Robben Island, South Africa
Robben Island, South Africa
I advise students who are part of the following Cal Poly-affiliated entities: Cal Poly College Republicans (cpslocollegerepublicans@gmail.com); French Language Club; French Minors (surnames starting with A-M); and Turning Point USA (tpusacalpoly@gmail.com).
Rest in Peace, Charlie Kirk. Thank you for coming to our campus in March 2024 and to Cal Poly for giving him the opportunity to exercise his free-speech rights. Long live the Cal Poly chapter of TPUSA, where the kids are all right!
World Languages and Cultures' Course Offerings
How to declare a French Minor?
How to tell sketchy honor societies from legitimate ones.
If I am Your Professor
Here is what I--and others--reasonably expect of you as a student. Please read carefully.
Please don't reach out to me to change your grade or for extra-credit opportunities.
I do not "speak" for my university. However, as a professor, I do have the right to "unfettered teaching and research."
As a member of Heterodox Academy, I try my best to "advance the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to improve higher education and academic research."
As a member of the Academic Freedom Alliance, I am, moveover, dedicated to "upholding the principles of academic freedom."
Your Right to Free Speech
It is important that you stand up for your right to free speech on this college campus and that the constitution not be quarantined.
Academic Freedom Conference (Stanford Classical Liberalism Initiative), 4-5 November 2022
Freedom of expression matters!
Minding the Campus: Reforming our Universities
Think For Yourself
Recommended reading for you before you attend Week of Welcome (or try to recover therafter): FIRE's Guide to First-Year Orientation and Thought Reform on Campus. Also useful to read is Counter Wokecraft: A Field Manual for Combatting the Woke in the University and Beyond (Charles Pincourt & James Lindsay).
Schools gone woke: a view from America
Letters of Recommendation
If you seek a letter of recommendation from me, you should discuss your application with me in person (or via Zoom) well in advance of the deadline (one-month minimum). If you do not, I will likely not agree to write one for you.
If you are seeking a letter of recommendation from me for graduate school, you should also read "Dos and Don't for Requesting a Recommendation Letter for Grad School." If you come to my office unprepared, I will not agree to write one on your behalf.
Recommended Reading
"After College: The Coming Cultural Collapse of American Higher Education" (Peter Wood, Quillette)
(Mainly) French-Related
AATF Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
AATF Commission on Teacher Recruitment and Retention
ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2024
Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie
American Association of Teachers of French (AATF)
Arte: la plateforme culturelle
Banque de dépannage linguistique
The Best Ways to Learn a New Language While in College
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The Case for French in a Post-Francophile America
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Communauté des enseignants de français du nord-ouest des Etats-Unis
Considering Graduate School?
Correcteur d'orthographe et de grammaire
Dictionnaire vivant de la langue française
Federation of Alliances Françaises--USA
France Synergies: The French Resource Center @ UW-Madison
Franco-American Academic Exchanges
French Studies: Open Educational Resources for Language Learning: French
Insitut National de l'Audiovisuel
Is French the Language of the Future?
Kanopy (Video Streaming Service)
Knowing Other Languages Brings Opportunities
Leadership et pédagogie culturels
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
Parlons français, c'est facile!
Portail Jeunesse de l'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
Questions de langue (Académie Française)
RFI - Radio France Internationale
Ressources en français professionnel
Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)
Twenty-Five Reasons to Study Foreign Languages
1jour1actu (L'actualité à la hauteur d'enfants)
Want to Know the Language of the Future?
Where is French spoken?
Updated 28 September 2025