications from various veterans’ associations were the most unexpected yet interesting source I discovered while at the BnF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France). Reading these provided a valuable perspective on how veterans perceived themselves in the postwar period. Throughout the different newsletters and newspapers I read, many veterans wrote about their fear of being forgotten as veterans as they fought to receive the medals and pay they deserved. Other topics included book reviews, news reports of commemoration events, reminiscences of battles, literature, and even cartoons.”

Annabelle studied at the Hamilton in Paris, France Program and stayed in Paris this summer to conduct research for her thesis. She is interested in learning about the WWI Gallipoli and the Dardanelles Campaign from a French perspective. Annabelle spent many enjoyable days immersed in library archives.

Read her full report here. 

 


Exploring the Book Towns of France

Asha Sandler ’24

”… I embarked on my trip to both explore these book towns and to answer questions I had about them, namely how their identities as “book towns” came to be. I found that for many of these towns—Cuisery and Montolieu in particular—they began as hotspots for bookmakers, artists, and writers, and then were drawn to the “book town” label due to the role literary tourism played in saving their economies during periods of financial hardship.”

Asha studied at the Wellesley-in-Aix Program and crisscrossed the country to talk to booksellers and writers based in French towns and villages on the literary tourism trail.

Read her full report here.